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by WoodenChair 3942 days ago
> Is there any kind of a career that you know of that I might still succeed in? Something where a week here and there of being stuck in I-fucking-want-to-curl-up-and-cry mode isn't a deal breaker?

Academia.

I would also add though that from reading this - read it back to yourself - maybe you don't really love programming - or at least being a programmer at big corporations. Maybe you haven't yet found what you really love? It sounds like you're <40, so the good news is you still have plenty of time to find what you love.
2 comments
zenbowman 3942 days ago
Academia is far more cutthroat and stressful than programming. It is not even close.

Coming to industry after being in academia was like being on permanent vacation.

One thing I would recommend: Try a programming job outside the Valley, preferably somewhere where tangible goods are produced. It doesn't have to be outside the technology industry, technology companies are not limited to Internet startups. Big oil, the automotive industry, defense and aerospace, these are all industries whose primary business is the development of technology.

And even "non-technical" companies like Walmart have demonstrated a lot more technical prowess than the average trendy startup, and my guess is that the hours are very reasonable.

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WoodenChair 3942 days ago
Of course your experience is as anecdotal as mine - I find academia much more forgiving than startup land/corporate land. It's also worth noting that academia is a broad term with many different professions encompassed within it.
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27182818284 3941 days ago
>Academia.

Do you mean as staff or as a tenured professor? Otherwise this is not true at the different universities I've worked for. Staff still file for time off in a unified HR system. Staff have to file with FMLA or whatever when those situations come up. The submitter would be ordered to a joint meeting with an HR staffer and their direct report. Both will repeat over and over again they want to help and then send the employee to the Employee Assistance Program that various colleges have, etc. It is absolutely not a place you could just take off for a week. Even if your boss was cool (most are, it is academia) the CPAs and HRs in the other buildings aren't as cool.

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