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I've walked away from software development

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Re: I've walked away from software development

#51

Post by ravenstine »

giantg2 wrote: post #44

Well said. I'm rotting from the inside out. The only problem I have with the post is that they have the luxury of quitting. People like myself are trapped in the job. They're likely making 5x many people's salary if they are a principle engineer at a large tech firm. I dream of quitting everyday, but I know I have to deal with this job for the next 2 decades at least (about 9 years in). I'm miserable and know I'm was…

I'm curious how exactly you're trapped. Do you have any dependents? I'd understand in that case but, if you were single or unmarried, then I would argue that you aren't trapped at all.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#52

Post by moron4hire »

About 7 or 8 years ago, I hit a point of "I'm going to quit tech completely." I felt everything this guy was feeling. Loved programming. Hated the people I invariably ended up working for.

I spent a month on unemployment, looking for my Next Thing. Ended up doing more programming than I had done in the previous year. Went freelance. Suddenly, most things were better.

Started to hate things a little bit again. I was never very good at finding clients, so I got stuck at a single, long-term, full-time one, and was feeling stagnated. Changed my focus from webdev to VR. Loved the work, but couldn't find clients. Ended up an employee again. Right back into the same, old shit.

Eventually ended up at an established, non-tech company that decided they wanted to start doing their own R&D on improving their offering. Everything is great. This company has the best culture I've ever seen. People work and are happy to work, but it's not a cult that fawns over the company. The company is small enough that everyone knows everyone else, but not so small that we're constantly rushing around, looking for money.

Moral of the story: never trust an MBA who has studied the tech industry. My boss now has an MBA, but it was more "this is what I'm going to study to help out in the family business".

Re: I've walked away from software development

#53

Post by nickjj »

When I read his "I'm sick of..." part, I think you could replace most of that with any other industry (modifying the coding specific bits with industry specific bits).

It really sounds like the root cause is hating working for a large company.

I do freelance software development work and I experience none of those issues in my day to day. That includes never having done a coding interview in ~20 years of freelancing.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#54

Post by Ozzie_osman »

This was sad to read. I've been in jobs I hate before, and had burn out, but I feel privileged to work at a role I love with a group of people I respect (helped start a company).

To anyone else reading this who has felt the same, the entire industry isn't this way. Yes we have many issues in the tech industry. My current rule is to only work with people I believe in, and on problems I believe should be solved.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#55

Post by giantg2 »

notacoward wrote: post #25

I held out for a little over 30 years, but ultimately reached a similar point. I just lost patience with the various ways I was forced to keep a part of my brain devoted to work at all times, with the focus on "move fast" over quality, with the dizzying array of bad choices in languages, idioms, and configuration/deployment methods, with the endless ego wars, etc. Note that none of these had much to do with the work…

"I'm the kind of person who takes the most important unclaimed tasks - which are often unclaimed because they're unpleasant."

I feel you. I've always been one to fill the gaps on the team. You need someone to learn this new tech/process/etc - sure, I'll do it. It's hurt my career. Now I'm 9 years in and I'm not an expert in anything (anything that matters - they outsourced the tech/system I was an expert at), just average/passable at a bunch of stuff. I'll be an intermediate developer permanently.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#56

Post by FriedrichN »

As someone with a small tech company I need to work with bigger tech companies to connect with their API or vice versa, I always notice how little these guys often care about just anything. Everything takes ages and costs enormous amounts of money and they seem to botch up even the simplest things. From not being able to craft proper HTTP headers to messing up UTF8 encoding. When we asked one of them to help one of our clients with his ERP they said they'd be able to help us in 6(!) weeks. Mind you this was a small ask.

I truly hope my company will not turn out like that, because I don't think I'll survive that. I've been in the game for a while, but I'll need to survive at least another 30 years of working. God help me.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#57

Post by tartoran »

giantg2 wrote: post #47
wpietri wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just for the record, I don't hate my job. I suspect many others don't. There's a saying that I recommend: either change your organization or change your organization. I'm sad for this guy that he let the fat checks keep him in misery until he burnt out on the work. I get how it happens, but I don't think it's a good trade. I hope he finds his way back to health.

I would love to burn out with fat checks. It beats burning out on average (non SV) checks. At least one can retire earlier.

Yeah but the fat checks act like golden handcuffs, one is reluctant to lose them and will take more shit over time just because of the fat checks. Smart folks realize this and instead of enjoying the lifestyle fat checks bring they live frugally instead and get ready for an modest exit. It is possible, yes

Re: I've walked away from software development

#58

Post by rightbyte »

sys_64738 wrote: post #35

SW people are well payed to provide RoI for their company. If you get the opportunity to do something you like then that's great. But ultimately SW people left to their own devices will never ship product. This is why you have people like Program Managers and people managers to drive the product and the resources to deliver to schedule. Processes like Agile and SCRUMs are there to stop SW people from getting wayward…

Are there any proof of Scrum and Agile increasing successrate?

Re: I've walked away from software development

#59

Post by nomy99 »

I think to survive in this field you must detach yourself from yourself. I remember burning out at every job, just like OP. But when I stopped "thinking" and looked at myself from a third perspective, I could see the politics and grind work affecting the "me". But just observing that phenomenon and detaching yourself from it prevents the stress.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#60

Post by sz4kerto »

s1k3s wrote: post #3

One thing I still believe in: you don't burn out from code, you burn out from people.

I don't think that's the case. Psychology (however weak grounds it stands on) says that the primary reason for burnout is losing the belief that your work matters and then continuing that work for a prolonged period.
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