Hi HN,
Long time lurker and occasional contributor here. I recently moved to a "high-growth" Startup after spending some significant time in enterprise/corporate. It turned out be a mutual "culture mis-fit" issue. I am burnt-out within the first two weeks of being there and I have asked them to terminate my employment immediately so that I can file for unemployment with state of California(my home state). Right now I am in a technical non-software/Hardware role and have been for the last 20 years since graduating from Grad-school. I tried pivoting into the "next shiny object" several times to no-avail(AR/VR/DS/ML/AI). I even tried getting into the whole "Leetcode" FAANG rat race and eventually gave up on that. I am contemplating on what my next potential career move could be. Truth be told, I have the financial security both from my savings, 401Ks and a spouse who is gainfully employed in a tech role at one of the Big-tech companies(that has a product in every "office"). So, I could just "retire" now and pursue other things. But, I want to lead a productive life , doing something meaningful and worthwhile with the time active work time I have on my hands(I am 47 will turn 48 this feb). Son will be off to college next year and won't have any time pressures. His college fund is taken care of. 80,000 hrs was suggested before. And so was techjobsforgood mentioned before (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40325501). A few of my core-strengths - I am generally a good person to be around, have always made good relationships with my peers and external vendors. So though not a people manager person, I like working with people. Sorry for the rant, but I am in huge mental turmoil and any iota of collective wisdom from HN would just save me not just my career but my "mid-life crisis" as well. I find posting this to HN much more therapeutic than to say "Chat with GPT". Thanks for reading.
Ask HN: Career Burnout Looking for Options
1–10 of 29 posts
Re: Ask HN: Career Burnout Looking for Options
#2Sorry that you are experiencing this.
It's hard to give advice on this sort of topic because I think it is very personal and everyone has unique circumstances.
Have you considered just taking some time off, potentially focusing on hobbies or personal projects and maybe after some so called "down" time an answer would be more clear?
Re: Ask HN: Career Burnout Looking for Options
#3I would echo the sentiment of taking some time. The way to think of this is not as "time off" - but acknowledging that you have the time and space (and resources) to thoughtfully consider your next move. Don't make important decisions under a time-pressure that is self-imposed. Instead, take a month to consider what you want to do during the next state of life - and be grateful that you have the opportunity to consider your next move from this point of view.
Re: Ask HN: Career Burnout Looking for Options
#4Sorry that you are experiencing this. It's hard to give advice on this sort of topic because I think it is very personal and everyone has unique circumstances. Have you considered just taking some time off, potentially focusing on hobbies or personal projects and maybe after some so called "down" time an answer would be more clear?
Thanks!. Yes. Definitely one of the TOP priorities right now is to "Take the time off" and assess my priorities. In fact, my sons's College Apps could use some help :-)
Re: Ask HN: Career Burnout Looking for Options
#5If you only had 1 year left to live, what would you do?
Do that. If it gets old, switch gears immediately.
As far as we all know, today could be the last for any of us. Less planning, more living/doing/going.
Re: Ask HN: Career Burnout Looking for Options
#6I would echo the sentiment of taking some time. The way to think of this is not as "time off" - but acknowledging that you have the time and space (and resources) to thoughtfully consider your next move. Don't make important decisions under a time-pressure that is self-imposed. Instead, take a month to consider what you want to do during the next state of life - and be grateful that you have the opportunity to consid…
Thanks!. Very thoughtfully framed around gratitude.
Re: Ask HN: Career Burnout Looking for Options
#7If you only had 1 year left to live, what would you do? Do that. If it gets old, switch gears immediately. As far as we all know, today could be the last for any of us. Less planning, more living/doing/going.
interesting thought. I have this "side project" that I started working with some ex-colleagues that I could see sprouting some legs. My CA UI(unemployment insurance) benefits could potentially fund this for the time being when I do some soul searching and contemplating.
Re: Ask HN: Career Burnout Looking for Options
#8Sorry that you are experiencing this. It's hard to give advice on this sort of topic because I think it is very personal and everyone has unique circumstances. Have you considered just taking some time off, potentially focusing on hobbies or personal projects and maybe after some so called "down" time an answer would be more clear?
Thanks!. Yes. Definitely one of the TOP priorities right now is to "Take the time off" and assess my priorities. In fact, my sons's College Apps could use some help :-)
What worked for me (not saying this will work for you but just to give ideas) is I told myself I couldn't do any sort of development for a couple of weeks at the very least. Get off the computer as much as possible and do other things.
I did a lot of walking, listening to and reading books/audiobooks, hanging out in coffee shops, meeting up with friends.
After my self imposed ban from the computer I started to get the itch to develop again and started working on stuff I wanted to work on and not something I was told to develop.
Re: Ask HN: Career Burnout Looking for Options
#9If you only had 1 year left to live, what would you do? Do that. If it gets old, switch gears immediately. As far as we all know, today could be the last for any of us. Less planning, more living/doing/going.
interesting thought. I have this "side project" that I started working with some ex-colleagues that I could see sprouting some legs. My CA UI(unemployment insurance) benefits could potentially fund this for the time being when I do some soul searching and contemplating.
This is the right answer I think
I did this a few years ago after the layoff wave and it was transformative
Re: Ask HN: Career Burnout Looking for Options
#10Do you like working? If you like working and solving problems, it sounds like you have some time to learn new skills and find a company that would value your contributions.
There are small companies/startups that would presumably trade your experience and a desire to not be overworked for a moderate salary.
You obviously can't act like you're looking for a 'chill' job in the interview, but you can be on the lookout for companies that are a bit more relaxed, and if you aren't trying to maximize your comp, they probably will be OK if you don't put in 'startup hours'