A bit of background. I am a self-taught but successful software engineer. I write, speak and teach on engineering topics constantly. I also have a background, due to family, in business so I understand business topics quite well. My educational background is in law, though I dropped, because I did not like law, and I love software engineering!
Over the last decade or so I have consistently been put in positions at companies where I engineer AND help with business development/product operations. I have always been hired as an engineer but within short order I am snagged for business advising as well. This hasn’t been all bad. I have been involved with the successful sale of 2 startups, soon to be 3, worked with some brilliant people at the top of some Fortune 50 companies, etc. The problem is I don’t enjoy meeting with executives at 8pm over drinks to try to discuss the next big deal. I don’t like to make presentations late into the night to put in front of Venture Capital, Series A/B investors, or Executives. I still write software with a team all day and then I am “invited” (told I must) meet with others well into the evening for the good of the business. I come home late at night and I am upset, irritable, hating what I do. Some say it is depression, but would I want a medication to fix what is obviously a lifestyle problem? Some say I should change jobs, but I do that about every 6 months to 2 years now.
So, HN, has anyone else been in a situation like this and found a way to just get back to engineering? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.