Ask HN: Am I just burnt out or should I find a new career?

[amiburntout]

Hey HN,

Since I was a little kid I was fascinated by computers and loved tinkering with them. I always saw them as a hobby and always thought it was kind of cool that I could make them do things. I went to college and got myself a liberal arts degree.

After graduating I found a job for a small IT consulting firm. The firm was in desperate need of IT talent, and I could scrabble together some code to make things happen so I became a technical resource.

Since then I have gotten a tremendous amount of mentorship and support, and I feel like I have the respect of some of the more senior developers. The company is still strapped for technical resources, and I feel like I'm being pushed to work 10 hours days to fill the gaps. The challenges of writing software that I used to find exciting and pleasurable are consuming my life.

Should I be looking for a job in another industry and keep programming as a hobby? Should I be looking for a role in a product company, where my value add to my company isn't the billable hours that I put on my timesheet? Is it feasible to find a decent job without going backwards since I don't have a CS degree?

[TDL]

If I was in your position I would begin looking for a position in another company in a similar role (it's not clear what type of projects your are taking on.) It's great that you have been provided with mentorship & support, but, working 10 hours a day is not sustainable over the long term. This company sounds like many others in consulting; get bodies in chairs, sign on more business than can be handled, and crack the whip.

Start out attending technical meetups (the language your are writing in or a topic your are interested in, preferebly both) in your locale. Build your professional network and don't feel bad about asking if a company/startup is hiring. I would also start saving every last dime in case you get to the point where you are completely burnt out and just have to quit (not ideal, but might happen.) You are probably going to have to slog through a bit more before you find an opportunity.

[JSeymourATL]

> Am I just burnt out or should I find a new career?

When the work and long days are no longer enjoyable, and your role is perceived as low-value-- yes, that's an obvious signal for change in status quo.

> Is it feasible to find a decent job?

Yes, of course-- Can you now find a way to leverage your experience into something more rewarding? Where do you belong?

On this subject, Peter Drucker offers excellent food--for-thought > http://academic.udayton.edu/lawrenceulrich/LeaderArticles/Dr...

[saluki]

That's why they call it work.

Sometimes you'll run in to patches where development work isn't fun, but most people don't find their work fun.

I, like you, do enjoy being a developer but there are patches/tasks that come up that are definitely work.

Look at your current position:

What do you have:

Are you paid well?

Are you learning new things?

Do you have some flexibility in your schedule?

Are you being taken advantage of?

What are your goals:

Working on different projects?

Learning a new language?

Working Remotely?

Think about your goals and what you can change/do to achieve them.

Talking to your boss:

I wouldn't approach it as I'm burned out or I can't do this.

If you would like to manage someone I'd approach it as I need someone under me that I can manage to do some of the busy work, minor tasks. This will free you up for more complex work, sounds like you're having to do it all. You could transition into a sr. dev role and become one of the mentors.

If you're not interested or know they wouldn't hire someone under you, or maybe your company isn't setup like that you could approach it as I'm spending too much time on busy work and not able to focus on the more complex technical tasks.

Sometimes it's good to level up by changing jobs. But be careful of the grass is greener syndrome. Typically changing jobs is leveling up in pay and responsibilities.

Or you might just need a vacation or a hobby or more activities outside of work to be more of your focus instead of work being a major focus.

Good luck figuring it out.

[notduncansmith]

Get recommendations from the senior developers you mentioned, take a vacation, and find a job at a product company, or a consultancy that bills by the day rather than the hour.

Don't worry about the degree - I don't have one at all and I found my way out of a situation similar to yours. Anyone who would reject you based on the lack of a CS degree is someone you don't want to work for.

[coroxout]

Sorry I can't offer much advice but I hope you find a way out of this rut.

How long have you been with this company? If you've been there for over a year (and/or have a good portfolio, github profile, etc) I'd say that would help your chances to be hired without a CS degree.

However, if you're not close to that and the job is really bringing you down that much, don't stay just to get to a milestone like that. Sadly overlong days do seem (in my opinion) to be quite prevalent in IT, though, so try to get a good feel for the work/life balance at any new job before moving on.

I'm afraid since I don't do hiring and am probably in a different country (I assume you're in the US) I don't know what the market will be like otherwise, but hopefully someone else will reply soon...

[realtarget]

Well, to be honest, nearly all other answers say: Search a new job. But this will be just an escape from a usually solvable problem.

Just try to speak to your boss and tell him your wishes and demands. A satisfied worker is always better than somebody who resigns or burns out.

[amiburntout]

I was considering something like this. I guess I'm worried that saying I can't handle the workload will make me less likely to be looked at for new projects. Have you, or anyone else reading this thread, had success with a conversation like this and have any pointers?

[realtarget]

Not me in person, but a colleague. The boss was very open minded and told him that he did not recognize that he was overloaded. It's important to differentiate between overchallenged and overloaded. You seem to be overloaded but not overchallenged - and this needs to be communicated to your prinipal (absolutely certain!).

[Zelmor]

Don't worry about the degree. Create a decent linked in profile, connect your github page if any and cut back on workhours. Firefighting without proper resources is not worth it, and companies sacrifice individuals easily this way - one bit at a time.