I went into tech sales as my exit. It feels like a highly paid vacation compared to SWE.
What exactly does that involve? How did you make that transition?
I've walked away from software development
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Re: I've walked away from software development
#12I think an alternative to the reddit OP, since he loves coding and has so much experience is to try and create his own product on some niche.
He would get back the joy of coding and still be a programmer, without having to deal with any of the corporate system.
I can fully understand where he is coming from, it's not the job itself, it's the whole system that makes it unbearable after a while.
This is the reason also why there aren't many people over 40 in tech. They have usually by then accumulated enough money and found an exit strategy.
Re: I've walked away from software development
#13I went into tech sales as my exit. It feels like a highly paid vacation compared to SWE.
If you don't mind saying, what is "highly paid" in this context? I have no concept of what sales people make compared to SWEs. How much (if any) pay cut would I be looking at if I took this route?
Re: I've walked away from software development
#14"Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called everybody, and they meet at the bar." --Drew Carey
That said, there are some good (if conflicting) points in there. Large tech companies are worse than startups, usually. Startups become large companies over time, if they don't fail.
A good read on the real corporate dynamic:
Re: I've walked away from software development
#15I went into a non-tech role and then still “code” as much as possible. It’s terribly liberating as I don’t have to do much of what’s called out in authors complaint list but still has all the fun of solving problems writing code.
It was hard to find such a position but I’ve bumped into quite a few others like me who are “crypto coders” who do their work that’s really only possible with software. In some ways I actively don’t want people to know I can code as then word gets out and I might be “forced” to code.
Although I’m probably a terrible programmer compared to really good ones, I did support myself for a decade or two.
Re: I've walked away from software development
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe it was a bad year to make the jump. The normal sales job (from a non-sales person POV anyway) seems to be business class travel, eating the finest foods, drinking the finest booze, going out and entertaining the engineers for stuff they were going to buy anyway, and then cashing big checks.
Yeah, started right before the pandi, was 60% travel but before I ever got to travel we went into lock down and it became 100% zoom. I'm curious if being in person would have helped me, though. I'm not sure how much it it was zoom exacerbating my anxieties or my own anxieties/introversion burning me out. (or the terrible company) edit: I was a PSE not really tech sales, I did have to do engineering and got the hard t…
I find I can talk all day long in person, it's zoom meetings that drain my soul.
Re: I've walked away from software development
#17I can understand the frustrations. I don't know why people do that to themselves working under these conditions.
I work for a non-software company and don't have to deal with tests, I solve problems with software. I can use the tech I like. I am measured only by results. If I have problems that negatively affect my performance, I get opportunities to get my energy back, be that another project or some free time. There are these companies out there. Maybe not as prestigious, but there are advantages if you like going to work.
Don't ever work for people with an inferiority complex, they will constantly try to throw themselves against you and you should know your own worth. There are enough jobs for softies out there that you can leave that behind.
Re: I've walked away from software development
#18In the middle of the rant on burnout, he says:
> I'm sick of everyone being on Adderall.
Is that really a thing? ie What proportion of software folks are using it?
Re: I've walked away from software development
#19I went into a non-tech role and then still “code” as much as possible. It’s terribly liberating as I don’t have to do much of what’s called out in authors complaint list but still has all the fun of solving problems writing code. It was hard to find such a position but I’ve bumped into quite a few others like me who are “crypto coders” who do their work that’s really only possible with software. In some ways I active…
That's interesting, which field is that? I guess in finance there's a lot of "crypto coding" (no pun intended) going on.
Re: I've walked away from software development
#20My plan is to deal with it , every job is a another job.
Trying to retire within the next decade. I don't want a boss period.