Ask HN: Is anyone else just done with the industry? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else just done with the industry?

#51

Post by bluefirebrand » Fri, Jun 27, 2025, 4:17 AM UTC

Yes, you aren't alone

I'm exhausted and burned out too. I'm fortunate that I can take some time away from work to recover and hopefully regain some passion for this, but I'm strongly considering retraining for a different industry

I'm happy to talk, as someone also going through the same stuff. Let me know, I can drop some contact info

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else just done with the industry?

#52

Post by AdamH12113 » Fri, Jun 27, 2025, 4:19 AM UTC

MongooseStudios wrote: post #17

AdamH12113 wrote: post #11

If you're willing to leave Silicon Valley, there are a lot of small companies out there that need one or two or a handful of decent software developers to do useful but non-cutting-edge work. They can't pay Silicon Valley money, obviously, but you get to be a lot closer to other kinds of work, which you might find satisfying in its own way.

I actually specifically look for those smaller companies. I don't live in Silicon Valley, nor have I ever made Silicon Valley money. I've never wanted to live there and I haven't wanted to work for FAANG since Google did away with "don't be evil." If you happen to know where they are posting jobs, aside from the normal terrible job sites because I've been on them since November, I'm interested.

I wish I had something more specific for you, but my experience is more on the demand-adjacent side (as an EE) rather than directly on the software side. The companies I've worked at have posted on the regular job sites but mainly worked through recruiters. Companies do often post announcements on their LinkedIn, if they have one.

I share your frustration with the fad-driven, cramming-AI-into-everything, rent-seeking model of modern software, and I wish you luck in your search.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else just done with the industry?

#53

Post by bluefirebrand » Fri, Jun 27, 2025, 4:20 AM UTC

eikenberry wrote: post #19

AdamH12113 wrote: post #11

If you're willing to leave Silicon Valley, there are a lot of small companies out there that need one or two or a handful of decent software developers to do useful but non-cutting-edge work. They can't pay Silicon Valley money, obviously, but you get to be a lot closer to other kinds of work, which you might find satisfying in its own way.

How do you find these positions?

I would also like to know

I've never worked in Silicon Valley but every company I've worked for is infected with Silicon Valley brainrot

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else just done with the industry?

#54

Post by MongooseStudios » Fri, Jun 27, 2025, 4:23 AM UTC

AdamH12113 wrote: post #52

MongooseStudios wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually specifically look for those smaller companies. I don't live in Silicon Valley, nor have I ever made Silicon Valley money. I've never wanted to live there and I haven't wanted to work for FAANG since Google did away with "don't be evil." If you happen to know where they are posting jobs, aside from the normal terrible job sites because I've been on them since November, I'm interested.

I wish I had something more specific for you, but my experience is more on the demand-adjacent side (as an EE) rather than directly on the software side. The companies I've worked at have posted on the regular job sites but mainly worked through recruiters. Companies do often post announcements on their LinkedIn, if they have one. I share your frustration with the fad-driven, cramming-AI-into-everything, rent-seeking…

No LinkedIn, I couldn't take another "this is what appendicitis taught me about B2B sales" post. But I bothered all the recruiters I know and fed my resume into the paper shredder of all the companies candidate portal early on.

I suspect all those great little companies are either laying low or staffed up with the glut of ex- devs. Or the huge pool of ex federal employees who have lots of experience in "legacy" systems.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else just done with the industry?

#55

Post by MongooseStudios » Fri, Jun 27, 2025, 4:24 AM UTC

sbt wrote: post #39

Note that many companies are pretending to hire in order to look successful/growing. They might be willing to hire if some unicorn candidate comes along, but in practice the job ad is just marketing.

Saw that article a while back where even Glassdoor was admitting something like a third of their job posts were probably ghost jobs. I think that's hurting everyone though, all for the same reasons.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else just done with the industry?

#56

Post by tptacek » Fri, Jun 27, 2025, 4:26 AM UTC

MongooseStudios wrote: post #18

tptacek wrote: post #3

Hi! I've been doing this since 1994 (I started in the industry instead of going to college). I feel this way approximately once every 7-8 years. What I think I've learned is that I make stupid decisions reacting to those feelings.

Do those cycles happen to correspond with the tech market crashes? =)

No, my last one happened at a market peak.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else just done with the industry?

#57

Post by Animats » Fri, Jun 27, 2025, 4:32 AM UTC

MongooseStudios wrote: post #17

AdamH12113 wrote: post #11

If you're willing to leave Silicon Valley, there are a lot of small companies out there that need one or two or a handful of decent software developers to do useful but non-cutting-edge work. They can't pay Silicon Valley money, obviously, but you get to be a lot closer to other kinds of work, which you might find satisfying in its own way.

I actually specifically look for those smaller companies. I don't live in Silicon Valley, nor have I ever made Silicon Valley money. I've never wanted to live there and I haven't wanted to work for FAANG since Google did away with "don't be evil." If you happen to know where they are posting jobs, aside from the normal terrible job sites because I've been on them since November, I'm interested.

Here's a typical job in that category. Boring but practical Chicago Dryer.[1]

    Industrial Controls Engineer
    Chicago Dryer
    Chicago, IL

    $80,000 to $110,000 Yearly
    Vision, Medical, Dental, Paid Time Off, Life Insurance, Retirement
    Full-Time

    5+ years of experience in controls & software engineering
    High-level knowledge of one or more programming languages (C, Pascal(structured-text))
    Familiarity with Windows, Linux & Realtime operating systems
    Familiarity with electrical codes for industrial machinery
    Electrical design & CAD experience for automation-controls
    Solid knowledge of classical-physics (mechanics & motion)
    Mechanical aptitude and ability to work with hand tools
    Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills
    Ability to work well with personnel at all levels
    Beckhoff TwinCat3 experience is a plus
    Jira and GIT experience is a plus
    Electronics design & trouble-shooting is a plus

Leader in the heavy machinery that takes clean linen items after washing and dries, sorts, folds, and stacks them by the ton. There are vision systems and robotic grippers involved. They've been in business for over a century, building heavy duty laundry equipment. It's a very steady business. Probably good job security. The startups making all the noise in clothes folding, such as Foldimate and Laundroid, went bust. Chicago Dryer equipment processed a few tons of laundry while you were reading this.

That's what a blue-collar programming job looks like. But it will be a very clean blue collar.

[1] https://www.ziprecruiter.com/c/Chicago-Dryer/Job/Industrial-...

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else just done with the industry?

#58

Post by MongooseStudios » Fri, Jun 27, 2025, 4:34 AM UTC

bluefirebrand wrote: post #51

Yes, you aren't alone I'm exhausted and burned out too. I'm fortunate that I can take some time away from work to recover and hopefully regain some passion for this, but I'm strongly considering retraining for a different industry I'm happy to talk, as someone also going through the same stuff. Let me know, I can drop some contact info

I'm not terribly hard to find, but vibe checking all the Ask HN readers is about as much "talking about it" as I really want to do. I normally try to keep focused on the positive and use my time constructively. Happy to make a connection to do the latter though.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else just done with the industry?

#59

Post by paranoidroid » Fri, Jun 27, 2025, 4:38 AM UTC

I'm still trying to get my foot in the door. Ever since I started building 'raw' pages for people who had either "business ideas" or ran a 100 person sales team, no one has known or respected the difficulty of what goes into what we build or how it is actually a better solution than whatever they were asking for originally. Maybe once I actually break into the industry i will finally find a manager who understands what the solution is and how we get there in six months and equates that to a proper working solution instead of a internal-politics motivated project to get and edge over some other dept.

Re: Ask HN: Is anyone else just done with the industry?

#60

Post by MongooseStudios » Fri, Jun 27, 2025, 4:38 AM UTC

Animats wrote: post #57

MongooseStudios wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually specifically look for those smaller companies. I don't live in Silicon Valley, nor have I ever made Silicon Valley money. I've never wanted to live there and I haven't wanted to work for FAANG since Google did away with "don't be evil." If you happen to know where they are posting jobs, aside from the normal terrible job sites because I've been on them since November, I'm interested.

Here's a typical job in that category. Boring but practical Chicago Dryer.[1] Industrial Controls Engineer Chicago Dryer Chicago, IL $80,000 to $110,000 Yearly Vision, Medical, Dental, Paid Time Off, Life Insurance, Retirement Full-Time 5+ years of experience in controls & software engineering High-level knowledge of one or more programming languages (C, Pascal(structured-text)) Familiarity with Windows, Linux & Real…

How strict is something like that on the demands for CAD and Electrical Design stuff? Because I've never done any of that. I'd be happy to learn it, but that doesn't seem to matter anymore.