If having a great job that you love and pays well were easy, everyone would be doing it. Jobs suck, unless you're lucky and a big risk pays off. And it's not burnout. Most tech jobs are just fucking boring, and nobody can get excited about technology after being mind-fucked all day by it. My suggestion is to get a non-tech job.
I quit my job
71–80 of 197 posts
Re: I quit my job
#72This is why you don't work for a startup because it's a startup. Find something that you are passionate about. Work in that area. Be it freelance, at a startup or at a larger company. Too often people stay at startups because it's the new cool, and anyone not "doing a startup" is apparently an idiot. It's very far from the truth, and my life was a lot happier once I realised that.
For a long time I thought I wanted to work at a startup, but it turns out that what I want just sort of correlates with being a startup. As long as I can be creative and build things of value for real people while improving my skills without being micro-managed, I'm happy.
Everything else is just aesthetic.
Re: I quit my job
#73>>Eventually, those discussions stopped. Shots were called in private meetings and passed down. This is terrible, and would also make me want to quit. Because if you start as part of the decision making process, and over time stop being invited to those meetings, that means you are no longer trusted or important enough to have any say in those decisions. That would be insulting, to say the least.
Something very similar happened to me at a startup a few years ago and it took me a long time to realize what had happened and why I felt so terrible about it. Even though my title, salary, and perks were still the same, it was a de-facto demotion . Important parts of my compensation (involvement, agency, sense of ownership, diversity in work effort) were just inadvertently phased out as the company I helped grow was…
The corporate world is even more so plagued by this occurrence and explains why there are so many people in roles that they shouldn't be.
Re: I quit my job
#74If you're in a similar position and this resonates with you, do yourself a favor and just quit. Seriously. Stop waiting for things to get interesting. They won't. It's so easy to get stuck. If you're good at what you do, you'll find a job you love immediately (if that's what you're looking for). As developers, we're fortunate to be in extremely high demand. Life is too short to be bored. Work on interesting things.
Sorry dude, I disagree. As an employee, an employer, and an investor, I see your action as a giant red flag.
It could be viewed as a red flag, but should you be interviewing this person, you'd likely not hear the story framed this way at all. The folks he leaves behind, should you pursue a reference, would probably also have a different version.
Re: I quit my job
#75>>Eventually, those discussions stopped. Shots were called in private meetings and passed down. This is terrible, and would also make me want to quit. Because if you start as part of the decision making process, and over time stop being invited to those meetings, that means you are no longer trusted or important enough to have any say in those decisions. That would be insulting, to say the least.
This is the difference between having your own company and working for someone else's company.
I hate this cop out response. It's just not true. There are plenty of transparent companies that value the input of their employees and clue them in as to whats going on. There doesn't have to be a top-down decision making process that runs through the hierarchy. Especially when there are only 10 people at the company.
Re: I quit my job
#76Must be nice not to need to work for a living. Remind me never to hire this quitter.
Re: I quit my job
#77>>Eventually, those discussions stopped. Shots were called in private meetings and passed down. This is terrible, and would also make me want to quit. Because if you start as part of the decision making process, and over time stop being invited to those meetings, that means you are no longer trusted or important enough to have any say in those decisions. That would be insulting, to say the least.
Something very similar happened to me at a startup a few years ago and it took me a long time to realize what had happened and why I felt so terrible about it. Even though my title, salary, and perks were still the same, it was a de-facto demotion . Important parts of my compensation (involvement, agency, sense of ownership, diversity in work effort) were just inadvertently phased out as the company I helped grow was…
Important parts of my compensation (involvement, agency, sense of ownership, diversity in work effort) were just inadvertently phased out
That's a neat observation, and a pattern I've seen before. As the company (or team, within a larger company) grows, it's possible to lose some of the things you most value about your job -- without even realising it.
The company and management have the best intentions at heart for you, the team and the product -- but is this an inevitable side-effect of growth?
Also, the reason I became a product manager in the first place was because I found the specific stuff you mention invigorating, and coding became a distraction from it; I wouldn't diss all product managers with the same brush, it's just an unfortunate trap that if you're a good engineer then people probably don't think you want to be more product-focused, and don't want to lose your coding contributions.
Re: I quit my job
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure if you're being serious or not.. Especially since you profile reads: I'm on sabbatical.
I'm actually fairly serious. I've been bored before, so I hear you. But, I guess I'm kind of surprised that you chose to jump into nothing rather than parlay your way to something else. Seems a little impulsive. Impulsive is a red flag, despite what many on HN think (you can be impulsive, but you better be brilliant too). Now you've got to explain a gap in your res to a potential employer (should you choose to go tha…
An experienced developer does not lack for job offers. You can spend your entire life taking people up on those offers and never get around to doing your own thing. For most people on Earth, historically, that's not a bad place to be: it beats the hell out of starving. But if you have the luxury to do it, I think it's less impulsive than you imagine.
Re: I quit my job
#79I don't understand the mindset of "oh, I'm just going to cook and do things and write some code sometimes". I mean that in an envious way -- it sounds nice. But I just can't think that way for some reason. I didn't grow up with a lot of security so not having money come in is really stressful for me, even if I have savings.
Re: I quit my job
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
Something very similar happened to me at a startup a few years ago and it took me a long time to realize what had happened and why I felt so terrible about it. Even though my title, salary, and perks were still the same, it was a de-facto demotion . Important parts of my compensation (involvement, agency, sense of ownership, diversity in work effort) were just inadvertently phased out as the company I helped grow was…
Important parts of my compensation (involvement, agency, sense of ownership, diversity in work effort) were just inadvertently phased out That's a neat observation, and a pattern I've seen before. As the company (or team, within a larger company) grows, it's possible to lose some of the things you most value about your job -- without even realising it. The company and management have the best intentions at heart for…
I don't even mean to diss product managers. I realized that I basically am a product manager who also happens to be an effective technologist. I just have to find a job that lets me be both and realize that my needs may diverge from the needs of my employer, and that's OK.