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Why I Quit Tech and Became a Therapist

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Re: Why I Quit Tech and Became a Therapist

#271

Post by dvdkon »

MaupitiBlue wrote: post #253
genezeta wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe too many people are trying to find all their meaning in life through their work. You probably shouldn't make your "meaning in life" reside completely in your work. But then again, you can't work at a job that is completely meaningless to you. The problem with burnout generally comes from the feeling of pointlessness. And IT excels at that feeling. We 've built an industry that is accustomed -almost to the poi…

You probably shouldn’t make your happiness contingent on a meaningful life. If your favorite team isn’t in last place, there’s beer in the fridge, and you’re not dealing with significant physical or emotional trauma, then be grateful you have the opportunity to worry about mastering Lagrangian comment design patterns, diverse leadership efficiency, or performant vested class b proxy options.

Leaving what I'd call "intuitive happiness" immediately leads you into the depths of deciding the goals of human life. If we agree that happiness is desirable, why not just induce it by drugs? Why not try to learn to be happy in all situations at all costs? Mentally disabled people seem to be usually quite happy without all the reasons we need, why not become like them?

For me, happiness requires a meaningful life. If I tried to get rid of that dependency, I'd probably end up a broken man and try one of the above ideas.

Re: Why I Quit Tech and Became a Therapist

#272

Post by cryptozeus »

jeofken wrote: post #169

For years I struggled to become financially independent (as Mr Money Mustache). Years upon years of watching the clock until it hit 17:30, hating the dumb coders who made a mess for me to clean up (because I know FP, and if we had types these bugs wouldn’t be here in the first place!). A year ago, I pulled the plug, and retired. Finally, I could work on my dream project every day. I did so for 6 months, and travelled…

Maybe your personality is such that you can't not be working with people you admire. Have you thought of opening a startup and trying to solved something meaningful? Hire good people and work on something together.

Re: Why I Quit Tech and Became a Therapist

#273

Post by cryptozeus »

ben7799 wrote: post #90

Maybe too many people are trying to find all their meaning in life through their work. It's not a recipe for success for most people, I think the media plays it up a bit too much. They're only covering the success stories in terms of people who are single minded and who make their work everything. The author of the article doesn't mention any relationships or other interests in life, no passion for anything but work.…

Your hobbies are not always in your control. Let's say you have a very busy month at work and at the same time a big music festival is happening which you would like to attend. Work will always mess up your personal lifestyle. All your hobbies are always secondary.

Re: Why I Quit Tech and Became a Therapist

#274

Post by preommr »

anoplus wrote: post #134
nabnob wrote: post #36

I've been having the same existential crisis for a couple years now. I started working at a FAANG company right out of college, then after a bunch of personal health problems ended up taking a leave of absence that I didn't return from. I took a long break from software and started learning politics, philosophy, and history, and eventually came to the conclusion that most of the world's problems are social/political…

I strongly relate to this comment as a programmer. Sometimes when a colleague asks me: "Why life is hard?", I answer: "Because its hard for people to get along" My answer is just aggregation of all biggest problems I face in my life and programming. The biggest challenges often have to do with cooperation between 2 or more people.

To be fair, a lot of people are pretty terrible.

Re: Why I Quit Tech and Became a Therapist

#275

Post by hkmurakami »

vl wrote: post #270
pureliquidhw wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're still enjoying the FI part of FIRE. Being financially independent means you can just leave when shit gets intolerable, which in-turn raises your level of tolerance for, well, shit. Once upon a time, I hit my number,the FI mark. Then I had a kid. As soon as I had the liability of a child, I was no longer truly FI. I felt the walls at work close in again. It has much less to do with the work and the processes an…

What is FIRE?

Financially independent, retire early

Re: Why I Quit Tech and Became a Therapist

#276

Post by james_s_tayler »

BucketSort wrote: post #173
nabnob wrote: post #36

I've been having the same existential crisis for a couple years now. I started working at a FAANG company right out of college, then after a bunch of personal health problems ended up taking a leave of absence that I didn't return from. I took a long break from software and started learning politics, philosophy, and history, and eventually came to the conclusion that most of the world's problems are social/political…

What was your reasoning that lead you to believe that the social/political problems of the world won't be fixed with technology? I personally have come to the opposite conclusion. I think we need systems to help us reason about and model various social and political issues. Many issues of today go unresolved because they are hidden by complexity. We need systems to help us navigate this complexity. I'm tired of seein…

Sure, sure. Yes, it would. And you'll find your proposal gets shot down and derided by those above you in the hierarchy whom it would negatively impact, your desk moved to the basement and your favorite stapler confiscated. Politics will block the change that would fix said politics. That's why it's politics. That's why it works.

Re: Why I Quit Tech and Became a Therapist

#277

Post by ljm »

ben7799 wrote: post #90

Maybe too many people are trying to find all their meaning in life through their work. It's not a recipe for success for most people, I think the media plays it up a bit too much. They're only covering the success stories in terms of people who are single minded and who make their work everything. The author of the article doesn't mention any relationships or other interests in life, no passion for anything but work.…

I’ve done some studies in Transactional Analysis, and what strikes me the most is that you have one group of people who need to be recognised for what they do, and another group of people who need to be recognised for who they are.

Plenty of people will get all their meaning from work, and they’ll burn out trying to prove who they are.

Plenty of people hate being defined by their work and want to be recognised for their self.

Re: Why I Quit Tech and Became a Therapist

#278

Post by pawelmurias »

shrimp_emoji wrote: post #162
danans wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But why is my own intellectual curiosity more important than whether someone else gets to eat? It's not, but unless you are working on something that is directly impoverishing someone to this point, then the economic or social system that allows people to go hungry and without basics is more to blame than your particular role. People don't go hungry anymore due to lack of societal resources. It's due to either a la…

And get downvoted when asking how it's ethical to allow a small fraction of people to own unlimited wealth when 25% of Americans don't have clean tap water. :3

Discussion about ethics are kind of pointless as different people have different ethical systems.

Re: Why I Quit Tech and Became a Therapist

#279

Post by earlyriser »

gboudrias wrote: post #264
arandr0x wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where in Quebec are you located? I know a few psychologists here but nobody who actually left tech for it, it sounds like an interesting combination of skills.

Montreal. I'm not a therapist yet, and most people get rejected for the doctorate, but I figure worst case I'll have a bachelor's degree in psychology so with my programming experience I could look into AI companies. Most likely I'll stay in the mental health field though, as I doubt I'll find passion for anything tech again. I mostly lurk on this forum because I'm still a geek at heart :)

I'm on the opposite track, but same location. I was an Educational psychologist before moving to Canada/Quebec, but as my B.A. wasn't valid here, then I started a career in tech.

Re: Why I Quit Tech and Became a Therapist

#280

Post by aabeshou »

pawelmurias wrote: post #278
shrimp_emoji wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And get downvoted when asking how it's ethical to allow a small fraction of people to own unlimited wealth when 25% of Americans don't have clean tap water. :3

Discussion about ethics are kind of pointless as different people have different ethical systems.

I dont think unnecessary inequality of food and water are very controversial in humane ethical systems, unless you want to include fascism in your debate
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