Ask HN: Bored working for the current company, advice?

I'm tired of working at my current company as an employee mainly due to how the company is being managed for the last ~5 years and considering moving to contracting or another company with more flexibility (4 days week?) and maybe a better career path. I was a contractor when I moved to the UK to work for the current company.

Might be too specific to my case, but maybe someone out there has gone through something similar in the past/recently?

About me: from EU, early 40s, 2 kids and wife, over 15 years experience as full stack dev, based in the UK working for the same company for 7+ years in a stable full stack role remotely since the pandemic as the company sole dev/sysadmin, earning £60k+ ($66k) per year.

About the company: small/medium(?) size company (13 employees + 1 owner/director, ~£15m ($16m) turnover per year), 12+ years trading, I report to the director.

I feel stuck and bored as there is no progress to be made due to it being a private owned business with one director. A lot of decisions taken benefit the director personally instead of the company as a whole.

I want more time to get back in education, but working 9-5/Mon-Fri is really draining and when I finish work I just want to get some rest. I have 3 months emergency fund that could pay for the house expenses if I decide to leave.

There are no benefits except what's required by law (28 holidays, including bank holidays, 3% pension match), no education budget, no perks.

Perhaps I need to look for a bigger company with a better career path? Maybe get back to contracting?

Thanks

I was in a similar position and went half time and got my masters . The main benefit being that it allows me to get back into the student pipeline via internships and get an opportunity at a company that otherwise wouldn't have looked at my resume. Once I was in the door, I blew most of the other interns out of the water because I had significantly more development experience and was offered a job.

I would definitely try to get something new before quitting. But that might be easier said than done if you’re already burning out.

I agree on the negotiation skill point! I always read a few lines of a book about how to negotiate before every meeting with my boss. That way I am seldom caught off guard!

With your very limited runway I'd get another offer with another employer first. That immediately strengthens your negotiation position with your current employer, even if you have zero intention of taking the offer.

Basically start doing some interviews now. You'll probably have to brush up for those as well, and practice.

> I feel stuck and bored > Working 9-5/Mon-Fri is really draining

These two statements are contradictory imo. Figure out whether you want to stay in your comfort zone, or take a step in another direction.