61–70 of 214 posts
It's called a business. Maximizing profit is their entire point.
Yes, it is you (and few others). What you are experiencing is best described as depression. Been in a similar situation as you once. Of course the most important step is acknowledging that you need help otherwise that feeling will persist. Sometimes the source of the depression has not so much to do with your work life but has deeper roots.
Yes, it is you (and few others). What you are experiencing is best described as depression. Been in a similar situation as you once. Of course the most important step is acknowledging that you need help otherwise that feeling will persist. Sometimes the source of the depression has not so much to do with your work life but has deeper roots.
1) Filter down to companies that don’t actively harm people/society (this narrows things quite a bit!)
2) Take pleasure/pride in the purely technical aspects of things: making a good system, a good UX, making things performant and elegant and robust, even if the end purpose feels very boring and/or pointless
Sometimes you can do a bit better than that- I’ve had a job whose product felt interesting but pointless, and I’ve had one whose product felt boring but arguably made some people’s lives better. But you have to go pretty far off the beaten path to find one that’s truly fulfilling on all axes. For me, my job is about the paycheck and some base satisfaction from technical execution. For everything else, there’s my free time (and to that end: work life balance is important too!)
I'd recommend pivoting into security engineering. Security engineering, even at big tech companies, can be fulfilling as you are often protecting dissidents, journalists, and human rights activists from surveillance. Even at companies like facebook, you can work on protecting dissidents [2] while contributing very little to the company's ad business. There are also opportunities that pay well at non-profits like Amne…
What matters to you?
For myself, I've had some great jobs, and some that just pay the bills. There are things I won't work on (gambling, weapons).
Even the jobs that pay the bills have been mostly OK, in that I've learned new things and met some lovely people. Sometimes they have led to better jobs indirectly. A very few jobs, with micro managers and bullies, I've resigned from.
I would suggest you spend time doing other things, find work that is truly meaningful to you.
In this world people will look at you strange if you pursue meaning over money, but I think that’s better than a life of burnout and economic exploitation
Yes, it is you (and few others). What you are experiencing is best described as depression. Been in a similar situation as you once. Of course the most important step is acknowledging that you need help otherwise that feeling will persist. Sometimes the source of the depression has not so much to do with your work life but has deeper roots.
Why do you feel the need to tell people that they are suffering from depression online? Did you fill out the HAM-D questionnaire in your head based off his post?
Saying someone who is considering suicide might instead consider talking to their doctor doesn’t seem all that controversial to me?