291–300 of 754 posts
A view of technology : Watch an old movie and notice the many improvements in economic productivity, standard of living, quality of life. E.g.: To get salt, had to travel to the local village. For this had to saddle up or harness a horse or two. Now can get the salt delivered or eat in a restaurant or drive to the village on a smooth road in a car with HVAC. Car tires used to wear out in about 15,000 miles and were s…
Most of your problems sound like they stemmed from VC. Similar story. It's a good, and hard, lesson. Two things one should not touch when it comes to building healthy companies in 2020: crypto and equity sales to VC. They're going to become fossils soon anyhow [1]. Read Rework by Basecamp. Read The Beginning of Infinity by Deutch. Read the Art of Doing Science and Engineering by Hamming. Watch some Bret Victor talks.…
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If your expectations are not shipping with many bugs and avoiding serious blow ups then yes that's a fine way to do things. And if we're happy relying on a single SWE (what happens if you get hit by the proverbial bus?) then yes that's fine too. And if we never need to scale then SSHing into 100s of boxes is fine too. Most of my job is replacing stuff like you describe. And it's definitely not fine. Nobody knows how…
Agreed, but who can you really get mad at? The lone, inevitably overworked SWE that was asked to shoulder the entire burden of the business he worked for? Or management, who most likely denied that SWE the support he wanted? In my last job I'd advocate tirelessly for unit tests, code reviews, all that. And it was always denied. Ironic given that the other engineers I worked with were MEs, who had notebooks full of pr…
There are plenty of SWEs that just don't know any better. I know because I was one of them while writing a lot of software for a business.
> I lost many friends. They weren't ever your friends. People at work rarely transcend beyond co-workers and into actual friendship. If all you do together is work and around-work activities, they probably aren't your friends. You're effectively people locked in a cage together that happen to get along. If you get together on days you don't work together then they might actually be your friend. If they've met your no…
I feel that Americans tend to use the term "friend" a lot more casually than, say, the Japanese. In Japan, your boss is never your friend. Neither is your teachers, colleagues, parents or siblings. A "friend" in Japan is somewhat closer to a soulmate, and not surprisingly we don't have many (for some people, not at all).
People will say you're burned out, and they're not wrong... but this doesn't address the substance of the issue. To be an engineer or a scientist today means tolerating a lot of the things you've mentioned. I would amend your list to engineers that had a passion for EE and value human life (who doesn't?) but took a job at Raytheon. The things you identify are valid issues. If you're worn so thin you can't ignore them…
I'm curious to what you think is the fundamental nature of science and engineering. Is science only intellectual curiosity just for the sake of it?
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I would also like to add that therapy is not just for the mentally ill, and nothing to be ashamed of. Navigating your career, and life in general, is tough and a good therapist can help put it in perspective. I personally went to therapy weekly for about six months to help deal with the impact of burnout on my life. I think I came away from it a more capable person.
I have an odd fear of going to a therapist in the bay area - when all my issues are caused by being yet another bay area stereotype. Do you think therapists get tired of dealing with people who are just unhappy with their job in a bubble?
Do I think that your therapist would judge you for your problems? Absolutely not, if they are even an OK therapist. They are professionals, and are not trying to be your friend.
Another thing. The first therapist I went to sucked. She had me doing worksheets and other stuff that just didn’t work for me. I ended up switching (my wife made me switch) to a new therapist and it was a huge difference. If you do end up trying therapy, remember that this is a professional situation. You wouldn’t go to the same bad sandwich shop for lunch every day. If your therapist isn’t working for you, and you have given them a honest try, just switch therapists.
Ultimately, therapy was a leap of faith that I’m glad I took.
It doesn't sound like the poster's complaints are anything tech-specific, just that (s)he chose to deploy their optimism in the general direction of the tech industry, and can't deal with the fact that the industry just doesn't work in an altogether idealistic, altruistic manner. I question whether their subsequent employment is truly "better" in those regards, or if their standards are merely lower/more cynical.
I don't know how to say "don't have expectations that high" in a way that's any more useful than telling a depressed person to "stop being depressed", but while I can see WHY they've burned out, I just can't come up with a "solution".
Karmanye vadhika raste, Ma phaleshu kadachana Ma karma phala he tur bhuh, ma te sangotsva karmanye
You have a right to “Karma” (actions) but never to any Fruits thereof. You should never be motivated by the results of your actions, nor should there be any attachment in not doing your prescribed activities.
If you do, you immediately get used to the income, and then you get addicted. Not in a "high" sense, but you start expecting the best things for your kids. And then you're stuck for the next 20 years.
I'd say spend the first five years with kids in a lower-income role (assuming that's where you are now). Get used to that. Then if you're tempted by tech career again you can try it out and jump back out if you want.
I've been thinking about quitting and going to work at a grocery store for a while. It's not going to pay well but it'll pay more than being dead if you know what I mean.