Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by matthewh806 1823 days ago
This seems like a load of bullshit to me. Some LinkedIn Lunatic level crap

He starts off by telling us he's burnt out and then jumps immediately to discussing how he turned a hobby into a full time job... Sounds like a cycle.

"Its not an ego trip" but I will spend 17 tweets talking about myself

3 comments

You might need some time off yourself, seeing how an inoffensive Twitter thread made you so mad.
It doesn't make me mad in the slightest, I just think the guy sounds like an idiot and I find it funny to point this out.

Feel free to do the same to me if you wish.

Edit: On a more serious point i think its actually potentially damaging. Burnout should be recognised as a real problem in industries such as tech. And I don't believe the way to cure burnout is to immediately start jumping into things like:

"About 2 weeks ago I decided to make this a business. I formed an LLC, got an EIN, got Insurance, and built a website.

I started running google ads and I’ve had some good success in the short two weeks I’ve been doing this on weekends."

"So far I have sunk every penny I’ve made back into the business. I have bought a bunch of equipment."

"I’ll be taking on some short term gigs. If you want a decently competent React/C# developer to go through your backlog and fix some old bugs that no one else wants to tackle, well that’s my favorite type of work.

You can hire me for an hour, two hours, 60 hours, etc."

Of course this is just my opinion but i believe he should take some time to really have downtime and reflect, rather than immediately sinking all of his time / energy into a new venture... which once the honeymoon phase ends, hello burnout

Especially when tax season rolls around and those 1099s start looking a lot smaller than they did on payday.
Agreed, I don't think the snark is needed. Particularly on HN. Everyone is different, everyone expresses themselves in different ways. I just figured he was sick of the tech 'industry'. On the occasions I've burned out I've still tinkered with stuff, I just couldn't face the work I was meant to be doing anymore.
I like your different opinion on this subject. It’s nice to see some dissent on this site.

1. There is a tendency on this website for people to post concepts of "Let me pat myself on the back for saving my life." Kinda like an Alcoholic that stops drinking and expecting a reward. Saving your life or saving yourself from depression is the reward.

2. Why does this have to be written in small form paragraphs on Twitter? Are we incapable of stringing more than 2 paragraphs together?

3. I quit being a miserable/depressed coder and now I’m happy.

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHtPpMVB9no

At the end he advertises for work as a freelance developer.

That was like an M. Night Shyamalan twist for me.

Oh my God. I didn't notice that. Classic.

He also writes in his bio "I’m a father but I’m not like all up in your face about it." and then has a barf worthy banner image related to fatherhood and makes numerous comments to how "dad jokes" will still be routinely made.

I thought that at first too, but he says he likes picking old tickets off the backlog. There's usually no product pressure or deadlines with that sort of work. Which is actually the source of burnout perhaps?
Yes, but his first tweet also says "I’m also leaving the tech industry at the end of the month."

So, it's a bit contradictory?

Good point. I guess he means full time, but it all does seem half baked. Maybe his wife has a good job and insurance.
>> he says he likes picking old tickets off the backlog.

OT but man I hate people who "select" tickets off the backlog. You better have a good reason for not taking the one right at the top...

If his team is anything like the one I work for, the backlog isn't prioritized until the day before the sprint starts... something we're trying to change, but still a long way away from.
Perhaps this is the kind of autonomy he needs.
You are right, but that's exactly the pressure I'm referring to.

Is "I am totally burnt out to work on that thing where people will be breathing down my neck" a good reason?