Ask HN: I am 30+ and bored with life and the software industry, what do I do? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: I am 30+ and bored with life and the software industry, what do I do?

#71

Post by Kabie » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 6:59 AM UTC

zippy786 wrote: post #62

GotToStartup wrote: post #54

"Trying to use all the features of a language and thinking a one liner is cool even when a five liner and a one liner is same when compiled into machine code" Thing is, it's pretty easy to code for a machine. It's REALLY hard to program in a way that other developers can understand you. And, like in literature, using less words to describe something is more often better for the reader. "Too much jargon, falsely claim…

> Thing is, it's pretty easy to code for a machine. It's REALLY hard to program in a way that other developers can understand you. I feel this statement is way too subjective and has been used very often in the industry in a negative way. Just because one does not understand the depth of the problem or style doesn't necessarily mean the style is bad or the solution is bad. I first realized this when I picked up AOCP.…

I'm surprised that no one mentioned Functional Programming languages. I think the way they think would be quite refreshing for someone get bored of OO.

Re: Ask HN: I am 30+ and bored with life and the software industry, what do I do?

#72

Post by SwellJoe » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 7:01 AM UTC

I experienced this, to some degree, a few years ago; I was mid-thirties at the time. I bought a motorhome and started driving. I traveled for about four years; my business and my income suffered for it, but my mental health improved. I started another non-tech company, a worker-owned cooperative, and mostly failed at it (it never made much money, but I had fun, helped make some really cool stuff happen in my community, and learned some things).

Somewhere along the way I started to regain some of my joy in technology (mostly I realized how much magic I have at my disposal compared to most people who can't program, can't build/deploy/administer servers, etc.), and have begun several new projects and begun to refocus on my primary project/business in a manner I haven't been able to do for a while. I moved into a regular house a year ago, but decided I didn't like it, so two days ago I bought an old Avion travel trailer (one of the shiny silver classic kind) and will be moving the rest of my stuff into it tomorrow.

I'll be hitting the road again...but, will do so in a way that enables me to be connected to tech more deeply, rather than almost completely disconnected. I'll spend some time in Silicon Valley, will catch several relevant Open Source conferences, etc.

I'm not telling you to buy an RV and travel from Alaska to southern Mexico for four years. But, it worked for me. Maybe a major change really is what you need. If you've been reasonably successful with your tech work, you probably have some flexibility in what you do, at least for a little while. Make use of it. I wound up quite broke in the process of all this, so maybe don't go as far off the reservation as I did; that may be part of my impetus for getting back into tech with such gusto...money comes so much more easily for tech work than any other work I've ever done (maybe partially because I'm so much better at it than any other work I've ever done).

Re: Ask HN: I am 30+ and bored with life and the software industry, what do I do?

#73

Post by ZenoArrow » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 7:15 AM UTC

leap_ahead wrote: post #9

I was there some years ago. I realized that the root cause of the problem was focusing on the wrong things (at least they were wrong for me). Tools are just that - they are tools. Granted, there are many of them, new and shining, coming in all packages, but that gets tiresome after you've spent a substantial period of time with them. They are all essentially the same and sooner or later you lose interest in them. Wha…

Spot on.

Re: Ask HN: I am 30+ and bored with life and the software industry, what do I do?

#74

Post by godzilla82 » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 7:17 AM UTC

n0us wrote: post #21

Assuming you have some money saved up, go on amazon, buy some books, anything you really like that isn't tech; philosophy, history, literature, music theory, whatever makes you tick. Find a job far away (figuratively) from a computer screen. Manual labor, crewing on someone's yacht, working at a ranch, being a ski instructor, (preferably not something like fast food). But take some time off. Write code for what you w…

I have no experience and dont fancy myself to be capable of giving life advice, but I think the manual jobs you mentioned "crewing on someone's yacht, working at a ranch, being a ski instructor" are based on some glamor you associate with those jobs. After some time you will come to know the unglamorous aspects of those jobs and you will be back to square one. For example, a few days back I read an article by an airline pilot who was fed up with the politics and other administrative tasks that come with the job. Even though I am not brave enough to practice it myself, I feel the way out would be to take a job with no glamour whatsoever with the attitude that you can come out of it if you wanted to anytime.

Re: Ask HN: I am 30+ and bored with life and the software industry, what do I do?

#75

Post by JAdamMoore » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 7:21 AM UTC

I gave up years ago, but then again, I began sooner than most. I vote for moving on. It won't get fixed before we destroy the planet.

Re: Ask HN: I am 30+ and bored with life and the software industry, what do I do?

#76

Post by jetskindo » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 7:23 AM UTC

Good, you know software so much you are bored with it. Now is a good time to use your knowledge to create a product. Programming for the sake of programming is always gonna lead to boredom. Make a product that generates money.

Re: Ask HN: I am 30+ and bored with life and the software industry, what do I do?

#77

Post by ZenoArrow » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 7:26 AM UTC

n0us wrote: post #23

CyberFonic wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd sooner build a boat and sail away.

The two happiest days in a boat owner's life are the day he/she buys his boat and the day he/she sells it. Trust me, you don't want to build a boat. But I get the sentiment.

I know this is a commonly used meme, but I don't buy it, I know quite a few people who enjoy sailing, including those that own boats.

Re: Ask HN: I am 30+ and bored with life and the software industry, what do I do?

#78

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 7:29 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: I am 30+ and bored with life and the software industry, what do I do?

#79

Post by acqq » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 7:30 AM UTC

I'll ignore the psychological aspects you can be facing (you certainly shouldn't!) as others wrote good comments on them, I'm trying to address the professional topics you've touched ("just because people would have something to show for" and "falsely claimed software engineering practices"):

Fred Brooks, managed the development of IBM's System/360 and the OS/360 in sixties. He also thought deeply about the false claims in the field many years ago.

"No Silver Bullet — Essence and Accidents of Software Engineering" 1986:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Silver_Bullet

For one 2014 take of that, see: Kenneth M. Anderson, 2014. No Silver Bullet. CSCI 5828: Foundations of Software Engineering. Lecture 02 — 08/28/2014:

http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~kena/classes/5828/s12/lectures/0...

Re: Ask HN: I am 30+ and bored with life and the software industry, what do I do?

#80

Post by batou » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 7:37 AM UTC

fatterday wrote: post #34

Quit programming and start growing food.

I do this on a small scale. Couldn't agree more. It really does bring a lot to your mental health.

I'm sitting in the kitchen writing this staring out the window at a nice juicy tomato with my name on it. I'm having it for lunch in my sandwich.

You do have to get used to failure. For example, it's July an my butternut plants are only 2 inches tall an have no chance of fruiting ever.