My advice is to taper with working less (it’s going to cause you anxiety) and get in contact with a therapist.
Ask HN: Burnt-out, directionless but want to turn it around
81–90 of 521 posts
Re: Ask HN: Burnt-out, directionless but want to turn it around
#82Forget about studying and just go interview.
Re: Ask HN: Burnt-out, directionless but want to turn it around
#83> pieced code together from multiple sources
Guess what those 500k/year FANG devs are doing? They piece code together, polish the rough corners a bit and call it a day.
> feeling like a loser
You're right here, the startup owners are exploiting you. You need to develop some social skills and cynism. There are many grim books on this topic, and my top two picks are "gervais principle" and "48 laws of power".
> struggle with LeetCode
LC is a very narrow skills test. There are just a few building blocks you need to learn: binary search, hashmap, priority queue amd so on. Every LC/interview question is a mix of those building blocks: you just try them one after another until something sticks. No creativity needed.
> unable to concentrate, riddled with brain fog
Brain fog is probably poor food choices. Ability to concentrate must be trained. It's a big topic by itself, but the essense of it is you pick a simple thought, a basic shape for beginners, and try to focus all your attention to it. It's like trying to write it into your video memory by sheer will alone.
Re: Ask HN: Burnt-out, directionless but want to turn it around
#84This is all very career-focused, but there's other important facets of your life.
How are your relationships? With your family/friends?
When you walk through a cemetery, you don't see "here lies John Smith, full-stack software engineer who earn $250k". You see "here lies John Smith, beloved husband, son, father, etc".
Try to think about what values are most important to you, and what you can be doing to attend to them.
Is money a value? Probably not. Maybe it's really financial security.
Where does family rank? Do your actions reflect their position in your hierarchy of values?
Love, honesty, faith (if you're religious) are some examples.
Love is a really important one. You mentioned being a "loner". Are you making time to find love? A good partner can be an absolute rock, a bulwark against all the shit out there in the world.
Landing a $250k a year job might be a great ego boost. But if it's at the expense of other areas of your life, that ego boost will be fleeting - trust me.
That's not to say you shouldn't improve your career position. Absolutely, go for it! I'm just saying, make sure your values are in order, so you're focusing on the right things. :)
Re: Ask HN: Burnt-out, directionless but want to turn it around
#85No post body was provided.
Re: Ask HN: Burnt-out, directionless but want to turn it around
#86Honestly, it sounds like you’re a great developer that works hard and cares about doing a good job.
It sounds like you’re judging your abilities based on your ability to do LeetCode problems.
You’re not giving yourself enough credit for what you do. I think you’re a person that most companies would love to have.
If you’re looking to not do the LeetCode grind and start to find companies that care about more than how fast you can solve a LeetCode hard problem, I’d recommend taking a look at www.NoWhiteboard.org. There’s a bunch of companies on there not using LeetCode to find developers and the interviews are not limited to take-home only. There’s a good few that will do conversation-based interviews, and want to interview you in a way that will let you show off your strengths.
Please don’t judge your self-worth by your ability to get a new job, or by how much others are doing. I believe you can still have (and already do have) a very fulfilling career in tech. If you didn’t care, you would not have created this post.
Disclaimer: I made www.NoWhiteboard.org. Let me know if there are certain interview formats you’re interested in, and I can do my best to find companies that will align with your interests.
Re: Ask HN: Burnt-out, directionless but want to turn it around
#871. Take time off, like a month or more. [1] Use it to do anything other than coding. Hone a hobby, travel, volunteer, etc. No-one will care about a month or two gap on your resume. 2. You are worth more than you currently think you are. Internalize this, know this, that is key. "I am a sole developer for Mobile and Web platforms at this startup in a very small team" --> is a desirable skill in and of itself. 3. Stop…
I've been so much more productive since I scaled back my hours from 60-70 to never more than 40.
Re: Ask HN: Burnt-out, directionless but want to turn it around
#88Rose. Don't be so down on yourself. Maybe you're just on the brink of blossoming.
You just need to do it! It's not the models and theories of phase change— it's the phase change. And perhaps you shouldn't be pursuing all the things you think you lack. Do you feel the work you have done is meaningful? It's not yet having the impact you'd like??
Abraham attracted many followers but they were not all inheritors of his mantle and his mission. They were not all loyal to the mission he passed down. Does that mean that he was not successful? Of course not, he's the most successful of the patriarchs because his success includes Yitzchak's and Yaakov's success.
Your post does not seem to consider the creation of money which is a contemporary issue: cuz #crypto.
Maybe you should be making money. Literally creating money instead of trying to "make money".
If you're familiar with the process of titration and the cornucopia of similar processes it must build up and up until the process reaches the point of phase change — and then: the titrating step.
It's obvious why people give up along the way.
But for those who stay and do not sway: night can turn to day.
EDIT: maybe the key is to intensify, like when striking a match— to light a fire. Intensify into a spark, you have ample kindling!
Re: Ask HN: Burnt-out, directionless but want to turn it around
#89Greetings neighbor and fellow traveler.
Here's a few ideas.
* Do nothing. "Doing nothing often leads to the very best of something." - Winnie the pooh
* Stop going to work. "I don't like my job and I don't think I'm gonna go anymore." Peter from Office space.
* Let it all play out. My uncle Coydog used to say, "You got to let the river take its course." Well, what does that mean? I don't know. I used to ask him the same thing. He said, "We all in that river, boy." "And the river know right where it's going." Ptolemy Grey
* Be content. "Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." Lao Tzu
* Get into Philosophy. "Philosophy molds and builds the personality, orders one's life, regulates one's conduct, shows one what one should do and what one should leave undone, sits at the helm and keeps one on the correct course as one is tossed about in perilous seas. Without it no one can lead a life free of fear or worry. Every hour of the day countless situations arise that call for advice, and for that advice we have to look to philosophy." - Seneca
Re: Ask HN: Burnt-out, directionless but want to turn it around
#90> My salary also hasn't increased much, and feel like I'm severely underpaid based on the # of years of experience but I struggle with evaluating my value in the market to determine my worth Sure sounds like it. I've run 100+ interviews at a FAANG, nearly all levels and IC roles - email me if you'd like to chat about roles/responsibilities/comp (we can keep it anonymous and high-level). There are also professional se…
Constant overtime is a clear failure of management.
You are a cog in the system. The next level up in the system plays with the cogs they have influence over, including you. If you are ever working beyond your contract, then your boss has failed their job.
It may be that your immediate boss has been put into an impossible position by the next level up (and so on) but that is NOT your issue, it is theirs.
As a human being, you might be inclined to forgive another humans failure. I know I do. And this is good for society in limited amounts as no human is perfect.
However at the point of constant overtime of even 1 minute - every week for months on end - it is clearly abuse. Get out now.