Ask HN: I don't want to work in software anymore. Where do I go?
I live in NYC and I have about 6 years of experience. Out of the 4 jobs I've had, I loved one of them, but I just couldn't bear the rest. I love building software, and I've worked with a lot of great people, but the overall culture just isn't for me. I have been abused too many times. I don't know what to do now. And, I am worried that if I do enter another industry, it won't actually be different than where I am now. I don't have a degree, so I'm assuming I have to start from scratch. Some options I've been considering:
1. New career. Maybe a trade? Aviation maintenance? Nothing specific sticks out to me. 2. Move to another country. This was prev recommended to me after I mentioned my job didn't treat me like I was human - apparently European countries (Denmark, Sweden) are much better? 3. Find a new job. But, I don't know how to find one that I would like, if it is even possible. 4. Learn how to deal with a bad job. I don't know how to do this, or if it is even possible, or if it's a good idea. 5. Start my own company. I would love to do this. But, I don't have a lot in savings. Maybe I could try finding a part time job just to stay afloat?
What do you recommend?
That's such an intensely personal decision that is affected by so many things that strangers can't possible know about that I don't know if anyone could usefully respond to your broad question.
I would question whether the problem is that you don't want to be in the field at all, or that you are fed up with specific positions/companies that are a poor fit for you. You only have 4 jobs in your history, and having 3 of them suck can be pretty gloomy.
So maybe consider doing contract-to-hire, where you're working 6 month (or so) contracts. That lets you sample the work environment at different companies and when you find one that works well for you, you'd have the option to stay as a permanent employee.
Thanks! I appreciate the feedback. You have a great point about the field vs specific company. I've never really considered contract work before, but it sounds like that could be a good option to consider :)
Great advice from the parent comment.
I'll throw these random ideas in along with it:
- Work/life balance is something you enforce on your own. Learn to get over fear of being fired (an emergency fund helps) and simply refuse to follow unspoken toxic overwork culture. I have found that more likely than not, nobody actually notices that you aren't working as hard as all the 10x developers that have no life and the people who imitate them.
- On the topic of "field versus company," another aspect to keep in mind is that the actual job of software development is very different in different industries. Moving to the same job in a different industry may feel a lot different and have much different norms regarding workload, culture, compensation, etc.
- Don't forget that desk jobs in software are still some of the best work you can do overall. Not only is it a desk job where you are generally treated like an adult, it's one of the higher paying ones at that. Think very hard about the grass on the other side of that fence. Your example of aviation mechanic sounds like it could be ripe for shit work conditions (physical job, being out in the elements, having to go on location physically 100% of the time, working for extremely low-profit-margin companies, I would think that it's only decent if it's got a strong union and that in itself will be a barrier for you getting into it)
- Consider how you evaluate companies during job interviews. Focus on finding out if the company, manager, and team is the right fit for you. Spend less headspace on trying to impress the company and make sure they are impressing you. (I am not sure if this is true but I think a lot of candidates who do this in interviews are perceived as knowing what they're doing because they are expressing a very clear idea of what they want out of the role)
- There are other ways to use software developer skills that aren't a software development job directly. One example is working on the customer side in pre-sales or post-sales.
You don't say what kind of software and for whom. One thing I suggest, if you haven't done it, is working on software, but for companies that don't ship software or software services. Stay away from the big tech companies, look for something small and somewhat local. You don't want to be the FAANG "cattle, not pets"
One of the most enjoyable jobs I had was working for a small company that made [digital] audio equipment (before that was possible on a PC) - we had sound systems in every office and a small recording studio in the basement. Most of the engineers were also musicians. We had software people, analog people, and music and radio production people.
I think small is the better description vs non-software company. Many non-software companies, especially larger ones, seem to treat devs poorly or have poor environment. After all, in those companies IT is a cost and not a revenue generator.
Read the book - what color is your parachute.
It will help you figure out the type of career that will work for you.
In particular, knowing the ‘language’ that you speak… will help you find the right career path.
A language being… do you enjoy working with numbers, with people, outdoors… etc…
I bet you could find a better cultural fit and be a lot happier while still doing what you love. There are vastly different cultures across different companies, particularly in startups and mid-size.
I took a break from city life and regular work for a year while I lived and traveled in an RV doing contract work. It was fun for a while, but I missed having a challenge and feeling like I had a stake in what I’m working on. I now work remotely in a town that has nothing to do with tech, and my friends here work largely in tourism and real estate. They all get treated like shit compared to software engineers. It made me thankful for my place in life. I’m likely moving back to the SF Bay Area after my lease ends here.
I feel like cultural fit is hard to really know in an interview. I've definitely seen different cultures even in different departments at the same large company. But it seems like the true culture only comes out after at least one performance rating cycle.
If you don't mind sharing, can you talk about the kind of abuse you faced?
I don't know, it seems like you have many opportunities.
Try comedy! Making good, funny content is hard. I think if you try hard, you can do it, eventually. The world needs it right now.
That's just a random suggestion. As others said, without a clear background on your intentions, it's impossible to know what to suggest.
Do you want to work for others in software field or Do you hate it even for your own project / hobby projects?
I could write down my experiences many peoples will cry so hard under my comment so better I will leave a quote.
"Whatever you do, Knew it before start"
Tax Accountant would be my second choice career. If I had been born at an earlier decade, it's where I would have landed.
Firstly I would recommend therapy and resilience training. Throwing out the word “abused” at 3 of 4 jobs raises my eyebrow a bit. I’m not saying you weren’t, but statistically speaking there might also be something going on with you that will make many jobs hateful. Addressing that now will make whatever choice you make more likely to be successful. As for other places, I’d 100% recommend moving to Northern Europe. They simply treat people better there. You might find that doing software at a big boring European company wildly different from tech In manhattan. If you start applying now the job could be your pathway to residency.
If I were looking for a trade I’d probably apprentice as a plumber or electrician. But that work can be stressful and demanding too so start by working on yourself so you practice dealing with stress better.
When I was in a situation like that I used Po Bronson's "What Should I do with My Life" and the Strengths Finder survey. It helped confirm something that I was already planning.
I also came back to software later.