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Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

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Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#1

Post by funfunfunction »

I've been writing software for startups for the last three years. I'm self taught and started right after high school. I've worked for my current employer for about 18 months and our team and technology were recently acquired. As I've begun to assimilate into the new company, I'm realizing how burnt out I am and how little satisfaction I get from writing software for enterprise companies. My question is, what's next? I've looked at other tech jobs and few of them spark my interests.

I realize this is a very open ended question. Any advice is thoroughly appreciated.

Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#2

Post by frabtanium »

Start with what you enjoy doing. Write code that interests you. Do it for no other reason than to scratch you personal itch. Share it on GitHub. Get good at it through enjoyment of the 'work'.

Then you'll have another perspective to evaluate future opportunities and you'll have a much better chance of getting a job that also interests you. Getting paid to do something you enjoy and that interests you doesn't feel like a job, but it sure is.

Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#3

Post by brad0 »

Take some time off. You should sit down and work out what you really value.

The definition of burnout is when you force yourself to work on something that you don’t see the value in.

When you know what you really value then make steps toward experiencing those values in your every day life. This doesn’t just go for work but every part of your life.

Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#4

Post by CalChris »

Congratulations on getting a head start on your career. Now go to college. Seriously. Start at JC. You'll kill it. Then transfer to the best university you can get into; that would be Berkeley.

There's a shit ton to learn at college and a lot of interesting people to meet. You'll have a better broader handle on things than knowing everything there is about Python.

Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#5

Post by funfunfunction »

CalChris wrote: post #4

Congratulations on getting a head start on your career. Now go to college. Seriously. Start at JC. You'll kill it. Then transfer to the best university you can get into; that would be Berkeley. There's a shit ton to learn at college and a lot of interesting people to meet. You'll have a better broader handle on things than knowing everything there is about Python.

Interesting you mention Berkeley. I was visiting my sister there just this last weekend and have since considered applying. It seemed like a great place with lots of happy young people!

Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#6

Post by ChristianGeek »

brad0 wrote: post #3

Take some time off. You should sit down and work out what you really value. The definition of burnout is when you force yourself to work on something that you don’t see the value in. When you know what you really value then make steps toward experiencing those values in your every day life. This doesn’t just go for work but every part of your life.

That’s not the definition of burnout, that’s just being uninspired. Burnout is a combination of cynicism, depression, and lethargy that can come from failing to maintain a healthy life/work balance. (I’ve experienced burnout at a job I loved.)

Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#7

Post by CalChris »

funfunfunction wrote: post #5
CalChris wrote: post #4

Congratulations on getting a head start on your career. Now go to college. Seriously. Start at JC. You'll kill it. Then transfer to the best university you can get into; that would be Berkeley. There's a shit ton to learn at college and a lot of interesting people to meet. You'll have a better broader handle on things than knowing everything there is about Python.

Interesting you mention Berkeley. I was visiting my sister there just this last weekend and have since considered applying. It seemed like a great place with lots of happy young people!

I do not think you can apply now as a freshman. That day came and went 3+ years ago. Your route would be through junior college. It's a fine route.

Dunno where you live but go to JC. Consider moving to where there's a good JC. Kill it. Start slow, take a couple of classes and slaughter them. You need a minimum number of credits to transfer and there's a maximum as well.

Berkeley has one application per year, in the Fall. So if you start in January, you could almost be transfer read by application time. You really have to learn about requirements and articulation agreements and deadlines.

Transferring into Berkeley. You apply to the UC, 4 campuses. You apply to a school (Engineering or L+S or ...) and a major. You need to be a competitive applicant in that major. In EECS you need to kill it. Not impossible, not easy.

All of the UCs are awesome. Berkeley is incredibly tough, Marine Corps tough. Not a happy place at all, but worth it. The workload in EECS is harder than the Valley.

Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#8

Post by UzhasKakoi »

Take time off ... relax ... and I don't mean a week. :) May be travel to a place you always wanted to see .. like Barcelona. As experience of Zuckerberg, Jobs, Gates, ..., Ellison showed college is not a must. If you learned software, you can learn everything on your own. You may look at Thiel's scholarship. Peter pays $100K for young talents NOT to go to college. I have nothing against college. But why pay insane money the system charges, if most of what you need you can learn on your own? As for Berkley, you can meet the same happy people without spending ....

Re: Ask HN: Burned out 21 year old software developer, what's next?

#10

Post by cohenaa »

CalChris wrote: post #7
funfunfunction wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting you mention Berkeley. I was visiting my sister there just this last weekend and have since considered applying. It seemed like a great place with lots of happy young people!

I do not think you can apply now as a freshman. That day came and went 3+ years ago. Your route would be through junior college. It's a fine route. Dunno where you live but go to JC. Consider moving to where there's a good JC. Kill it. Start slow, take a couple of classes and slaughter them. You need a minimum number of credits to transfer and there's a maximum as well. Berkeley has one application per year, in the F…

This is absolutely wrong, you can definitely apply to any college you want at any age you want, I went to an Ivy League school and had classmates that were in their mid 20s/30s. I agree that going to college is absolutely the right advice -- but since you already have technical skills, I would study something other than CS, depending on your interests. You have the skills, and the breadth of a more diverse education will make you a more well-rounded human being than more CS.
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