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Anyone else deal with burnout at a corporate gig?

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Anyone else deal with burnout at a corporate gig?

#1

Post by msdet11 »

Hi HN!

Apologies if I come off a tad naive, but I am looking for advice from some more experienced in the community. I am very fresh out of college and holding a very safe developer job a medium sized company working on enterprise software. This job leaves me feeling like an incredibly small fish in a very large pond. My contributions to my team and company seem minimal at best. I don't feel like this is normal, and have had trouble dealing with bouts of burnout. I regularly work on side projects, and other outside apps that I find rewarding to the point where I get immediately wrapped up in whatever I'm creating. So for any HN'ers out there am I just suffering from "Whiny Youngster Syndrome", or could this be a legitimate cause to look for greener pastures?

Re: Anyone else deal with burnout at a corporate gig?

#2

Post by sixtypoundhound »

This is natural for an ambitious person at your level.

You're also doing the right thing by staying where you are until you find a compelling reason to walk away. The side projects are good and will get your name out there. Go do some tech meetups if you get a chance. Don't underestimate the value of an employer subsidized launch schedule.

You will know when the time is right.

Re: Anyone else deal with burnout at a corporate gig?

#3

Post by defdannyd »

Trust your instincts on this one, especially before you begin acquiring wife/house/kids, etc., as this will chain you to the biggest paycheck. I have worked in several large corporations and in general they stifle creativity and are so mired in politics that it is nigh impossible to accomplish anything of substance. The key here is that you highlighted practicing your craft as creating and being rewarding. For most corporate devs, it is only a job and they do belong and thrive there. For you and others like you, find a smaller place (or a startup that you can turn into a bigger place) that needs and recognizes the fine art that you practice.

Re: Anyone else deal with burnout at a corporate gig?

#4

Post by kls »

While side projects are good you are going to need more to stave off burn out, consider taking a painting class or learning an instrument. You need something external to the computer to expand your horizons, burn out is a combination of issues, but one of the big issues is that as a group developers like to learn and at a certain point we peek in a language their is just not that much to learn that is interesting, when this happens that need to learn has to be focused on other outlets.

Re: Anyone else deal with burnout at a corporate gig?

#5

Post by ecaroth »

Dealt with this myself. The side projects only go so far to help you deal with this. I also found myself so into the side projects that I would often find myself distracted from my actual job. I'm sure you plan on sticking with your career field for many years to come. If you absolutely need the money/stability, stick it out (at least for a while). But if you are ready & willing to take some chances, ask yourself first if this corporate job is teaching you skills you can continue to use, and move up/forward, for the rest of your career or are you a 'worker drone'. A corporate job can teach you boatloads about how to run stable apps at scale, but usually stifle innovation & creativity. Working at a startup or smaller shop will usually get you much more exciting and creative projects and challenges, however the tradeoff is that you usually have to accept much more responsibility for what you build. You won't always have a rigorous test suite, QA department, and week-long rollout cycles. I can tell you though, from somebody who came from the exact same place, working at a startup is 20x more rewarding and fulfilling.

Re: Anyone else deal with burnout at a corporate gig?

#6

Post by chris_dcosta »

Corporate burn out is inevitable. Having done this for the last 14 years or so, I see it and experience it all the time.

I agree with most of the posts here so far, side projects only go so far to help you deal with it, but the future is pretty grim too. If you stick at this, and then get settled, there's actually very little to push you off the treadmill.

Corporate IT is mind-numbingly dull. You will never be a big fish, no matter what your title says you are, and you'll always have the feeling you missed the boat, because coprate IT is always years behind the curve. I speak from experience!

If I had my time again, I'd do everything I could to get into a tech start-up, or do one myself. You'll learn all you need along the way, and more. Stuff that corporate meetings and politically messy projects will never teach you.

If you have family that can support you, just go for it.

Re: Anyone else deal with burnout at a corporate gig?

#7

Post by msdet11 »

chris_dcosta wrote: post #6

Corporate burn out is inevitable. Having done this for the last 14 years or so, I see it and experience it all the time. I agree with most of the posts here so far, side projects only go so far to help you deal with it, but the future is pretty grim too. If you stick at this, and then get settled, there's actually very little to push you off the treadmill. Corporate IT is mind-numbingly dull. You will never be a big…

Yeah. I can definitely agree with all the points being made. It just seems at least in the Midwest college age developers aren't pushed to do anything innovative. Just get a corporate job, and 401k and be a company man the rest of your life. I think I may start looking for a new gig then. Life seems too short to play it safe everyday.

Re: Anyone else deal with burnout at a corporate gig?

#8

Post by ecaroth »

msdet11 wrote: post #7
chris_dcosta wrote: post #6

Corporate burn out is inevitable. Having done this for the last 14 years or so, I see it and experience it all the time. I agree with most of the posts here so far, side projects only go so far to help you deal with it, but the future is pretty grim too. If you stick at this, and then get settled, there's actually very little to push you off the treadmill. Corporate IT is mind-numbingly dull. You will never be a big…

Yeah. I can definitely agree with all the points being made. It just seems at least in the Midwest college age developers aren't pushed to do anything innovative. Just get a corporate job, and 401k and be a company man the rest of your life. I think I may start looking for a new gig then. Life seems too short to play it safe everyday.

Not sure where in the midwest you are, but I live in the Minneapolis MN area and there is a blossoming tech scene, and many new startups eager to hire ambitions developers that are willing to learn. I have heard similar things about Madison, and Chicago is a tech hub with many prominent startups.

Re: Anyone else deal with burnout at a corporate gig?

#9

Post by msdet11 »

ecaroth wrote: post #8
msdet11 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. I can definitely agree with all the points being made. It just seems at least in the Midwest college age developers aren't pushed to do anything innovative. Just get a corporate job, and 401k and be a company man the rest of your life. I think I may start looking for a new gig then. Life seems too short to play it safe everyday.

Not sure where in the midwest you are, but I live in the Minneapolis MN area and there is a blossoming tech scene, and many new startups eager to hire ambitions developers that are willing to learn. I have heard similar things about Madison, and Chicago is a tech hub with many prominent startups.

I'm around the Detroit area. I've hit up a couple startup meetups, and things of that nature. The few places I've talked to really don't have the wiggle room to hire at the moment which seems like a bummer.
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