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How did I get so unhappy working in tech?

thebuffgopher.substack.com

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Re: How did I get so unhappy working in tech?

#3

Post by throwaway6532 »

I feel ya man. This is exactly where I'm at. Left one job because the company burnt me out, but I was still a passionate engineer. Eight months in to my current company I feel the flame I once had for engineering is all but extinguished. Starting to interview for a new job now and every option I evaluate I feel like I already know the BS that's waiting for me there and I just don't want to go through it.

I'm trying to construct some sort of framework for myself at the moment, but I don't really know what, if anything, will work.

Re: How did I get so unhappy working in tech?

#4

Post by magneticnorth »

linuxbo wrote: post #2

Trying to be like paul graham. Heavy inspiration from : http://paulgraham.com/selfindulgence.html

Wow they really do read similarly. I thought this article read kind of oddly, maybe because of forcing to another writer's format? It seems to lose coherency toward the end.

Re: How did I get so unhappy working in tech?

#5

Post by GianFabien »

Perhaps the root of the problem is that by trying to avoid the "external crap from other people", the writer reveals his concern for what others might think.

There is nothing wrong with you just because you aren't motivated by tech work. There are lots of other forms of work, career, etc.

For me working in an air conditioned office under fluorescent lighting sucks the life out of me. So I rearranged my life to avoid what I sense to be bad for my soul.

Re: How did I get so unhappy working in tech?

#7

Post by draw_down »

> Quitting your job and getting a new one seems to just be a stop-gap.

Yeah, well, as it turns out you can construct a career of “stop-gaps”.

I don’t think this is a problem to be solved. It’s a siren screaming in your ear telling you to focus on other matters. There’s more to life than our dumb tech jobs, it’s ok to recognize that and act accordingly.

The stop-gaps help with the fact that you won’t/don’t/can’t really care. When you can’t appropriately keep up the charade, they artificially inflate your interest once again.

Re: How did I get so unhappy working in tech?

#8

Post by darau1 »

stephentmcm wrote: post #6

GPT-3 post? This rabbles with no direction and feels like something AI would write. There's also an odd jump at the end like it's trying to talk about gaming/MtG but doesn't at the same time.

Or maybe English isn't the writers first language? It does seem to contain an odd amount of things that seems completely random.

Re: How did I get so unhappy working in tech?

#10

Post by unclekev »

> The solution seems to be setting a framework that fits with yourself.

I think this is true.

I tried time off and it only made things worse.

It was only when i started putting a structured framework in place that I started enjoying tech again. Although, I still struggle after a big burnout incident.

I'm one of those people who got burnt out, took 1.5 years off work "for myself" thinking it would help, and then when I went back to work, I hated technology even more than I did before I'd taken the time off.

> I knew nothing about the bitterness that seeps into your soul when you’re working in tech. Now, in order to avoid it, I had to learn what made me lose so much of my enthusiasm for the thing I’ve pursued.

I'm still searching for this answer, I think it was just accumulated bitterness over time and giving %150 of my self to jobs and not taking time for my self.

Thats where my 'structured framework' comes in now, holds me accountable to ensure that I'm taking the time for my self.

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