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Ask HN: Have you ever considered leaving tech because you didn’t feel fulfilled?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you ever considered leaving tech because you didn’t feel fulfilled?

#41

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

nottorp wrote: post #8

Hmm. I've had friends stating they feel like going into something agricultural. But consider that on that idyllic countryside farm, you need to wake up at 5 to feed the cows on a fine summer day. Also on that stormy day when you have to wade through half a food of mud to the barn * . And also when the snow is up to your waist * . Another solution is using that income from your cushy tech job to get some fulfilling ho…

> it's a different thing when you have to do it every day because you must

It's amazing how few people think of this when they look at the idyllic landscape and dream.

source: I live on a horse farm.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever considered leaving tech because you didn’t feel fulfilled?

#42

Post by xyzelement »

In my experience (of observing others) - "wherever you go, there you are." Meaning, you are either in position to find meaning in what you do, or you aren't - and changing your environment isn't likely to help.

Easy example - used to work in finance. Some folks looked at the job as "shit I don't care about but do for money" - others looked at the same exact job and recognized that their work was having meaningful impact on bringing stability to the markets and helping retirees having cumulatively billions more dollars to spend in retirement than they would otherwise.

Also, if you're involved in charitable work or have a family, it's very easy to feel fulfilled because the high income from your work enables you to very meaningfully support those things.

Not to mention working with great people, having access to a ton of opportunity, etc.

On the flip side, if you don't have family/community/causes you care about, and you aren't able to "see" the meaning that's present in the work you're doing, then chances are switching jobs or industries isn't going to help.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever considered leaving tech because you didn’t feel fulfilled?

#43

Post by dopamean »

What I've learned over the years is that X can be fun but X industry can be less fun and sometimes mindless, boring, or even soul crushing.

Early in my life I was very into fashion and so I opened a store. Fashion was fun and interesting to me. The fashion industry was less so.

Next I tried food. Making and consuming food was fun. The restaurant industry, again, was less so.

Today I'm a software engineer. I always wrote code as a hobby (started when was about 11). I love technology and software. Again however, the technology industry leaves me unfulfilled.

I have no plans to leave tech now though. My life is very different. I'm 37. I have a wife and a child. I have other hobbies that I like a lot and so my career in the tech industry is a means to an end. The end being financial support for my family and hobbies. I don't mean to say that I get to gratification from my work. I do really love working on some of the technical problems I encounter at work and I really like the people on my team. Overall it's a positive experience if I can put out of my mind the larger system that I'm in and how I feel about that.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever considered leaving tech because you didn’t feel fulfilled?

#44

Post by svnt »

nottorp wrote: post #12
f1yght wrote: post #7

I think the hard thing about mental work is you never feel like you've finished something. There's always more work to do and new features to build. The appeal of something like woodworking is it has a finish, and you have a tangible thing at the end. I think lifting and running scratch the physical exertion itch that the desk job leaves me with. At the end of the day, if you have a pretty easy going role that pays w…

It really depends what you're working on. If you go to a one product company you'll be stuck forever improving it. In other niches, for example embedded-ish, you can have multiple solutions churning the customer's bits in production in just a couple years.

And then component changes and interop issues force you to recall in excruciating detail that project you were “done with.”

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever considered leaving tech because you didn’t feel fulfilled?

#46

Post by hellisothers »

Try to attain more autonomy in your role, which admittedly may require a certain tenure or level, and propose work you find interesting for your employer’s or team’s domain. I work at a medium/large tech company and consistently find those of us who feel like we have some control over our destiny to be happier. I also continue to bump into people who it never occurred to them they could propose and lead projects, it really makes a difference.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever considered leaving tech because you didn’t feel fulfilled?

#47

Post by erikpukinskis »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #39

I love tech, but I am less-than-thrilled with the tech industry. Best thing that ever happened to me, was being forced into early retirement, by reaching the doddering old age of 55. I now write the software I want, and it has been working well for the last five years.

Exactly me. I’ve been scheming to “get out” of the tech industry for 15 years… but for me that means still doing tech without the horrible finance/techbro culture that made so many of my tech jobs unbearable.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever considered leaving tech because you didn’t feel fulfilled?

#48

Post by samtho »

I have been dealing with burnout on and off for a few years, with the biggest episode happening during the height of the pandemic. After being laid off in Feb 2020 and thus able to collect the unemployment plus the extra $600 per week. I started working on my own projects and having leisure time, I found that I could no longer work on things that my heart was into.

These days, I’m doing consulting mixed with working with a non profit I advise. The former being my fuel to keep going and the later being my passion.

I’m still buying a plot of land in the woods for a cabin, but it’s no longer for the reasons I thought.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever considered leaving tech because you didn’t feel fulfilled?

#49

Post by dagw »

'Tech' covers so much. Some people I know in 'tech' do urban planning, some archeology, others make movies or furniture or help invent new drugs. Tech is a tool, and that tool can be applied to just about any endeavour. You have to narrow down what it is you find unfulfilling about what you are currently doing. Is it literally the fact that you are working with modern computer technology or is it something else. Because if it's the specific industry you're in that is getting you down, you can certainly switch that without giving up on the tech part, which is presumably your competitive advantage.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever considered leaving tech because you didn’t feel fulfilled?

#50

Post by spelunker »

frakt0x90 wrote: post #2

I personally have not, but I've seen many posts on here over the years of people leaving for woodworking specifically. In general, I find being able to make something physical that you can touch is very satisfying. I imagine that's part of it.

This is why I picked up gardening as a hobby!
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