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Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

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Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#31

Post by thwaway02 »

5350-uiop-1130 wrote: post #7
francis-io wrote: post #6

I think you have to take a break. Step back for a bit. When you come back, find out what really interested you in tech in the first place and follow that. The fact you think 300+ people are applying to the same jobs means the market might be saturated with those skills. Do you think you might have let your own skill set stagnate?

> Do you think you might have let your own skill set stagnate? yes, definitely. although i worked a lot with node and react, building electron apps, cli tools, browsers extensions - but i just don't enjoy it anymore. and i don't have experience building large scale production apps with the latest trendy stacks. > The fact you think 300+ people are applying to the same jobs means the market might be saturated with tho…

> which i refused to learn, since i already know javascript. once static type checking became a requirement in front end is like the intersection for when i became a dinosaur.

I doubt you are a dinosaur for not learning Typescript. You should be able to pickup Typescript if you are motivated, but that is hard to find when you are depressed. From your description it seems that you have all the background skills necessary, even though you have not had the energy to keep up with all the latest trends due to depression and other health issues.

As others said, you need to work on the root cause (maybe burnout or depression). You should contact a professional to help you manage this and get your energy back

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#32

Post by CapsAdmin »

5350-uiop-1130 wrote: post #7
francis-io wrote: post #6

I think you have to take a break. Step back for a bit. When you come back, find out what really interested you in tech in the first place and follow that. The fact you think 300+ people are applying to the same jobs means the market might be saturated with those skills. Do you think you might have let your own skill set stagnate?

> Do you think you might have let your own skill set stagnate? yes, definitely. although i worked a lot with node and react, building electron apps, cli tools, browsers extensions - but i just don't enjoy it anymore. and i don't have experience building large scale production apps with the latest trendy stacks. > The fact you think 300+ people are applying to the same jobs means the market might be saturated with tho…

> its usually some typescript challenge or something like that - which i refused to learn, since i already know javascript. once static type checking became a requirement in front end is like the intersection for when i became a dinosaur.

Did you refuse to learn because it seems pointless, the interview excersize seems pointless or is it because it's overwhelming at this point in your career?

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#33

Post by wruza »

Round age crisis multiplied by burnout, I feel ya. Not a us/eu citizen but same issues. My plan is to finish the current project, get a bonus and just chill for a year or so with therapy.

I have similar thoughts, but when I think about life and jobs and reality, logically my gut feelings do not make sense. Plenty of people around who seem okay but do not express any significant “depth”. It shouldn’t be that hard, so what is my true concern and what are the goals?

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#34

Post by cyphax »

I love programming languages and software design, but I was burnt out on doing this full-time (or even 4 days a week), after over 15 years of doing mostly legacy projects and web. It only scratched a certain itch. At some point I'd scratched too much and it became a sore spot and the only programming I did anymore was for work, no longer on the side. I left the commercial space to go into education and teach software development (and related) courses. This combines everything I feel like I should be doing: pass on knowledge, help people and contribute something meaningful to society as well as the curriculum. I also regained the energy and will to learn new things and become a better programmer. (A disclaimer: I was always attracted to this job and have been wanting it for over 10 years, I know it's not a general advice as much as an example of changing my role completely but still doing what I actually love doing, technology wise (and socially))

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#35

Post by dunkelheit »

First, you need to take a big break, a couple of months at least. The less computing-related activities the better. The summer hasn't ended yet, do some outdoorsy stuff with other people. Depending on your situation of course, it may not be possible. Then just radically cut back on work and try to spend more time with your loved ones.

Second, you need to get your love for technology back. It is still there, but it manifests as hate. My theory of burnout is that it arises when the amount of effort you put in is disproportionally large compared to perceived payoffs. The brain just does a ROI calculation and refuses to put more effort in. To combat that, you need some easy successes. Try doing some small fun project and bring it to completion (for some definition of completion that makes you excited). This should bring back your confidence and excitement.

Third, you need to think strategically about your career. The truth is, for run-off-the-mill web development returns on experience taper off after a few years, so you are at disadvantage compared to younger folks that haven't lost their enthusiasm yet and are prepared to work long hours for less pay. So to make yourself desirable in the eyes of employers, you have to offer them something those people don't have. One option is to go into management (no need to scoff at it, it is hard, offers plenty of opportunity for growth and is exactly the area where older folks can shine). Another is to specialize and become an "expert in X" - maybe in some subject area or in distributed systems or machine learning. Think about what most suits you.

Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#36

Post by csomar »

I had this problem a couple years ago and decided to invest in learning Rust. So far, I think it's starting to payout. Most companies that use Rust take software development seriously. Another language that I could think of is Ocaml (or any other lisp language). Barriers are higher/harder, but it should pay off.

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#37

Post by type0 »

badpun wrote: post #29
mkl wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not leverage what you know and build web-based products/services?

For a lot of people with technology taste, the web is offensive. Not to say that interfacing with say ugly Windows APIs is that much better, but at least you have way more control over the machine and your program, so (in systems programming) interfacing with ugly abstraction is only a minor part of your experience.

The trouble isn't just that it's offensive for people with technology understanding and taste, but the clients in web space often consider the tech and your work as disposable and they treat you as such.

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#38

Post by mkl95 »

hsn915 wrote: post #8

Web development as practiced by the majority of the industry is truly insane and depressing. No one has any idea what they are doing. Here's what I'm aiming to do: learn systems programming on the side, accumulate enough savings to live off of for nearly a year, then go independent and continue learning systems programming "as I go". Build software products on my own and start selling them.

I have spent my whole career in webdev and I couldn't agree more. A common pattern is that there's a bullshit-free option to solve some problem, but someone wants you to solve it in a stupid and painful way. I sometimes wish I was experienced in some other field so I could move on. The money is good but that's about it.

Re: Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?

#40

Post by OrangeMonkey »

kolinko wrote: post #39

Quoted post unavailable.

Look, we have someone who is depressed and the answer is to suggest blockchain/web3/crypto?

The entire crypto space is filled with scammers / barkers trying to get others to join the cult since it can make their electronic pesos a bit more expensive. Suggesting this to someone going through a rough time is borderline immoral. Please don't.

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