[vikmals]

I am still at uni but reading this really makes me questioning if I should go down this path. I think the main problem is the idea of following someone elses business plan for the rest of your life, which can be pretty demotivating.

[hightrix]

I’m going to counter the other response you got slightly.

No, work doesn’t have to be soul crushing and you don’t have to be on a constant state of burnout.

For me, the industry I’m in and the product I’m building are the most important part of my job, boss and coworkers being second most important. If I were simply trying to sell more ads or building a product that survived on ad revenue, I would have burned out years ago.

Instead, I’m building a product that helps actually improve people’s physical being and, in turn, their lives. No, it isn’t selling a product but providing a service.

Seeing our end users live a better life makes dealing with corporate bullshit and meetings on meetings easy to deal with. I love what I do and enjoy it even if I’m frustrated from time to time.

[keiferski]

Try to avoid reading these types of posts while you’re young. It’s very easy to become convinced that the “working world” is a giant evil conspiracy and that you should avoid it at all costs.

And then you’ll turn 30 and realize that you need money to buy stuff that you want. Important stuff, not frivolous consumer goods. And you’ll wish that you had pushed through the immaturity of youth and developed a good work ethic and a network you can use to find a decent job.

If you’re going to become anti-work, at least do it after a decade or two of hard work. You’ll have firsthand experience of the topic and (hopefully) some money to plan an escape.

I’d also note that with remote jobs, it’s easier than ever to build a life around something other than work. It’s entirely possible to work 5-8 hours a day, then spend the other 8 hours skiing/reading/gardening/whatever your hobby is.

[vikmals]

I think its already too late for me. I've seen too many negative posts about working as a software engineer that I would rather choose to create something on my own.

I've spent most of my spare time programming stuff for Minecraft, because I liked the game and the challenge + appreciation from others. I could programm all night long for this game. Sadly the motivation has faded.

Nowadays I am constantly scrolling hn, watching yt videos etc. in the hope to find something that finally sparks my interest again.

Not sure if I can find this in a 9 to 5 job.

[Probiotic6081]

Get out while you still can! I think a lot of software engineers are only content with their job because they're unaware to the alternatives to working as a corporate drone. You might be good at it and it might comfortably bring in a lot of money but it doesn't sound like that's what you truly care about so they're not really convincing arguments.

[wutwutwat]

What you just described is literally every job you'll ever have, unless you run your own company, and it's not unique to software. Welcome to the rat race and yes, it is soul crushing and not how we were supposed to spend our lives on this earth. The bulk of our years spent building meaningless apps that are not even physically tangible, just electric current flowing across a rock, and then gone.

[robocat]

> unless you run your own company

That just changes the boss to clients, investors, business needs.

Plenty of company owners work harder for longer for higher risk. We get a job so we don't need to deal with most any failure case more dramatic than getting sacked (which has some obvious mitigations).

There is a selection bias - the type of person to run a business is usually highly motivated and they often sell the dream about how amazing their life is (which it often isn't).

[namaria]

I find it's not about who owns what. If you need to work on something that makes sense to you from a value proposition perspective, find a business model that matches your worldview. Your role within it will change over time, and you'll always be responding to stakeholders. But the outcome and your motivation to reach it being aligned is what matters IMHO.

[heinternets]

So then how ARE we supposed to spend our lives on this planet and where is this defined?

[vikmals]

I don't know, probably just not putting more children into this world.

[namaria]

Congratulations, you've reached a stage very few arrive at: everything social is arbitrary and you get to choose how you build your own meaningful set of arbitrary decisions.

[latency-guy2]

Why do you need someone to tell you what to do?

You're going to college for a few reasons at the very minimum. Use those to guide you before you find something else later on.

[vikmals]

Exactly, one time we will probably realize what a horrible time we lived in, creating stupid software to move some pixels on the screen.

I always wanted to start a company, but the motivation usually fades away when thinking how it could really be beneficial for humanity. People buy useless products, and unfortunately that's where the money is in, but not the motivation for creating it.