Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 192 posts

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#171

Post by 5350-uiop-1130 »

Snd_ wrote: post #21

I feel you... Web development is geared towards the "next hot thing" and can be very exhausting. Could it be an option to change your career path into a more management type role? Are you good with people? You might be a great mentor for junior devs?

i'd like to get into engineering management, but not sure how to transition, since these roles often require many years of experience as an engineering manager.

i tried to propose this where i am, but as a contractor, there's no need for it. i'm basically just here to follow orders.

i do like mentoring junior devs.

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#172

Post by 5350-uiop-1130 »

indymike wrote: post #118

When I find myself depressed about work,there are three questions that help me a lot: Do I like what I'm doing? (solving problems, making software) Do I like who I'm working with? Do I like the company I'm working for? If you answer yes to the first question, an no to either of the next two questions, time to make a change. If you feel like your work isn't valued, go to work for a small company or a startup where eve…

yes, no, no. that's an easy one :)

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#173

Post by 5350-uiop-1130 »

ohm wrote: post #136

Try application security. Knowing the backend of what you are testing and how to get around it is a big plus. Competent web application testers and those that can do code review are in demand. Take a look here https://portswigger.net/training and here https://tryhackme.com/ The only problem with security is that depending on position there might not be a direct way to move up.

thanks for sharing

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#174

Post by 5350-uiop-1130 »

tibanne wrote: post #61

What other role are you looking to try out?

maybe engineering management...something with less hands on coding. i'd like to be able to breath and take a longer term view in my work, instead of constantly being hounded by deadlines..

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#175

Post by PeterStuer »

weatherlite wrote: post #95
PeterStuer wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Eventually, I just had to leave that job, with nothing lined up, and barely any notice. They knew it was coming, and we left on good terms, but it still felt like a failure. I'm in a very priveleged position to be able to do that." You are, but you don't mention the nr.1 reason in your article: your youth. Unlike you the author is 40 in a commodity IT position where agism is far more than endemic. I do agree with yo…

Are 40 year olds really not able to pick up a job? I'm 38 ...I get turned down a lot but that always used to be the case and also the market is pretty shitty now.

Depends on the job.You wil notice it becomes (exponentially) harder and harder every year past 35-39'ísh unless you can stand out in some way beyond being a (wathever quality) commodity developer. Both employers and clients like ém young and mallable.

Typically you would aim for team leadership or architect roles before 40, unless you prefer the option of being an embedded IT technical role in a non-IT industry, usually specialized in 'legacy' technology.

Of course everyone's carreer is different and there are exceptions, but for the median person that is the trend.

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#176

Post by freedom2099 »

SantiagoElf wrote: post #159
ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Yeah, depression/burnout is not real I should have stopped reading your comment here.

What colour is YOUR Bugatti ? :P

A Bugatti doesn’t make you happier! After a certain threshold you don’t need more money to be happy … just more time!

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#177

Post by weatherlite »

PeterStuer wrote: post #175
weatherlite wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are 40 year olds really not able to pick up a job? I'm 38 ...I get turned down a lot but that always used to be the case and also the market is pretty shitty now.

Depends on the job.You wil notice it becomes (exponentially) harder and harder every year past 35-39'ísh unless you can stand out in some way beyond being a (wathever quality) commodity developer. Both employers and clients like ém young and mallable. Typically you would aim for team leadership or architect roles before 40, unless you prefer the option of being an embedded IT technical role in a non-IT industry, usua…

Sounds great!

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#178

Post by 2OEH8eoCRo0 »

torginus wrote: post #158
2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are having mental issues how can you be certain that you are in the right state of mind to make such a determination?

I feel like the burden of proof of a treatments' efficacy lies on the professionals - just like in every other case in existence. After all I could make up some arbitrary argument like: "How can you be sure wearing a traffic cone on your head doesn't help? Have you tried it?"

This is different and circular. If you suspect that your brain might be malfunctioning why would you rely on your brain to diagnose yourself?

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#179

Post by daliusd »

sli wrote: post #47
GregHolmes wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they're suffering from some form of burn-out or are in a bad way mentally right now, going to a smaller company can make it a lot worse. Smaller companies tend to expect you to wear multiple hats, lots of context switching. It can worsen the situation for them.

Yep. OP's post sounds like I could have written it, and it's because small companies are absolute hell. You won't get benefits, you won't get health insurance, you won't get vacation days, your pay goes down below livable levels, and your proximity to clients shrinks dramatically. Investors have all the power and small dev shop owners worship them to the detriment of their employees. Switching to a small shop will ma…

I got lucky then :-)

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#180

Post by onemoresoop »

bradlys wrote: post #147

Not even 40 but blames age for not getting jobs. Doesn’t want to do leetcode even though if you just did the damn work - you’d clear hundreds of thousands a year. Hates technology and comes on HN of all places. If this is your perspective - switch industry and start taking orders at your local deli? You aren’t likely to have what it takes to stay in a rapidly changing industry that is trying to always evolve by its v…

This is the most condescending piece of advice on HN. Why do you bother commenting knowing that it really doesn't help anyone?
Post reply on HN