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I've walked away from software development

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Re: I've walked away from software development

#201

Post by dm319 »

2sk21 wrote: post #24

Everyone working in the software industry needs to understand the basic principles of financial independence. At some point, you will either burn out or will get pushed out. This is a high-reward high-cost (in terms of mental strain) line of work. Financial independence is what will enable you to walk away from a toxic situation. I suggest starting here: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started

Wow, how about finding something you enjoy / a team you enjoy working with and doing that instead? I mean 40 years is a long time, and what do you do then after? Nothing? Or browse HN all day? Or do a job that you enjoy?

Re: I've walked away from software development

#202

Post by burntoutfire »

cvhashim wrote: post #199
brundolf wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seconding this. I've only ever worked at "stable small businesses" and I recommend them as (broadly) the least-toxic category. Few enough people that you get treated like a human, you can have human discussions and bring up human issues, you can build human relationships. But you also don't have the immense pressure of VC breathing down your neck, of growth-at-all-costs, etc.

I’ve also heard these types of small (10-50 people, maybe more) companies referred to as lifestyle businesses.

It's really shitty that the companies that might be actually decent places to work at are diminished as "lifestyle business" by the people who work at the places that are terrible. It really sounds like Stockholm syndrome.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#203

Post by the-dude »

jacques_chester wrote: post #141
the-dude wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the acknowledgment of a disability is much easier now. Are you saying a significant part of human kind has been disabled for the past couple of thousand years and we are only now acknowledging this? I am old enough to remember ADD/ADHD did not exist. We were outside a lot.

> I am old enough to remember ADD/ADHD did not exist. It existed, but it was undiagnosed and untreated.

I acknowledge that it existed : severe cases were known and described.

But did it 'exist' at this scale? I don't think so.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#204

Post by giantg2 »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #200
giantg2 wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With financial independence the other problems would no longer be issues.

You can't buy your way out of relationship problems unless you count hiring a divorce lawyer.

The only problem in the relationship is the financial aspect - being trapped at a job I hate to pay all the bills.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#205

Post by rightbyte »

derbOac wrote: post #95
larrymyers wrote: post #5

It's interesting that the OP on reddit is describing normal company politics. It exists at every company I've ever worked at, and will exist anywhere there is money, power, and status at stake in the decision making process. My suggestion is to find a company where you can accept and work within that company's dysfunction, and stay put as long as you have a positive career path there. Every company is dysfunctional i…

I think the hard part, at least in my case, with the "this is normal company politics" is that it's hard to gauge whether that's true or not until you get in the company. Once you're there it can be hard to tell too unless you're in a particular area or division or whatever -- part of the problem, lots of times, are vast differences in how different groups are treated or whatever, due to communication between and to…

Ye. There are different circles of hell and it is hard to tell them apart until you have seen some of them.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#206

Post by AnimalMuppet »

ryandvm wrote: post #48

I think all of us 40+ folks are in the same place. When we first started we didn't mind the bullshit so much because we were too dumb to realize how much there was. Then we got older and, yeah, it's ridiculous, but we were pretty decent at surfing the bullshit waves so we still didn't mind so much. Now you're in your 40s and the real obligations of life have started piling up. You've gone from 7 hours of free time a…

As my career has progressed, I've moved to places with less and less BS and more grownups. Maybe it helps that I'm not in web apps. Or maybe I've been looking for places like that. Maybe some of both.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#207

Post by s_gourichon »

dorkwood wrote: post #150
throwaway894345 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have that too. A second computer works wonders here. Worse is the training I'm doing now which lets you run it in the background but makes you push a button every 30s to continue the training.

Up next: a training video that turns on your webcam and pauses if you look away from the screen.

Next step, ever watched "15 million merits", an episode of Black Mirror? If you close your eyes, an excruciating sound requires you to open them again and continue watching.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#208

Post by [deleted] »

burntoutfire wrote: post #41

I used to think that the current setup of writing software, with prevalent scrum, talking-head managers, resume-driven development, byzantine tech stacks, draining practices such as heavy CI/CD and code reviews etc. is what makes the jobs unpleasant. But then I watched the documentary about the creation of the first Netscape web browser around 1995 or so, when they presumably didn't have any of the above. And yet, th…

[deleted]

Re: I've walked away from software development

#209

Post by xtracto »

larrymyers wrote: post #5

It's interesting that the OP on reddit is describing normal company politics. It exists at every company I've ever worked at, and will exist anywhere there is money, power, and status at stake in the decision making process. My suggestion is to find a company where you can accept and work within that company's dysfunction, and stay put as long as you have a positive career path there. Every company is dysfunctional i…

The best moment to be in a company is between Series A and Series B.

Around Series B is when the bureaucratic crap starts piling up. And before Series A there's just not enough money.

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