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by selune 2656 days ago
Interesting. I quit psychology/counseling and work in tech now and the thought of my work being absolutely meaningless gives me a lot of anxiety, I hope I'll come to terms with it one day. Correction, I'm sure I'll come to terms with it but the transition is far from being smooth and takes longer than I expected.
2 comments
chasd00 2656 days ago
i really feel for people who drive themselves crazy over their work, its impact, and their overall purpose. My poor wife struggles and suffers constantly over these things year after year.

Maybe i'm just mentally handicapped in some way but i like to code and solve business problems and so i'm a consultant who codes and solves business problems. I've never thought about if my work is meaningful, it's impact whether good or bad, or worried i'm not pursuing the true purpose of my life. It just doesn't come to mind.

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selune 2655 days ago
You're not mentally handicapped, you're just in harmony with yourself which is amazing and very rare. :)

I would advise your wife to try volunteering (for whatever cause she finds important) if she hasn't already. I've started volunteering at a local NGO after switching careers and it's easily my favorite time of the month, gives me lots of energy and peace of mind, wish I could do it more often.

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Insanity 2656 days ago
If it's meaningless, maybe try a different industry? I develop healthcare software and consider that quite meaningful. Before that I've worked on OA repositories, another thing I find useful.

I'm not sure if I'd feel the same if I was work for a bank or something though.

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selune 2656 days ago
Yes, of course, there are lots of tech businesses that I would find myself content working for. I just don't really have the luxury of choice atm: started later in life, no solid CS background, immigrant, no real talent (to be honest) etc.

I'm sure it'll work out when I gain more experience. :)

I was a child psychologist (specializing in development and planned to go deeper into social work) and it was/is the biggest passion of my life, so switching to tech feels weird to put it mildly.

IT is fantastic, don't get me wrong, I would not go back.

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