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Are you in London? If not, move to London - it's where most of the start-up jobs and interesting tech jobs in the UK are located. Also in London, there are also lots of tech meetups. Find ones that interest you. Go to the pub afterwards, meet people with overlapping interests, and find out what they do and where they work. It might lead to finding a more interesting job, a mentor, or just helping to develop a sense of what you can achieve and how to go about it. Being smart (in the classic CS sense) has little to do with long-term success in the world of work. Make an effort to develop your soft skills. I think most people find it difficult to split their energy between a full time job and side projects (particularly if your also want a social life, relationships, to get exercise, have non-tech hobbies, and generally be a well-rounded human being). Form a habit where you work on side projects for a regular sustainable amount of time (e.g. 1 hour) every day. By making it a regular habit, it becomes easier to persist even when you don't much feel like it. And if you are not already an early riser, a good way to make this time is to start getting up an hour earlier than you currently do (and go to bed an hour earlier, naturally). If your job was interesting, but it got boring, then maybe you are someone who needs fresh challenges to stay interested. If so, look for an environment that has that. And if you don't like doing stuff for clients, find a job that doesn't involve client projects. |