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I've walked away from software development

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Re: I've walked away from software development

#231

Post by 2sk21 »

tartoran wrote: post #225
2sk21 wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thats exactly what I meant! I am in my 50s and I just retired after nearly 30 years in software development, much of it in cutting edge AI. As you say, after a while, you've seen everything and its not quite as interesting the second time around. I still enjoy coding and reading stuff, just not for a living. I get to do whatever I want which is a reward in of itself. Knuth has a wonderful take on how he is spending h…

> then I try to digest that knowledge into a form that is accessible to people who don't have time for such study. Do you publish your digested knowledge anywhere? Do you have a blog?

That was a quote from Knuth not me :-)

Re: I've walked away from software development

#232

Post by hasmolo »

jacques_chester wrote: post #146
hasmolo wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it’s a lot higher than you might expect but i don’t think it’s endemic to software at this point. there’s a bit of a cultural shift around mental disorders and the old stigma attached. i’ve seen a lot of people i know, from preschool teachers to principal scientists, get an ADD or ADHD diagnosis in their later years. the acknowledgment of a disability is much easier now. all of that said, the use of adderal, vyvanse,…

I was diagnosed at 32. Ritalin has been life changing. Continuing medication is not really "carrying a habit forward". A major shift in thinking in the last 15 years is to realise that ADHD is not a juvenile condition. It lasts into adulthood, but the symptoms change because the brain has changed and because of acquired coping mechanisms. "Adult ADHD" is just ... ADHD. The medications continue to be a useful treatmen…

sorry that my phrasing “carry the habit forward” was heard as a negative. that’s not my intent, i view habits as morally neutral. i workout every other day and consider it a habit i carry.

i would’ve used a term like “continue the addiction” to emphasize my disagreement with that action. i appreciate the insight and will work on clarification in the future.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#233

Post by hasmolo »

the-dude wrote: post #83
hasmolo wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it’s a lot higher than you might expect but i don’t think it’s endemic to software at this point. there’s a bit of a cultural shift around mental disorders and the old stigma attached. i’ve seen a lot of people i know, from preschool teachers to principal scientists, get an ADD or ADHD diagnosis in their later years. the acknowledgment of a disability is much easier now. all of that said, the use of adderal, vyvanse,…

> 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.

yes, that’s exactly what i’m saying.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#234

Post by jacques_chester »

hasmolo wrote: post #232
jacques_chester wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was diagnosed at 32. Ritalin has been life changing. Continuing medication is not really "carrying a habit forward". A major shift in thinking in the last 15 years is to realise that ADHD is not a juvenile condition. It lasts into adulthood, but the symptoms change because the brain has changed and because of acquired coping mechanisms. "Adult ADHD" is just ... ADHD. The medications continue to be a useful treatmen…

sorry that my phrasing “carry the habit forward” was heard as a negative. that’s not my intent, i view habits as morally neutral. i workout every other day and consider it a habit i carry. i would’ve used a term like “continue the addiction” to emphasize my disagreement with that action. i appreciate the insight and will work on clarification in the future.

I appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Re: I've walked away from software development

#235

Post by jagannathtech »

porker wrote: post #119
xfitm3 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Identity politics have made it even more miserable.

I don't know if there's something special about working in web design/development but I see more identity politics here and in the community than I do anywhere else in my life, or in other industries. My partner works in education - that place of reputed wokeness - and while identity features, there isn't the politics in the school around it. Perhaps webdev attracted a specific kind of person (who felt comfortable wi…

very low barrier to entry

Re: I've walked away from software development

#236

Post by jagannathtech »

drinchev wrote: post #196
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…

34 and I feel pretty happy freelancing. Freelance IMO is closer to real life for most of the devs I’ve talked to. You are not committed to bullshit, often excluded from company brainwash meetings and actually getting paid by the hour, so you can manage the amount of “life you sell”. Mentioning corona here, I think the society is desperate to find more IT folks around and loosing someone because of shitty interview pr…

What do you do?

Re: I've walked away from software development

#237

Post by cjonas »

giantg2 wrote: post #70
cjonas wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your making 5x seems like it shouldn't take 30 years to build up enough to move on to something else and still be WAY ahead. Maybe it's time to consider if your lifestyle is too expensive... Sounds like you'd be happier if you had less upkeep + a more enjoyable job

No, I'm saying the poster was likely making 5x. I earn an average (maybe even lower) non-SV wage. I live a modest life, but have a family to support.

oh, sorry I misunderstood.
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