It's over 9000! I can't believe this video reached over 9000 people. I really thought this was only going to get a couple dozen views reaching over 150+ max. Thank you all for watching and sharing your thoughts. It's always nice to know that there are others that feel the same, we'll pull through though!
This is actually a really hot topic today, as more and more people are trying to jump into the software field, but it doesn't seem to be growing at a pace that can sustain such an influx
Bro I'm watching this as Polish citizen 🇵🇱 You tellin' the truth. Everything is "corporated", and they want to get as much money as possible. This is crazy. Nobody cares about simple employee. Now everything is moving to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. Even Polish IT job market is no longer attractive like it was even year ago... 😕😕
Bro become an inventor develop your own apps pcs chip sets it does not matter start your own company, brand, etc 9-5 is death you can focus on other parts of engineering being a corporate slave is just dumb any job basically
I've been in software engineering for 20+ years, and I'm still passionate about this job. I think most people get burned out in this industry because they aim to work at big companies, where they are often dependent and work like slaves. In my opinion, the best jobs are at medium-sized or small companies, where you are recognized as a person and can do meaningful work. It also means you'll have a life and time to do other things.
I beg to differ. Im in a small/mid sized company. I have least to say, even ppl in the mechanical shop think they know better. I barely have any meatings to get domain knowledge. Always being chritisized. People dont even bother to say hello to me. And theres a really strong "how hard can it be to just ad a button..." Kind of sentiment. But what really kills me is, and hold on, this is a hot take, its actually the online programmng community. It really sucks. Its "learn to code, skill issue, you doing it wrong, your grammar is wrong, that lang sucks, go back to school, etc" The elitism is soulcrushing. Who he hell would want to stay im such a profession.😅
I agree with this, I always work with "boring" companies that most new graduates ignore and I've had a great time and still solving interesting problems.
Good for you. All people going tech because it's cool and pays well is a mistake. I was always into this: when I was a kid I'd disassemble cars and then once I got a PC I'd start writing programs for myself, because I wanted to do something. So I only got a job because I like the job, not because it's considered cool and respectful and pays well. And I also like learning and applying the actual engineering side of it(unlike most people I'd say): design patterns, TDD and design frameworks like DDD. From what I see, everyone is chasing either stuff like "what's the next big tech thing that brings money" or what's the next language features.
So true. It's one thing the interview process is so hideous; it's another thing the job is so unstable. It's like, why am I working so hard to end up jobless at the end
Especially when your continued employment is out of your hands. You can be absolutely fantastic and the IT department can say to HR that we don't have the budget and you go by by
I totally agree. We spent years to get our degrees, worked hard to do our jobs but it is never enough. I am laid off twice. The endeavours never end and I can no longer withstand the job searching and interview processes. I am a bit older than you (40) and had the chance to spare some money fortunately and I realized that if I follow a simpler life I can survive on my savings. I intend to work a few more years and then quit this corporate life.
I've had this exact same thought as well. I kind of grew to be pessimistic about it because not only did I experience it but I've seen so many people where it happened to them too.
These companies are actively investing billions and billions in generative AI to outsource human developers to AI/AGI. They want to push their profit margins as much as possible as a lot of those high salary positions are exorbitant.
I've realised that the reason why I got into tech in the first place was really only so I could make things for myself, and share it so others may also find value in it. Not necessarily to slave away for a company.
You are one of the intrepid few who found Adventure Driven Development on their own... I am trying to put into words Let me know what you think about Adventure Driven Development on my channel
aye yes. That was the reasons I got into it. I wrote a few scripts here and there to manage hardware. I then use my basic coding skills from college to make a basic software for a family business to read their DBS in a useful manner. I had no idea what I was doing or had mentor. They ask if I was willing so I did. It was a hobby at work during idle times. Eventually people said I should go into software full time. After doing it for over a decade. I realized... I love to code and make and fix things. I don't like dealing with people, or ticket's that are poorly written or fix code in legacy and poorly written patterns. If I do find a fix, I feel like I got lucky not because I'm smart.
Same here. Done with tech. I hate technology. I hate sitting behind a screen. I hate how the internet has become. I hate building stuff only to be copied by a big tech startup with buggy features. I hate how coding has become less about creativity and more about "requirements". And lastly, I hate that the work I do is creating more screen addicts. And this is coming from someone who used to be passionate about tech once upon a time. The question is, now what ? Where do I go from here ?
I always viewed as a job and I overall think theres still many great projects to work in, but its a unstable carrer, takes long to get into a new role and you have to update yourself too often.
This is where I’m at, too. I feel like an ancient person shaking my fist at new tech. I think we’ve passed the golden age where every new development seemed to make life better. Top all that off with the BS hype cycle, overpromising MBA-types with no other skills, and a toxic, grind-hard mentality…. It makes me feel hopeless…
@@MrChildren87 I'm from 85, I think the golden age at least for support/infra was when people were willing to pay a lot of money for a "system administrator" who at least understand part of the 6 or 7-digit-figure machine(s) running their business software and who was willing to read the terse, succint and short dbaseII manual.
@@TheDanielRubio Thanks man. No joke, look into Laser Cleaning Machines. Expensive equipment, but with 1 machine you can do quite alot with $$$. Look it up, hardly anyone is doing it.
@@fabobg Not so much these days. Most paints are water-based and quite safe. But still, wear a respirator mask if spraying, keep windows open, place a fan near the entrance to keep airflow going. Invest in quality equipment always (money you made doing IT, put it to work). How i learnt to paint (for real): 1. RUclips tutorials. 2. Painted 1 room in my house. Then a second, then a third. 3. Put an online ad, undercut everyone. Its business, too bad, not sad. 4. Once i built up enough experience, i started targeting builders. (small time builders). 5. Then started targeting volume builders (the big boys) 6. Hire a handful of older painters as contractors. Pay them cash in hand. They like it, i like it. 7. Paint less, enjoy life more. *sounds easy reading, but took a few years. Just persist. Play the game all businesses play, with the goal you have and where you want to be. You have just the one life, may as well enjoy it.
I thought technology would be with forward thinking people who wanted to do great things. I found the opposite. Same politics, same beaurocracy and same ignorant people who get jealous or abuse you. I've been yelled at in front of 20 people by a manager, had rumours and lies spread about me, had one girl tell me I was a threat to her and her job without even meaning to be. The last straw for me was when my manager decided to try and gatekeep me from people because people liked me and spread lies about me going out to see my friends, my family and my background. Went freelancing instead and trying to see how I can transition to psychology/counselling to help people. I am NEVER going back.
I'm sorry to hear that. While I haven't experienced such extremes as you, I do notice that people forget that in tech, code really isn't king or that progressive thinking is helpful. Unless you are a super star coder, you do have to deal with politics and companies don't necessarily want people that are 'forward thinkers'. A lot of managers and higher ups are just status quo people. Good insight and good luck to you.
There's a big, multidisciplinary trend about being isolated/dropped for being "too shiny," someone both likeable and very competent. There's a certain level of competence that's desired and anything above that is scary to them.
@@TheDanielRubio I'm subscribing to you just because you didn't beat him down for summarizing your video, something a lot of you tubers take for granted is that you will just watch their entire hours long video to get 60 seconds worth of condensed data, ain't nobody got time fo dat, i could be learning a new python package or implementing better code by converting someone's project into assembler etc.
With over 15 years of experience in IT and web development, I've found the market to be dreadful lately. Companies are overloading roles with excessive requirements, and the interview processes at many firms are quite absurd. The projects we're assigned are often uninspiring, filled with bad practices and spaghetti code. Lately, many of the projects I've worked on have been truly disappointing... I am also considering leaving the industry altogether or perhaps transitioning to another field within IT and moving away from web development.
Same here. Getting close to 50 and the fire has just died 😂. But can't figure out what else to move to...and I still have a mortgage to pay off and a family to support 😢
@@BigBrother04 bro u probably worked in tech for 30 years with high salarys u must be a multimillionaire by now and have lots of investments that u don't even need to work if not pls explain wth did u do with ur money!!
in India, every now n then one software engineer dies due to heart attack, work pressure. Worst career to consider now a days.. EDIT- for my fellow engineers, please follow this rule which I follow at office - you put at max 75%-80% of your effort only for work, never beyond that, rest 20% you keep for yourself, for your self learning. Whenever any requirement comes, if it takes 2 days for me, I say it 'll take 7 days and team lead comes to me asking why u need so much time, I argue with him until he accepts, okay 7 days fine. I know either I have to spend my energy to convince him or get the job done in short time by taking the extra pressure on me. Either way I have to put same energy so I choose to follow the former.
Damn. That's brutal, we companies over in the states don't appreciate the work you guys in India do for us a lot of the time. I've worked and learned from a lot of talented devs based in Chennai when I was in boston.
@@KeepItFresh02 Not in India they don't. We didn't allow Pfizer and their bullcr@p into India. We didn't allow Monsato and their GMO bullcr@p into India. Don't think India is just some puny nation that bows to WEF elites. The soul of India resides in Indian villages, and the Indian politicians know they'll be voted out unceremoniously the moment they betray their core voterbase.
1. Narayan Murthy (Indian Billionaire, founder of Infosys, father-in-law of ex-PM of the Uk Rishi Sunak) professed 70 hour week (14 hours a day) 2. An 26 year old E&Y employee died due to extreme long work hours and work stress in India in the last few months. She was in accounting. 3. A TCS senior executive died in March 2020 trying to arrange "work from home" for its 160 thousand software engineers. He was working 24 hours for 3 days, and suddenly had a heart attack. 4. The pressure precedes covid jabs and all the truths/suspicions about covid jabs.
I'm a Staff Software Engineer my 40s, creeping closer to 30 years in this industry (started at 18). I have very current skills and aging well, but gah the interview processes now are just insane. I've been out of work for 1.75 years and running on fumes. It's an absolutely brutal career to work in. Especially in the past 10 years, the job stability has gone to crap. I only have a small window of time to find another job to save my house. I am just thinking about making some huge changes like short selling my house but not sure what after that. I am just tired of the highs and lows, would rather live in a smaller area and have a more steady and enjoyable life.
I know engineering is also not for me. I hate deadlines. I hate forcing myself to grind in front of a computer screen. Ive actually been doing my work and meetings in random starbucks, parks, and sometimes just in my car because sitting at my desk gives me anxiety now. Its just I dont know what else to do. I dont want to go back to school. Why would i go to school to get a career that doesnt pay as much. It would feel like a downgrade. I really want to open a restaurant, but the people i know who have restaurants are doing really bad right now because of the economy. I think i need to take a break, go out and meet random people, just so I get more ideas because right now I know nothing except technology
Hang in there! I really relate to the deadlines, grinds, and working in random places. I've also wondered if I should go back and get an MBA just to get a job starting at the bottom to work my way back to a salary close to my dev salary. They're tough decisions but we'll get through it!
@@doncorleone3901 it really is. You simply have much more influence to the business of your customer what makes your job less of a pita. And sometimes you can say no to stupid ideas.
This resonates very deeply with me. I loved programming when I did it out of curiosity. Started with creating games and moved towards getting to know the ins and outs of computers and now have been a software engineer for about 20 years, but what is taking the toll on me is that the work itself in corporate environments has gone so far from actual software engineering to just using all kinds of slow and hardly usable internal bug reporting tools to report defects in dependent systems and finding people who know someone who know something about the issue at hand. Everything depends on some other systems and these systems are completely defect-ridden and people who are developing these systems understand only simple sentences, one at a time. Like talking with toddlers. Everything around the actual "creating things" just takes so much time that it is not possible to focus on what really matters. And playing the corporate game has sucked the soul, life and motivation out of me, making me numb and emotionally tired. I would feel much better just staring at a blank wall the whole day than do this thing they call work. You are lucky to realize that this work is not for you in sufficiently early stage. Not sure what I am going to do with my life, because this "software engineering" as it is right now, is a dead end job.
Thanks for the comment and hang in there! Be sure to touch some grass every now and then. Meditation has helped me a lot too. We'll figure out what will come next after software engineering.
I'm just a junior but yeah... I hardly get to write code. I hate having to reach out, find people, depend on their answer or integration, deal with bad management, the whole review and integration process, making documentation, testing, finding what causes the bugs in someone else's component. I get it, this is just the nature of the job, it's necessary and the processes are there for safety but... I don't think it's for me. It might be easy physically but mentally... yeah I'm not cut out for this. I shouldn't have tried to turn a hobby I'm mildy passionate about into a job. Now I hate it
I am mostly angry about the recruitment process, but not the job itself. Startup companies are asking you to write motivational letters... CMON. Or 5 interviews and 3 months to land that job where you move margins around the button is crazy.
Ugh yeah. I was asked to write a motivational letter last month by a recruiter for a big client. Then I was ghosted. Never again. Now I see it as a red flag.
I see a long process listed out and my immediate reaction is that they aren't really hiring. And people can miss me with that "well they only want the best!!11ONE". No, with some of the numpties these places hire, the process is in place because they DON'T want the best.
my observation is that becoming a skilled professional like electrician, plumber, carpenter, vehicle mechanic - maintenance and detailing has better chance of survival in the current and future job market than someone working in corporates as a software developer....or any staff and management roles and jobs
100% that's after 20 years in tech I am back to my roots: electrical engineering. Re-doing my papers and going solo. Being independent is the freedom. Also, they won't hire electrician remotely from India...
2 years into my tech journey I'm also thinking of going back to my Mechanical Engineering background. I think these more 'physical' jobs are less likely to be impacted by AI @@Meritumas
I feel the same... 27 y/o, graduated with a CS degree 6 years ago but worked on non-IT jobs instead. Somehow discovered data science & thought it was cool, so studied for a master's and worked as an ML Engineer for 1 year and a Data Scientist for 1 year. I quit my last job 3 months ago to leave the toxic workplace, but now the job market is a mess & I feel like companies are only looking for elites, which I am not (I'm just hard-working & a bit clever but definitely not "gifted"). I just feel like the job landscape changes too rapidly & somehow I lost interest in my field (not sure if I got burnout from constantly learning new tools/revising statistics/preparing for interviews/grinding leetcode/reading tech news). I do have some career-switching ideas in my mind but the sunk cost has been bothering me
@@Dk4KOfficial I'm considering the aviation industry as my previous Data Scientist position worked on some aviation-related projects, and actually I worked in that industry before my master's. I'm not sure if you're working in-house or as a consultant. Perhaps you can rethink the related industries in your past data science work and if there are some that you find interesting, you can try to dive deeper and explore if there are other job positions you may be interested in.
Laid off from Microsoft after 10 years. Industry has definitely changed, perks have dried up and applying for new roles is hell. It’s hard for me to have to accept that I’ll probably have to take a lower salary at 44. That being said, at my age I’m not sure what other options there are career wise.
I'm mid 40's and also laid off recently. I fully expect to take a lower status job and pay when I'm ready to go back into the market. This is why we have to really be diligent about saving and investing when times are good. Good times never last and we don't get any younger.
I am 45 this year, and have been developing demo applications as one part of my work (the other part being project management) since mid 2020. I don't consider myself a full fledged software developer, at least not by the industrial level as I understand. Having watched these videos and comments to know about veterans being let go, I am not sure if I should still press on with my aspiration to be a full software dev, and to get more qualifications in software development towards this end. The context here is that I don't have a college degree in CS or IT. My training are largely from a number of short term courses (longest being a 6 months programme), both online and remote distant learning. Hope to know some thoughts and views. Thank you.
The amazing fact is that after passing all that absurd interviews where they ask you about how Facebook amd Amazon works, you find out that most of the codebase is legacy mess, deploying is done using tools which where updated 10 years ago
7 months in the interview process... Wow, that's a huge red flag. I was burned once after completing a free assignment project and going through 5 rounds of interviews, which took a total of 5 or 6 weeks of my time. Never again.
Hey dude, saw this comment. Just wanted to clarify, I was applying to companies and interviewing for 7 months. Imagine one company having to interview for 7 months, forget it.
To be honest I left tech as well. I've done tech support for nearly 20 years and the last few years I moved into being groomed for junior dev to business analyst and I just was burned out. I never recovered from that burnout I went through during covid and my ex doing meth. So I am moving to being a veterinary assistant working towards vet tech. This feels like my dream job. It's hard honest days work! It's also nice to interact with people anymore. I wish you luck with whatever you find your passion in
In the same position, after 7y in FAANG, and grinding Leetcode/System design, passing Meta/Google only to get rejected at team matching phase (while jobs are outsourced to India) pissed me off so much I decided to exit the industry altogether. Going for my private pilot license, and then later for commercial.
I've been in software engineering for 30 years and I have just quit my job and don't intend to return to the industry. Corporate development is a soulless grind with little job satisfaction and endless meetings. As time went on the list of cons far outweighed the pros and so I called it a day.
The biggest problem with tech today is the endless meetings due to the abnormally large number of people involved. More than half those roles exist for no reason and they need to call meetings to "do something". This causes enormous stress to the really productive people. I worked at a startup and boy was it great - we did stuff, kicked ass, the ceo himself was an expert at the domain and a great sales guy, everyone else did engineering. Meetings ended in half time. Now we got acquired and it made all of us sort of rich and now we are working for a large organization where most people exist for no reason. Its so stressful just to go to a meeting and listen to the mundane bs. Have some stocks to vest and until then im thinking to go stealth mode. After that i guess i will just quit and trade stocks - which i find exciting
Hey Daniel, thanks for sharing this. As a mid level engineer, i thought of quitting tech and just go farming ( lol ) , but mainly due to the whole corporate culture. Good luck
I understand this a lot. I did a career switch into software engineering because I wasn't happy in my career. Two years in and I'm ready to do something else. With the job market the way it is, I wish I would have put all this effort into starting a business instead of learning software. Hindsight is 20-20, I guess
You're not alone in this. I have thought this exact thing many many times and may even be the subject of my future videos. I've often thought if I could dedicate the same time and effort it took for software engineering, why not learn how to manage money or start a business? I think that's the true goal because at this point it seems they are both equally hard but business has the much better pay off.
Software development is needed in our age, because it automates things, but it's not a natural activity to do 8 hours/day and can lead the body to confusion/exhaustion. Have seen developers willing to make hands dirty in construction or other real-world tangible jobs.
Thanks for the reply! I've heard a lot of jokes too about wanting to just farm or have a garden instead of coding and I agree 8+ hours or more in front of a screen certainly does take a toll especially in the eyes.
I always feel like -- "We spent 3 years building this website... Meanwhile, the guys down the street built a skyscraper." Whenever at lunchtime I see the construction guys, I think: "Oh, at least somebody is doing real work."
I work in a team of 6. 5 of us want to leave dev jobs and focus on other stuff: woodworking, teaching, running coffee shop, farming. The realities everybody is sick of the corpo - culture! Working WITH tech is != working IN tech.
The industry has made it hard to be motivated to work in. When the interviewing process involves so much rigid testing where you have to learn algos, or get a different take home for each interview meaning you have to put a lot of time and effort to only be rejected straight after making it all a huge waste of time, including constant learning, constant changing technologies - all that while you know that 6 months down the line you could be laid off at any point and have to repeat the process... This makes working in the industry absolutely EXHAUSTING. I still love creating things and coding a lot though... So personally I think at this point I'm going to have to just start trying to do side hustles and/or create my own business around a product I know I will actually enjoy working on. Just really trying to make a living creating and working on something in tech that I actually really enjoy and not bust my balls for the industry and other companies.
I'm recently laid off from a software engineering job. Literally the day before the layoff, I was asking my coworker if he sees himself doing this forever. I'm thinking of switching careers even though I worked so hard to get to the level I'm at. Life is short. Do what makes you happy.
The problem is that the field is getting more and more demanding but less and less rewarding. The pay is getting bad, the job market is getting bad, etc. I am passionate about tech but it feels less and less rewarding.
@@Headchopperr I have masters degree and what I said holds true. It's corporate greed not your degrees. As long as they can hire indians for less why would they pay properly?
@@Ragnar452 Well, I am also Indian, and hiring Indians has been a common practice for many years 20+. Companies like Microsoft and Meta have been built with the help of Indian outsourcing firms. Who says Indians are cheaper? Are you unaware that Indians are the highest-earning community in the USA, infact 1% of Indians are paying 5% of taxes in the US. In India, software developers' salaries are currently quite high as of now. An average developer with five years of experience earns the equivalent of $50,000 USD. So, don't make assumptions and focus on improving skills. Dont believe any politicians who says they bring back jobs, US companies are now Acquiring Indians companies or started operations in india. Walmart and amazon invested billions in India, google as well.
@@Headchopperr I don't have a skill problem, I see a greed problem. Also the salaries in the US are generally 6 figures. And frankly, in Europe salaries are a bit lower than that yet they still claim "it's too much". I may have only 16 years of exp not 20+ like you but i still see they hate to properly pay. I don't plan to quit tech but I can see dev jobs are not that lucrative anymore. There are better positions with better pay and with less stress, even if I will have to dive into something new. Also I say this as an employee, it's probably better as a private contractor.
@@Headchopperr Cost of living is way, way and wayyyy lower than in America. So yes 50k there is like making 250k. 50k is barely above poverty in America with cost of living as of now.
Brother it is like you saying things straight out of my thoughts from the past couple of years. Working as a 42 year old senior software engineer, with 25+ years of experience in the industry, the remote work and isolation combined with the difficulty of the actual work, and just the thought of sitting in front of the computer alone has really made me sad and angered many times, yet here I am still, giving it still 6 months to finish this project that I started. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Can totally relate to all of those. Hope all the best for your endeavours!
I'm 5 years in working and 10 years since my 1st line of code. It's definitely boring but what else is there than can pay myself and family's bills. I'm very grateful. I'll probably reconsider at the 10 year mark or senior level. Hope you find something better ❤
I salute your decision! Looking back to 30 years of my IT experience I can say that now is not a good time to be a software engineer. Especially if you are not 100% passionate about it. Software development became mostly a mundane, repetitive, soul crushing process.
I was in data roles since the late 1990s. Had roles as a database developer, DBA, ETL developer, data engineer, BI developer, so on. MS Data Science. I'm in the same boat now. IT isn't a stable career choice any longer. Outsourcing, lay offs, DEI. I'm moving into a skilled trades role now.
Wow, this video is articulated so well. I'm at the same point you were when you had graduated college. I just finished a degree in MIS, I've been a bartender for 8 years, I didn't have the chance to get an internship, and the market is so competitive that landing a simple help desk role seems impossible right now. But I just moved to Houston! It feels a little weird reaching out to stranger through a RUclips comment, but seeing as you're familiar with the industry and the city, I would love a chance to talk for some guidance. Thanks for this video, you've got another subscriber.
I feel the 3 reasons you mentioned in the middle on a spiritual level. I never made it to senior software engineer and I'm so glad I didn't. I WAS passionate and enthused about technology at the start of my career and loved the feeling of solving problems with code. Building something really useful from nothing was like a superpower that other engineering careers didn't have. Unfortunately, the whole industry and the day to day of a traditional job (plus the whole c0vid shitshow) ended up extinguishing every interest I had in coding. I cannot get paid to code anymore whether that's in a fulltime position or as a freelancer. I think I'm too burnt out on it to the point I can't go back. Marketing is now for me wayyy more fun and useful than anything I could ever do with code.
I’m looking forward to know what will be your next job! THANKS FOR SHARING THIS! I’m thinking the same. I feel you. But the difference is that I’m almost in my 40’s and I’m in the tech industry for only 3 years. Sad isn’t ? I decided to enter just to get a good salary and prospects of career. But I’m not passionate 100% to stay all day in front of a screen, constantly dealing with impostor syndrome, always having to study and update yourself on new technologies and always feeling like you'll never know everything. I’m sure that in long term this will impact negatively my life
This is relatable. I spent 20 years in tech out of which 17 I freelanced remotely and it's lonely as hell. Getting out of tech myself (a little harder with family and kids). I am too much of an extravert to be stuck in front of a computer and code away. Just like you, I enjoy coding, but for fun. For my own projects. Creator's economy sounds more appealing to me. Consulting, coaching, community, group training, cohorts, etc. Something you might eventually discover as well.
I got a new position recently as an engineering manager, which is actually where I feel my strengths lie, but I absolutely hear you, especially on reason #5. Before I got this role, I was saying that I wished I could go back to being a junior engineer, where my pay was yes, half of what I make now, but my responsibilities and impact were 15 times less. I could just coast and learn and get paid nicely for it to build things (which I also loved doing). I think I got lucky on my new role, otherwise I probably would have wanted out too.
I think in the future, I'll aim to do this role once I try a few other things. I agree about the junior engineer position but I don't think my ego would allow me to go back to being a junior engineer and plus I don't think it would look great on a resume either. Good luck on your new role!
It is true. Tech is getting saturated as more and more people get into the industry, driving the wages down and increasing the competition. Also it has become fast paced and temporary. You never know if you will get the next project. I also have the same thought, but do not know what else to do
Saturation?! All the jobs are saturated by lowly paid offshored workers. Countries in Europe protect their workers. Not in America, it’s all about money. Where’s the merit in that?
@@TheDanielRubio I began coding in 1980. Been a senior dev, as well as head of Engineering. Made my own tech company. I now manage a community makerspace and use my skills to teach, and to help them self-host everything. Its awesome.
I also just got laid off from 2 years in software after spending 14 years previously in IT admin/support. Man, I'm so done with tech and IT. They want you to do so much more and apply so much more knowledge than ever before and the pay if anything is getting lower. I'm also from Houston, but moved away 7 years ago while in my upper 30's to France. It's way too hard to grind out a very technical job than it is to grind out lower jobs where less is expected from you. I did that for years simply to meet my financial goals. Once you meet your financial goals, you can relax and take work you enjoy - work you want to do vs. have to do. Best of luck, but Houston is a hard job market. The big companies can grab anyone from around the country since people view Houston to have a low cost of living compared to how much you can earn. It's also a terrible place to be a single person.
Thanks! I appreciate it. I hope you found what you were missing in Houston out over in France. I often too have fantasized about placing roots abroad especially in South America. Something about the culture abroad is just so appealing to me. But you know what they say, the grass is greener on the other side.
Good luck for your new career path and thanks for the video. My son studies SE. I am afraid for exactly your mentioned reasons. The future will tell. Again all the best to you.
I’m only 2.5 years in the industry and I feel the same way. Not feeling passionate about my job just isn’t the recipe for long term success. I resonate with you deeply on that. I’m also looking for alternative careers outside of tech where my strengths in public speaking, teaching g, and people skills can really shine. Good luck brother
Thanks my friend. I appreciate the comment. At least you're not too far and sounds like you can pivot. A lot of people have personally suggested to me solutions engineering, sales engineering, or even an architect. Good luck to you too!
Oh man, I totally get it. I was working as an Junior Frontend guy since 2020. My company suck ass with long hour OT and there is no benefit. I hate corporate job so much everyone putting on a smile and go to work if you have a good boss (which is equivalent to found a unicorn) - they will understand that you already done the job and let you go home. Instead a suck ass boss force you to stay to attend their "workshop", "bonding event",...etc bull shit. If you not joining it you are a "problem" to handle. I leave in 2022 and become a motorbike repair guy, soon I will open my own shop. Still make good money without putting up with BS and I became my own boss. Best decision ever. Good luck to you my friend!
That's awesome. Coincidentlally, I just started riding not too long ago on my 2018 honda rebel 500. I love riding it around and it's been really fun doing some mods here and there. I can see why you'd want to start a shop. Good luck!
I kinda feel you, wasn't a software engineer per se but worked in tech for 2 years and couldn't see myself sticking with it. Thankfully it wasn't too long and I'm still in my 20s so have ample time to look at other things, plus I was able to live a pretty good life in a vibrant city and have cool new experiences thanks to the IT money, but it's equally important to find out what you don't like or want to do as much as it is to find out what you really care about. Best of luck for the future!
Great video! I feel much the same, although I do actually love the problem-solving aspect--just don't want to jump through hoops, apply for 100s of jobs, all to get a chance at some interview. So tired of it already.
As a current CS undergraudate who loves tech and building software its a bit demoralizing to see this videos pop up, but I honestly get ur opinion, and its really been eye-opening for me, to see not just the perks,benefits and compensation of SWEs but also the flip side of the coin
Don’t get demoralized. If you love it then pursue it. Just bear in mind that the industry itself is much different than being in college working on fun personal/class projects where everything you do is net new.
Why do people even wanna be in tech anyways? The stories I heard were pretty terrible. I mean imagine applying for 20-30 jobs every fucking day only to hear back from like 3-4 companies! I heard fresh grads are in a bad position right now
@@Niceguy54444 No because a lot of people are genuinely passionate and interested in problem solving and software engineering, by definition, is problem solving. Al this claptrap about 150k -300k salaries is related to people with 8-10 years experience at senior level.
It is pretty bad, I'm not going to lie but there are a lot of people that truly do love to program and code and really wouldn't want to do anything else legitimately.
Many reasons. Money is one, love for technology, building things and problem solving (among others) are a few others. I'm personally a mental person, I don't like working with my hands or body, just my mind and maybe my fingers. I don't like the lack of AC, getting dirty, etc etc. Working and paying for stuff already sucks, why not make the whole thing a little less painful?
The tech industry is great, and programming is great too. The issue is the globalized job market - no laws protect the inner job market from outsourcing. Globalistic US tech giants did this through the government. It remains only the defense industry because of the secret clearance requirements - no overseas outsourcers there. The government and its real owners need you as a voter, but not as a US engineer.
Also foreign companies should be banned, ie in 2014 we had RUclips ban almost 6 months, local hosting companies and local video providers bloomed with respect to Job openings.
@@eeaotly The problem with this line of thought is that frequently politicians don't know the consequences of their actions, trying to "protect" something can lead to a lot of unknown economic problems. In the worst case affected companies could leave the country.
So what are you going to do? My issue is I switched multiple times, at the end of the day I always went back. Salary is too good coupled with decent work life balance, can't really find something similar. I did bartending, construction, personal training, logistics manager. Now with the current iteration I'm trying to build out a net of the things I'm missing by working in SE. A social net, exercise, being outdoors etc. We will see if it's gonna work out this time.
I think this will be a topic for my next video. I have an idea of what I want to try but I need to articulate it better. I will say though that whatever I do next will probably be a downgrade (at first) and will require some sacrifice in something. The one thing that stuck with me in tech was "trade offs". There is a trade off for everything so I just have to choose mine. Good luck with your path!
Yes 100% the interview process is too much... so much competition... it's very hard to get a job in Software Development now... all the best on your next career man... fresh start...
@@SurpriseMeJT True that... doing a lot of work for nothing... only not to accept you... just bores me this process as we have to go through it will all interviews... only to be rejected at the end...
Have you ever thought about being a freelancer or build your own products? If software engineering is not your passion but only a source of income, try to work as a freelancer, it seems more calm and less toxic than corporate environment. Building your own business seems to give you more professional and personal fulfillment, although being very challenge.
I believe something akin to this will be next for me. I've dabbled with Udemy and have even made a course there that was well received. Maybe I'll pursue it further. Thanks for the reply
Work will never dry up...there's too much work to be done.
Месяц назад+2
Thank you for your honesty. I understand how you feel. I have been doing visual effects for last 10 years and that industry is in very very deep trouble. Much more than software engineering. I left visual effects career behind for similar reasons why you are leaving software engineering. And I went into software engineering with hope of job stability, better work/life balance. Who knows where I will find myself after 10 years. But all I can say is I know how you feel. I got burned out really badly. I really wanted to end it all at one point. Whenever I would sit in front of a computer doing compositing, I hated every second of it. Didn’t find it meaningful at all. I wish you all the best, truly. Life is for us to be lived. Again. I admire you being open about this and wish you all the best. 💪 Maybe we will meet one day gardening or something
Another thing I don’t like about the industry is that I don’t feel like I’m adding lasting value to society. Everything you work on is virtual, ephemeral and will likely be deprecated/replaced within 10 years time. Compare that to a carpenter or architect or something.They get to spend their entire careers really dialing in their skill sets and getting good at one or two things, and the things they build can last hundreds of years and provide direct tangible benefits to society
@@maximilianmusterhans4659 I’m not saying that carpenters and architects don’t also have their own things to deal with. But the average carpenter or architect are for sure going to have a more tangible long lasting impact on the world compared to an average developer writing crappy code for some massive company.
Keep us posted on what you decide to do next. I used to be a Senior Engineer, I now grow cannabis, legally of course, making so much more with way less stress.
That's pretty cool! Maybe I should look into that as well sounds like a nice gig to have. There's something nice about the idea of growing something I think. Even better if it's cannabis.
I agree with everything you say except that i dont like programming anymore, that's why im putting my left energy on my project hoping it will payoff the hard working not like other companies i worked for so hard then get fired, no more mistakes like that
I watched your first video and I'm from Brownsville, TX too! I work remote down here. Not sure if you still have a lot of roots down here, but it helps me prioritize things in life like family and friends. I've been feeling more burned out, but the wife and daughter make me keep going. My day job deals with invoices, ERPs, CRMs, etc. Setting an hour a day to program on things I want to learn like Elixir or Unity has helped me a lot. It ignites the passion I had when I was in college for this. I've realized it's the corporate world and it's politics that make me start disliking software engineering, not the actual software itself. Try a passion project and who knows maybe that will support you and you can be your own boss. Good luck!
Cool! Glad to see a comment from the good old Rio Grande Valley. My parents and some high school friends are there and I come back every once in awhile to visit. Sorry to hear you're burned out but at least you have a strong "why" (wife and daughter) to help you push through. Best of luck!
Good for you, dude! I'm 49, and made the same decision a couple of months ago. Luckily I managed to build some financial freedom being more than 20 years in software engineering. I would have probably gone insane if the economy had pulled the rug out from under me after putting in 8 years of effort into this. You're a lot younger, though; you'll get through this! Good luck, man!!!
Good for you! I'm sort of in the same position too. I've always been decent with managing money so I'm really not hurting at the moment, so I have the luxury of taking my time.
@@ikesk3718yall tech ppl complain too much; y'all would rather stick to a high paying job than work a lower status job with less stress just to avoid social shame. It's sad to trade your soul for money.
I respect your honesty and courage that you have with yourself in order to make this bold move. Many of us have been miserable doing software engineering and problem solving for years, but affraid to take a leap of fate and try something different. You seem to be more of a people's person and enjoy interacting wnd communicating with others longer, so maybe a customers relations or even sales/marketting career could be a good fit for your personality..
I have been a dev for over 20 years.. and I feel exactly the same. The problem is that I don't know anything else. So I am doing it anyways. The passion from the beginning is long gone. And you are right, you have to constantly learn new things to stay relevant. The older I get, the harder it gets to learn, especially after work. I can't do this anymore longer. But what should I do? I am searching for a new job but it is extremely hard, even here in Europe. But a new coding job will not solve the problem. I heard many devs started to work on a farm or opened a dog salloon...
Can relate to your words. What do to do, when your lifestyle is adjusted to a nice senior software engineer salary .. and do you even want to another coding job, or something that is as difficult as sw dev ? Well, luckily we all have some special skills we can maybe put into use, find you own niche and do things there. Or is it worth ruining your life for the end of your life just for money ?
Totally get your sentiment man especially after recently all these tech companies laid off happened, it's just so discouraging in the whole tech industry.
Hang in there guys! I know the feeling of what it's like to feel like you can't quit but have to keep going. I've wrestled with that for a good while although now that decision was sort of made for me though.
Same here, we are in deep. To the OP - have you considered architecture? Nit managing people like a Team Lead would, less techie architect. Anyway, good for you- it’s a hard hard job. I don’t believe it’s worth the personal cost for most people.
There comes a time when you need to close one door and open another. At some point you have to do what's right for you and sustainable for the long term! I look forward to hear about your next journey.
i salute all the senior devs who step down. you guys give way so that new programmers could get a job. if a senior dev retires, there will instantly be open slots for junior, mid and senior. in japan it is much more brutal. the people there will literally work until they die. if they do retire, it is when they have permanent sickness or they have 3 years left of their life.
@@TheBlackManMythLegend i am more targeting junior and mid. whenever a senior leaves, sometimes their mid gets promoted. and their junior becomes mid. that's why i said whenever a senior leaves, there will be 3 vacant slots.
I'm so more than happy to step aside for you to take my job lol. Although I have to say, you're view is a bit optimistic. People don't really move like a conveyor belt up the chain to the next role when a senior dev quits. Usually, they'll just hire another dev to replace that dev.
@@TheDanielRubio if it is an on-site job or in an office, companies would prefer their own people first. especially if the mid has years of experience within the company too. if they do want to hire a "stranger" senior dev, the hiring process would be bloody. because he is a stranger. a new guy. if the job is work from home, 95% they will just hire another senior dev.
@@claireglory Lol not in my experience, everyone we lost in the last 3-4 years hasn't been backfilled. They just pile the work on to the rest of the team and we can't leave because the job market sucks. Also there are entry level engs on my team who are near 3 YoE with no promo to mid level because the market tanked.
Bro we have a similar story. I'm 10 years deep into coding. Got into it just cause I was more or less good at it, but in the back of my mind, I was never really passionate and always thought it would just be a temporary gig. Here I am 10 years later and don't think I can keep doing it anymore. I'm trying to come up with a plan to get out of this industry and into something that is more aligned with my strengths and passions.
Hey man thanks for your comment. What do you think you'll be doing next? Any ideas? I'm always interested in people who are trying to find something that aligns with what they really want to do. Doing that takes some cojones. For me, I'm going to be doing primarily youtube among other things.
@@TheDanielRubio I'd really like to focus on my drums and my music. Like you, maybe set up a RUclips channel that revolves around that. I was already supposed to do that years ago, but the pandemic messed everything up. It's now 2024 and I'm much older, but hopefully it's not too late. You're right, it does take some cojones. But I see no other way. I can't write code anymore. Good luck on your journey.
I don't spend a lot of time on this channel to watch videos, but I find it ironic that when I do, these kinds of videos are the ones that the algorithm keeps recommending me here 😂 I made a couple similar (probably more unhinged) videos earlier this year. I was laid off myself and although I have another job now (8 months later) this video still hits hard. I'm 27 and completely feel you, literally every point. I know it's only a matter of time before I switch careers entirely. Just trying to truck through in the short term to aggressively pay off some debt and be financially stable. I wish you the best man you'll figure it out!
Hey man, I browsed your channel and saw a video. It really sounds like you've been over this for quite a while. Hang in there. I can relate a lot to paying off debt and using the financial boon of tech salaries to do it. I had to do that at the very start for student loans. I'm lucky enough now that I've managed my money to take some time off. Hope you reach that point and soon! Good luck!
@@TheDanielRubio thanks for taking the time to peruse my channel. Yeah, gotta take advantage of the above average salaries to get ahead while we can. Glad you're in a good spot so you're not up against it with things financially. Definitely hoping I get there myself within the year. Good luck to you too!
I was at a similar crossroads but finally decided that this is my path so i decided to double down from a different angle and work for myself and just build the things that i'm interested in and not for a company. Good luck on the journey Daniel. I just subbed
I appreciate this sharing quite a lot, just hitting 5 years in software engineering myself. I relate to some of these points, best of luck in your next pursuits
I am almost in the exact same situation as you. The only difference is that I wasn't been laid off (yet). The thing is that I don't have a clue ehat else I can do. I have more than 12 years of experience, but still not even a senior for various reasons. The problem is that I have never done something different from software engineering, so no idea where else I can fit in. Although I like thinking and doing LeetCode problems, reading about software design, but I am also not passionate about it.
I think I'll make another video about what I'm thinking about doing next after engineering. I truly believe that deep down inside we actually know what we want to do but for some reason or another we just don't do it. For example, your comment about doing leetcode problems and learning about design is a hint about something you'd like to do. I'd explore that a little bit further. There is a reason why you are drawn to those activities.
@@TheDanielRubio That would be very helpful, thanks! I always thought that the reason I like doing these activities is because I probably like software engineering and currently doing it, so I shouldn't have any complains. Anyway, waiting for your opinion on this...
Coding is a really Unique profession. I have been coding for 10 years but I have been always a "computer guy" since 5 years old. I've always knew I wanted to work with computers. I sincerely beleive that this profession requires passion and also being a real "nerd" for this stuff. So many people try to work in this field because of the "perks" and the high salary but this leads to burning out. For myself, I can easly work the 8 hours daily and for myself, solving the hardest problems feels the greatest. It is a joy for me when I am stuck on a problem for 1-2-3 days and when I finally solve it, it is a huge dopamine rush. Also, I NEVER work from home even though I could. As you stated in the video, home office sounds like a perk and it is if done scaresly but working from home all the time leads to depression and anxiety.
I feel the exact same way, I dont want to do it as a career anymore, although getting laid off can be a sign to do something else, the best time to do it, is now.
I think you should treat a software job like any professional job. Profession - Something that is done for money. No need for passion ;) Then you can just keep going forever. Anyway, have fun trying new stuff. Any decision is better than no decision. You can only learn what you like by trying different things.
Exactly, I had real passion early in my career, then with the passage of time it became a job that pays the bills, my passions have also changed with time. I still love it, though, still learning still getting better everyday after 2 decades.
I know how he feels though. The expectations are so high today and at the higher levels of his profession that you can't just wake up and mechanically do the job because it requires a lot of mental effort to survive each day much less each problem. The complex problem solving will grind you down unless you are fueled by the resolutions you create/find. Even if at one point the successes provided positive reinforcement, the constant negative reinforcement from the profess will eventually overwhelm a lot of people.
Software engineering is not like any professional job. You have to be learning all your life, and If you don't put effort into it you'll stay at the same level forever, and you need motivation to do that.
@@airixxxx True, Software engineering is not like other professional jobs, it is probably easier than most professions. There is even no professional licence for software engineering, no hard regulations. We can have fun. Learning all your life? Best stuff is timeless. You learn once, from old books (1980, 1990. etc...) And you can use it for decades. There is something new once in a few years (like cloud or kubernetes), but this is actually fun. It is fun to do something new every 5 or 10 years. And there are of course fancy and trendy tools and frameworks that come and go. If you do not learn it when it is trendy, then do not worry, it will disappear. And you still can do your work using real stuff you learned long time ago.
Hey bro thanks for sharing your story. I been working in tech sales over the last 6+ years and while its been a ruthless grind, it continues to drive personal growth and financial rewards I never could have imagined. Just like cooking my own meals, coding is a creative endeavor I love doing at my own pace and I can't think of anything worse than doing it as my full time job and growing to hate it
Thanks for your input. I've actually looked into maybe moving in tech sales myself. I've been told many times unprompted that I can be good at it but to be honest I too am afraid of trading one grind for another. Who knows, I may give it a shot.
and plus the stupid amount of tools/frameworks/apis/languages and often times abusive work culture/demands for a mere $80k-$100k is absurd. Many things in software can be mostly done in SCALA alone, but the industry/markets don't work that way.
Well, that sucks.. For me, computers and everything around them are a life-long passion for me.. Allegedly, I was in kindergarten when I first wrote on a picture that I want to be "computer adminitlator" :D So naturally, I spend most of my life playing with and studying them - from being power user, to family IT administrator and finally to programming. I went to IT high school and IT university and loved all of it.. Then I went and got my first job straight of the first interview (which had no BS questions and certainly no ADTs and algorithms.. just talked about what I did at school and during internship and it was just chill.. Relatively small company and I am still there, 4 years later, slowly getting to a senior position :) While the money is nowhere near what corporate would likely pay me, the collective and freedom is priceless. And it's so much fun!
Sounds like you're winning in more ways than one. That's awesome that computers spoke to you and you continue to work on your passion. Sounds like you are one of a very few that are thriving and not surviving.
Hey! You should definitely look into making a personal brand related to tech and explore your ideas through projects and share it online. I think it will align well with your strengths. Cheers!
I have 30 years in tech and I'm ready to do something else. I often felt like being a brain surgeon from day one is easier than keeping up with tech trends. Every few years felt like I had to learn from scratch.
I somewhat agree but imagine though having someone's life in your hands. Can't really fix a broken unit/integration test on a brain or push a 'hot fix' lol.
Feel exactly the same, but I have been in it 20 years. Problem is I don't know what else to do. Lost my jiob and had the hassle of finding a new job after 6 months. Small startup, hybrid work, which is way nicer than fully remote.
My mental health as a remote software engineer suffered immensely during the pandemic and i got depression. I was ultimately fired for “inconsistent motivation” without warning. Debating if I can go back to that world
I was in a similar place, but I used to work in VFX industry (special effects for movies). So I decided to quit and switched to software engineering. Years after the switch I still think it was a good choice. Even with the current job market, it's more stable then VFX. And still I can browse through the jobs endlessly (even though I don't fit for most of the positions), while my friends in VFX have just few options and one job opening every few days or weeks. But I do get it, that if someone started in "tech" right away, it's a bad place to be in now.
Personally, no human contact and writing code is the best thing I like about being a software engineer. I seriously can do this for minimum wage. But that’s just me 😅
Don’t get me wrong. I like writing code, but 90% of the job isn’t code. I hate that part. You know, attending meetings, corporate bullshit, leadership etc. hate that shit
This hits home lowkey. Just started as a new grad SWE at a FAANG/Uber-tier company. Was interviewing and mass applying for 1 year after graduation until I landed this job too.😭
Hey man! count your blessings. You've made it through the gauntlet and sounds like you landed in a great company. You're too young for this to hit home lowkey. Keep your head on a swivel, learn what you can from the company, and for the love of god please network while you're there. Your network will pay dividends down the road. Good luck!
I totally agree with you and look forward to more contents from you. Also, I am a 22 years old international student in the USA majoring in CS. I will graduate next year and I am really frustrated with the current job market. I have been applying for internships but getting rejected. and I really hate this shi"tty interview prep as well as the entire process. There is no other way for me except choosing this track that I have very little to no passion for. If my financial burden was not a deal for me, I would pursue beatmaking/music production as my profession. I am more into entrepreneurship and building business that I love to do and explore. Reality sucks and sometimes it's out of our hands. Do you have any helpful insights you might wanna share?
Wow, just reading the comments makes me dwell on my decision to start a cloud engineer boot camp recently. Been in construction for nearly ten years now in various roles consistently making about 65-70K GBP anually. Do you wanna know why I made the decision to switch to tech? - same fking reasons you outline in your comments.
The cloud is still growing. Friend of mine works for a company that helps companies move to the cloud. They're always busy. He tells me stories about how AWS employees are worked to death though. Working adjacent to the actual cloud infrastructure like he does might be best. That said, I'd keep your other skills ready. I'm a long time programmer but have other skills in the ready just in case. I'm old enough, most places wouldn't hire me to program.
@@quademasters249 Yes I do keep a positive mindset for the cloud and it is pretty obvious how pivotal it is for today's digital life that we live. It is in fact the backbone of it all, am I wrong? On the other hand construction skills are such that it is hard to lose them with prolonged periods of no practice. I personally feel that what I do is already baked into my brain and hands, so plan B will always be there. You say you're at an age that prevents you from getting hired. Is remote freelancing not an option? Theres a few good channels here on youtube that spill insides on how to earn ~70K$ anually on places like upwork.
@@onyemaifuma2805 ofcourse. Started out as roto and telescopic operator. Went to crawler crane operator, slinger - banksman and finally lift supervisor. These are all lifting services and are one of the top payers in constructtion here in the UK. I did try to step out of the sector by working as a solar farm technician back in my country but that pays peanuts in my country, ashamed to say how much exactly. So I quickly went back to my main thing(s).
I think you made the right call. It was interesting for me to watch this as a CS student, but ultimately I do have a passion for it and I think I will be happy as a Software Engineer.
It's over 9000! I can't believe this video reached over 9000 people. I really thought this was only going to get a couple dozen views reaching over 150+ max. Thank you all for watching and sharing your thoughts. It's always nice to know that there are others that feel the same, we'll pull through though!
This is actually a really hot topic today, as more and more people are trying to jump into the software field, but it doesn't seem to be growing at a pace that can sustain such an influx
Bro I'm watching this as Polish citizen 🇵🇱 You tellin' the truth. Everything is "corporated", and they want to get as much money as possible. This is crazy. Nobody cares about simple employee. Now everything is moving to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. Even Polish IT job market is no longer attractive like it was even year ago... 😕😕
Rubio, find your IKIGAI (Japanese concept)
Bro become an inventor develop your own apps pcs chip sets it does not matter start your own company, brand, etc 9-5 is death you can focus on other parts of engineering being a corporate slave is just dumb any job basically
Will keep following to see where you end up. It is courageous to make a choice like this.
I've been in software engineering for 20+ years, and I'm still passionate about this job. I think most people get burned out in this industry because they aim to work at big companies, where they are often dependent and work like slaves. In my opinion, the best jobs are at medium-sized or small companies, where you are recognized as a person and can do meaningful work. It also means you'll have a life and time to do other things.
20+ years here as well and I have a totally different experience.
Startups are really bad dudr
20+ here as well, the recent 5 years moved from gamedev to RnD startups, very refreshing.
I beg to differ. Im in a small/mid sized company. I have least to say, even ppl in the mechanical shop think they know better. I barely have any meatings to get domain knowledge. Always being chritisized. People dont even bother to say hello to me. And theres a really strong "how hard can it be to just ad a button..." Kind of sentiment. But what really kills me is, and hold on, this is a hot take, its actually the online programmng community. It really sucks. Its "learn to code, skill issue, you doing it wrong, your grammar is wrong, that lang sucks, go back to school, etc" The elitism is soulcrushing.
Who he hell would want to stay im such a profession.😅
I agree with this, I always work with "boring" companies that most new graduates ignore and I've had a great time and still solving interesting problems.
I left tech and went farming and has never been happier than now !
Blessing
You're my hero.
How are you living out of farming? I feel like in my country farming is at the lowest level it has been...
Good for you. All people going tech because it's cool and pays well is a mistake.
I was always into this: when I was a kid I'd disassemble cars and then once I got a PC I'd start writing programs for myself, because I wanted to do something. So I only got a job because I like the job, not because it's considered cool and respectful and pays well.
And I also like learning and applying the actual engineering side of it(unlike most people I'd say): design patterns, TDD and design frameworks like DDD.
From what I see, everyone is chasing either stuff like "what's the next big tech thing that brings money" or what's the next language features.
@@KulaGGin brillant notion
So true. It's one thing the interview process is so hideous; it's another thing the job is so unstable. It's like, why am I working so hard to end up jobless at the end
Especially when your continued employment is out of your hands. You can be absolutely fantastic and the IT department can say to HR that we don't have the budget and you go by by
I totally agree. We spent years to get our degrees, worked hard to do our jobs but it is never enough. I am laid off twice. The endeavours never end and I can no longer withstand the job searching and interview processes. I am a bit older than you (40) and had the chance to spare some money fortunately and I realized that if I follow a simpler life I can survive on my savings. I intend to work a few more years and then quit this corporate life.
I've had this exact same thought as well. I kind of grew to be pessimistic about it because not only did I experience it but I've seen so many people where it happened to them too.
Damn
These companies are actively investing billions and billions in generative AI to outsource human developers to AI/AGI. They want to push their profit margins as much as possible as a lot of those high salary positions are exorbitant.
I've realised that the reason why I got into tech in the first place was really only so I could make things for myself, and share it so others may also find value in it. Not necessarily to slave away for a company.
Like what type of stuff would you build for yourself?
You are one of the intrepid few who found Adventure Driven Development on their own...
I am trying to put into words
Let me know what you think about Adventure Driven Development on my channel
@@AntodyI used to make little toys. Playing with graphics and game engines to make very small programs (not quite games even) that made me smile.
aye yes. That was the reasons I got into it. I wrote a few scripts here and there to manage hardware. I then use my basic coding skills from college to make a basic software for a family business to read their DBS in a useful manner. I had no idea what I was doing or had mentor. They ask if I was willing so I did. It was a hobby at work during idle times. Eventually people said I should go into software full time.
After doing it for over a decade. I realized... I love to code and make and fix things. I don't like dealing with people, or ticket's that are poorly written or fix code in legacy and poorly written patterns. If I do find a fix, I feel like I got lucky not because I'm smart.
Same here man.
Same here. Done with tech. I hate technology. I hate sitting behind a screen. I hate how the internet has become. I hate building stuff only to be copied by a big tech startup with buggy features. I hate how coding has become less about creativity and more about "requirements". And lastly, I hate that the work I do is creating more screen addicts. And this is coming from someone who used to be passionate about tech once upon a time. The question is, now what ? Where do I go from here ?
I always viewed as a job and I overall think theres still many great projects to work in, but its a unstable carrer, takes long to get into a new role and you have to update yourself too often.
This is where I’m at, too. I feel like an ancient person shaking my fist at new tech.
I think we’ve passed the golden age where every new development seemed to make life better.
Top all that off with the BS hype cycle, overpromising MBA-types with no other skills, and a toxic, grind-hard mentality…. It makes me feel hopeless…
@@MrChildren87 I'm from 85, I think the golden age at least for support/infra was when people were willing to pay a lot of money for a "system administrator" who at least understand part of the 6 or 7-digit-figure machine(s) running their business software and who was willing to read the terse, succint and short dbaseII manual.
Facts spat over here
Code was always about requirements. Even if you made those requirements yourself inside your brain when you was 10.
Im painting houses! Big CASH IN HAND, solo work, easy, relaxing. Listening to podcasts and music all day! No alarm clock ever again!
Enjoy! Sounds like a peaceful life day to day.
@@TheDanielRubio Thanks man. No joke, look into Laser Cleaning Machines. Expensive equipment, but with 1 machine you can do quite alot with $$$. Look it up, hardly anyone is doing it.
Aren't the fumes form the paint harmful to your health though ?
@@fabobg Not so much these days. Most paints are water-based and quite safe. But still, wear a respirator mask if spraying, keep windows open, place a fan near the entrance to keep airflow going. Invest in quality equipment always (money you made doing IT, put it to work).
How i learnt to paint (for real):
1. RUclips tutorials.
2. Painted 1 room in my house. Then a second, then a third.
3. Put an online ad, undercut everyone. Its business, too bad, not sad.
4. Once i built up enough experience, i started targeting builders. (small time builders).
5. Then started targeting volume builders (the big boys)
6. Hire a handful of older painters as contractors. Pay them cash in hand. They like it, i like it.
7. Paint less, enjoy life more.
*sounds easy reading, but took a few years. Just persist. Play the game all businesses play, with the goal you have and where you want to be. You have just the one life, may as well enjoy it.
@@Nova-TechnoLABthat’s incredible - are you making as much or more income than you did in your tech role?
I thought technology would be with forward thinking people who wanted to do great things. I found the opposite. Same politics, same beaurocracy and same ignorant people who get jealous or abuse you. I've been yelled at in front of 20 people by a manager, had rumours and lies spread about me, had one girl tell me I was a threat to her and her job without even meaning to be. The last straw for me was when my manager decided to try and gatekeep me from people because people liked me and spread lies about me going out to see my friends, my family and my background. Went freelancing instead and trying to see how I can transition to psychology/counselling to help people. I am NEVER going back.
I'm sorry to hear that. While I haven't experienced such extremes as you, I do notice that people forget that in tech, code really isn't king or that progressive thinking is helpful. Unless you are a super star coder, you do have to deal with politics and companies don't necessarily want people that are 'forward thinkers'. A lot of managers and higher ups are just status quo people. Good insight and good luck to you.
There's a big, multidisciplinary trend about being isolated/dropped for being "too shiny," someone both likeable and very competent. There's a certain level of competence that's desired and anything above that is scary to them.
That is corporative culture, not tech.
I've had similar things happen to me as well, if you give up then they win, that's exactly why they are being so toxic, so that you give up, so don't!
Went through the same situation with my job and I switched my schedule. Much happier now.
0:57 -- reason #1: not passionate
3:21 -- reason #2: day-to-day
4:27 -- reason #3: job market & demoralizing interview process
5:52 -- reason #4: burn-out
7:05 -- reason #5: not my strength
Thank you for doing this! In my next video I'll be sure to split the video in segments. I'm still new to this.
@@TheDanielRubio I'm subscribing to you just because you didn't beat him down for summarizing your video, something a lot of you tubers take for granted is that you will just watch their entire hours long video to get 60 seconds worth of condensed data, ain't nobody got time fo dat, i could be learning a new python package or implementing better code by converting someone's project into assembler etc.
Thanks for the time stamps
thanks
Thank you LK he should have had it laid out like you thanks for the time saved 🏆🫡
With over 15 years of experience in IT and web development, I've found the market to be dreadful lately. Companies are overloading roles with excessive requirements, and the interview processes at many firms are quite absurd. The projects we're assigned are often uninspiring, filled with bad practices and spaghetti code. Lately, many of the projects I've worked on have been truly disappointing... I am also considering leaving the industry altogether or perhaps transitioning to another field within IT and moving away from web development.
Same here. Jist prepping for an interview is going to college again, but in a couple of days. Plan your exit strategy!
Same here. Getting close to 50 and the fire has just died 😂. But can't figure out what else to move to...and I still have a mortgage to pay off and a family to support 😢
@@BigBrother04 I'm in the same boat my friend.
Maybe just desktop support as the man-hours are less demanding. Doesn't pay that well but at least is a job. Way much better than working in odd jobs.
@@BigBrother04 bro u probably worked in tech for 30 years with high salarys u must be a multimillionaire by now and have lots of investments that u don't even need to work if not pls explain wth did u do with ur money!!
in India, every now n then one software engineer dies due to heart attack, work pressure. Worst career to consider now a days..
EDIT- for my fellow engineers, please follow this rule which I follow at office - you put at max 75%-80% of your effort only for work, never beyond that, rest 20% you keep for yourself, for your self learning. Whenever any requirement comes, if it takes 2 days for me, I say it 'll take 7 days and team lead comes to me asking why u need so much time, I argue with him until he accepts, okay 7 days fine. I know either I have to spend my energy to convince him or get the job done in short time by taking the extra pressure on me. Either way I have to put same energy so I choose to follow the former.
Damn. That's brutal, we companies over in the states don't appreciate the work you guys in India do for us a lot of the time. I've worked and learned from a lot of talented devs based in Chennai when I was in boston.
heart attacks come from shots that go into the arm. dont be an idiot.
@@KeepItFresh02vaccines bad 🤓🤓🤓
@@KeepItFresh02 Not in India they don't. We didn't allow Pfizer and their bullcr@p into India. We didn't allow Monsato and their GMO bullcr@p into India. Don't think India is just some puny nation that bows to WEF elites. The soul of India resides in Indian villages, and the Indian politicians know they'll be voted out unceremoniously the moment they betray their core voterbase.
1. Narayan Murthy (Indian Billionaire, founder of Infosys, father-in-law of ex-PM of the Uk Rishi Sunak) professed 70 hour week (14 hours a day)
2. An 26 year old E&Y employee died due to extreme long work hours and work stress in India in the last few months. She was in accounting.
3. A TCS senior executive died in March 2020 trying to arrange "work from home" for its 160 thousand software engineers. He was working 24 hours for 3 days, and suddenly had a heart attack.
4. The pressure precedes covid jabs and all the truths/suspicions about covid jabs.
I'm a Staff Software Engineer my 40s, creeping closer to 30 years in this industry (started at 18). I have very current skills and aging well, but gah the interview processes now are just insane. I've been out of work for 1.75 years and running on fumes.
It's an absolutely brutal career to work in. Especially in the past 10 years, the job stability has gone to crap.
I only have a small window of time to find another job to save my house. I am just thinking about making some huge changes like short selling my house but not sure what after that. I am just tired of the highs and lows, would rather live in a smaller area and have a more steady and enjoyable life.
I'm sorry to hear that and hope your situation doesn't resort to short selling the house. Wishing you the best
@@TheDanielRubio Thanks! Currently in an interview process that feels very fair, hoping for the best. Good luck on your next direction as well!
Small towns are the way to go
I have chickens and dogs and more peace at home
Go freelance, you will be surprised how easy is to get gigs without going through a tough interview process
wish you the best man
I know engineering is also not for me.
I hate deadlines. I hate forcing myself to grind in front of a computer screen.
Ive actually been doing my work and meetings in random starbucks, parks, and sometimes just in my car because sitting at my desk gives me anxiety now.
Its just I dont know what else to do.
I dont want to go back to school. Why would i go to school to get a career that doesnt pay as much. It would feel like a downgrade.
I really want to open a restaurant, but the people i know who have restaurants are doing really bad right now because of the economy.
I think i need to take a break, go out and meet random people, just so I get more ideas because right now I know nothing except technology
Try working for smaller companies where you have more autonomy and influence on the work process
Hang in there! I really relate to the deadlines, grinds, and working in random places. I've also wondered if I should go back and get an MBA just to get a job starting at the bottom to work my way back to a salary close to my dev salary. They're tough decisions but we'll get through it!
How about working in Starbucks and grinding coffee beans every single day!
@notactuallyarealperson2267 this is great advice
@@doncorleone3901 it really is. You simply have much more influence to the business of your customer what makes your job less of a pita. And sometimes you can say no to stupid ideas.
This resonates very deeply with me. I loved programming when I did it out of curiosity. Started with creating games and moved towards getting to know the ins and outs of computers and now have been a software engineer for about 20 years, but what is taking the toll on me is that the work itself in corporate environments has gone so far from actual software engineering to just using all kinds of slow and hardly usable internal bug reporting tools to report defects in dependent systems and finding people who know someone who know something about the issue at hand. Everything depends on some other systems and these systems are completely defect-ridden and people who are developing these systems understand only simple sentences, one at a time. Like talking with toddlers. Everything around the actual "creating things" just takes so much time that it is not possible to focus on what really matters. And playing the corporate game has sucked the soul, life and motivation out of me, making me numb and emotionally tired. I would feel much better just staring at a blank wall the whole day than do this thing they call work. You are lucky to realize that this work is not for you in sufficiently early stage. Not sure what I am going to do with my life, because this "software engineering" as it is right now, is a dead end job.
Thanks for the comment and hang in there! Be sure to touch some grass every now and then. Meditation has helped me a lot too. We'll figure out what will come next after software engineering.
I'm just a junior but yeah... I hardly get to write code. I hate having to reach out, find people, depend on their answer or integration, deal with bad management, the whole review and integration process, making documentation, testing, finding what causes the bugs in someone else's component. I get it, this is just the nature of the job, it's necessary and the processes are there for safety but... I don't think it's for me. It might be easy physically but mentally... yeah I'm not cut out for this. I shouldn't have tried to turn a hobby I'm mildy passionate about into a job. Now I hate it
I am mostly angry about the recruitment process, but not the job itself.
Startup companies are asking you to write motivational letters... CMON. Or 5 interviews and 3 months to land that job where you move margins around the button is crazy.
Ugh yeah. I was asked to write a motivational letter last month by a recruiter for a big client. Then I was ghosted. Never again. Now I see it as a red flag.
I see a long process listed out and my immediate reaction is that they aren't really hiring. And people can miss me with that "well they only want the best!!11ONE". No, with some of the numpties these places hire, the process is in place because they DON'T want the best.
my observation is that becoming a skilled professional like electrician, plumber, carpenter, vehicle mechanic - maintenance and detailing has better chance of survival in the current and future job market than someone working in corporates as a software developer....or any staff and management roles and jobs
100% that's after 20 years in tech I am back to my roots: electrical engineering. Re-doing my papers and going solo. Being independent is the freedom. Also, they won't hire electrician remotely from India...
@@alreadyghosts7727 funny cause this is relatable even living in Brazil
2 years into my tech journey I'm also thinking of going back to my Mechanical Engineering background. I think these more 'physical' jobs are less likely to be impacted by AI @@Meritumas
It’s my backup if this degree doesn’t work out
I feel the same... 27 y/o, graduated with a CS degree 6 years ago but worked on non-IT jobs instead. Somehow discovered data science & thought it was cool, so studied for a master's and worked as an ML Engineer for 1 year and a Data Scientist for 1 year. I quit my last job 3 months ago to leave the toxic workplace, but now the job market is a mess & I feel like companies are only looking for elites, which I am not (I'm just hard-working & a bit clever but definitely not "gifted"). I just feel like the job landscape changes too rapidly & somehow I lost interest in my field (not sure if I got burnout from constantly learning new tools/revising statistics/preparing for interviews/grinding leetcode/reading tech news). I do have some career-switching ideas in my mind but the sunk cost has been bothering me
Wow! I am in the same boat! What are the other options you are considering?
I just echoes something similar not too long ago while alone.. You get to learn new tools, this that.. It's tiring
knowing how to work with data is never a sunk cost.
Also interested
@@Dk4KOfficial I'm considering the aviation industry as my previous Data Scientist position worked on some aviation-related projects, and actually I worked in that industry before my master's.
I'm not sure if you're working in-house or as a consultant. Perhaps you can rethink the related industries in your past data science work and if there are some that you find interesting, you can try to dive deeper and explore if there are other job positions you may be interested in.
Laid off from Microsoft after 10 years. Industry has definitely changed, perks have dried up and applying for new roles is hell. It’s hard for me to have to accept that I’ll probably have to take a lower salary at 44.
That being said, at my age I’m not sure what other options there are career wise.
I'm mid 40's and also laid off recently. I fully expect to take a lower status job and pay when I'm ready to go back into the market. This is why we have to really be diligent about saving and investing when times are good. Good times never last and we don't get any younger.
I'm in the same place
I am 45 this year, and have been developing demo applications as one part of my work (the other part being project management) since mid 2020. I don't consider myself a full fledged software developer, at least not by the industrial level as I understand. Having watched these videos and comments to know about veterans being let go, I am not sure if I should still press on with my aspiration to be a full software dev, and to get more qualifications in software development towards this end. The context here is that I don't have a college degree in CS or IT. My training are largely from a number of short term courses (longest being a 6 months programme), both online and remote distant learning. Hope to know some thoughts and views. Thank you.
@@thomaschua4512 The market is a mess but if you are really good and interested there will always be people.
Kelsey? Is that you?
The amazing fact is that after passing all that absurd interviews where they ask you about how Facebook amd Amazon works, you find out that most of the codebase is legacy mess, deploying is done using tools which where updated 10 years ago
I agree with this. Also like, they ask these insane questions but really all you’re doing is modifying dictionaries or lists. Lol
i have lots of friends who left software development and became chef. They love their job and enjoy eating their hard work.
The best comment 😂
I’ve heard being a chef is a nightmare. Working all hours. High demand output job. Late hours.
7 months in the interview process... Wow, that's a huge red flag. I was burned once after completing a free assignment project and going through 5 rounds of interviews, which took a total of 5 or 6 weeks of my time. Never again.
Never had an interview process last longer than 3 weeks. If they take longer than that I move on I got money to make
Hey dude, saw this comment. Just wanted to clarify, I was applying to companies and interviewing for 7 months. Imagine one company having to interview for 7 months, forget it.
To be honest I left tech as well. I've done tech support for nearly 20 years and the last few years I moved into being groomed for junior dev to business analyst and I just was burned out. I never recovered from that burnout I went through during covid and my ex doing meth. So I am moving to being a veterinary assistant working towards vet tech. This feels like my dream job. It's hard honest days work! It's also nice to interact with people anymore. I wish you luck with whatever you find your passion in
Thank you! Glad it worked out for you!
In the same position, after 7y in FAANG, and grinding Leetcode/System design, passing Meta/Google only to get rejected at team matching phase (while jobs are outsourced to India) pissed me off so much I decided to exit the industry altogether. Going for my private pilot license, and then later for commercial.
Ur experience as ex-FAANG is actually very unique. We all thought that having FAANG on ur C.V. (even 1 yr) is like a lifetime contract in SWE.
@@fritzdeuces It used to be 5y ago, but not anymore. I can still get some interviews easier (like hedge funds), but in general not much advantage.
I've been in software engineering for 30 years and I have just quit my job and don't intend to return to the industry. Corporate development is a soulless grind with little job satisfaction and endless meetings. As time went on the list of cons far outweighed the pros and so I called it a day.
So did u raise enough money to retire and investe or are u looking for another job , we all devs want this field cuz of the $ there is no arguments
The biggest problem with tech today is the endless meetings due to the abnormally large number of people involved. More than half those roles exist for no reason and they need to call meetings to "do something". This causes enormous stress to the really productive people. I worked at a startup and boy was it great - we did stuff, kicked ass, the ceo himself was an expert at the domain and a great sales guy, everyone else did engineering. Meetings ended in half time. Now we got acquired and it made all of us sort of rich and now we are working for a large organization where most people exist for no reason. Its so stressful just to go to a meeting and listen to the mundane bs. Have some stocks to vest and until then im thinking to go stealth mode. After that i guess i will just quit and trade stocks - which i find exciting
Congratulations on the happy ending with the startup!
Hey Daniel, thanks for sharing this. As a mid level engineer, i thought of quitting tech and just go farming ( lol ) , but mainly due to the whole corporate culture. Good luck
Thank you and good luck to you as well!
I understand this a lot. I did a career switch into software engineering because I wasn't happy in my career. Two years in and I'm ready to do something else. With the job market the way it is, I wish I would have put all this effort into starting a business instead of learning software. Hindsight is 20-20, I guess
I bet you are already following Adventure Driven Development!
It's on my channel
You're not alone in this. I have thought this exact thing many many times and may even be the subject of my future videos. I've often thought if I could dedicate the same time and effort it took for software engineering, why not learn how to manage money or start a business? I think that's the true goal because at this point it seems they are both equally hard but business has the much better pay off.
@iyasugames
Hey at least it was only two years, even better if yiu didn't waste any money on a piece of paper
Never to late. YOu are an experience richer (even if IT is a shit field, nowadays)
never too late!
Software development is needed in our age, because it automates things, but it's not a natural activity to do 8 hours/day and can lead the body to confusion/exhaustion. Have seen developers willing to make hands dirty in construction or other real-world tangible jobs.
Thanks for the reply! I've heard a lot of jokes too about wanting to just farm or have a garden instead of coding and I agree 8+ hours or more in front of a screen certainly does take a toll especially in the eyes.
I always feel like -- "We spent 3 years building this website... Meanwhile, the guys down the street built a skyscraper." Whenever at lunchtime I see the construction guys, I think: "Oh, at least somebody is doing real work."
@@LionKimbro 😂 right! And no major updates needed for skyscrapers 😜
Leetcode ruined everything
@@LionKimbro yeah, and that website could be deleted in seconds or replaced with a new one after months. The building will be there for years
I work in a team of 6. 5 of us want to leave dev jobs and focus on other stuff: woodworking, teaching, running coffee shop, farming. The realities everybody is sick of the corpo - culture! Working WITH tech is != working IN tech.
The industry has made it hard to be motivated to work in. When the interviewing process involves so much rigid testing where you have to learn algos, or get a different take home for each interview meaning you have to put a lot of time and effort to only be rejected straight after making it all a huge waste of time, including constant learning, constant changing technologies - all that while you know that 6 months down the line you could be laid off at any point and have to repeat the process... This makes working in the industry absolutely EXHAUSTING. I still love creating things and coding a lot though... So personally I think at this point I'm going to have to just start trying to do side hustles and/or create my own business around a product I know I will actually enjoy working on. Just really trying to make a living creating and working on something in tech that I actually really enjoy and not bust my balls for the industry and other companies.
How many times a day do u bust ur balls?
I'm recently laid off from a software engineering job. Literally the day before the layoff, I was asking my coworker if he sees himself doing this forever. I'm thinking of switching careers even though I worked so hard to get to the level I'm at. Life is short. Do what makes you happy.
The problem is that the field is getting more and more demanding but less and less rewarding. The pay is getting bad, the job market is getting bad, etc. I am passionate about tech but it feels less and less rewarding.
bootcamp engineer vs Masters or Bachelors Engineers lol
@@Headchopperr I have masters degree and what I said holds true. It's corporate greed not your degrees. As long as they can hire indians for less why would they pay properly?
@@Ragnar452 Well, I am also Indian, and hiring Indians has been a common practice for many years 20+. Companies like Microsoft and Meta have been built with the help of Indian outsourcing firms. Who says Indians are cheaper? Are you unaware that Indians are the highest-earning community in the USA, infact 1% of Indians are paying 5% of taxes in the US. In India, software developers' salaries are currently quite high as of now. An average developer with five years of experience earns the equivalent of $50,000 USD. So, don't make assumptions and focus on improving skills. Dont believe any politicians who says they bring back jobs, US companies are now Acquiring Indians companies or started operations in india. Walmart and amazon invested billions in India, google as well.
@@Headchopperr I don't have a skill problem, I see a greed problem. Also the salaries in the US are generally 6 figures. And frankly, in Europe salaries are a bit lower than that yet they still claim "it's too much". I may have only 16 years of exp not 20+ like you but i still see they hate to properly pay. I don't plan to quit tech but I can see dev jobs are not that lucrative anymore. There are better positions with better pay and with less stress, even if I will have to dive into something new. Also I say this as an employee, it's probably better as a private contractor.
@@Headchopperr Cost of living is way, way and wayyyy lower than in America. So yes 50k there is like making 250k. 50k is barely above poverty in America with cost of living as of now.
Never give up. It is a hard period to find a job, wait it out and it will get better next year. Most other jobs are even worse.
yep most jobs suck ass
Sometimes you have to know when to give up.
@@illegalsmirf just why?
Maybe we should reduce our labor costs
this is the difference between a bootcamp engineer vs Masters or Bachelors Engineer, we been in industry for 4-6 years even before getting a job
Brother it is like you saying things straight out of my thoughts from the past couple of years. Working as a 42 year old senior software engineer, with 25+ years of experience in the industry, the remote work and isolation combined with the difficulty of the actual work, and just the thought of sitting in front of the computer alone has really made me sad and angered many times, yet here I am still, giving it still 6 months to finish this project that I started.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Can totally relate to all of those.
Hope all the best for your endeavours!
I'm 5 years in working and 10 years since my 1st line of code. It's definitely boring but what else is there than can pay myself and family's bills. I'm very grateful. I'll probably reconsider at the 10 year mark or senior level. Hope you find something better ❤
Don't stick with a job just for money
I salute your decision! Looking back to 30 years of my IT experience I can say that now is not a good time to be a software engineer. Especially if you are not 100% passionate about it. Software development became mostly a mundane, repetitive, soul crushing process.
Most corporate jobs are soul crushing.
@@gavinlew8273 probably but IT was paid better until 2020
Do you know the difference between software engineering and software development, sir?
I was in data roles since the late 1990s. Had roles as a database developer, DBA, ETL developer, data engineer, BI developer, so on. MS Data Science. I'm in the same boat now. IT isn't a stable career choice any longer. Outsourcing, lay offs, DEI. I'm moving into a skilled trades role now.
Wow, this video is articulated so well. I'm at the same point you were when you had graduated college. I just finished a degree in MIS, I've been a bartender for 8 years, I didn't have the chance to get an internship, and the market is so competitive that landing a simple help desk role seems impossible right now. But I just moved to Houston! It feels a little weird reaching out to stranger through a RUclips comment, but seeing as you're familiar with the industry and the city, I would love a chance to talk for some guidance.
Thanks for this video, you've got another subscriber.
I feel the 3 reasons you mentioned in the middle on a spiritual level. I never made it to senior software engineer and I'm so glad I didn't.
I WAS passionate and enthused about technology at the start of my career and loved the feeling of solving problems with code. Building something really useful from nothing was like a superpower that other engineering careers didn't have.
Unfortunately, the whole industry and the day to day of a traditional job (plus the whole c0vid shitshow) ended up extinguishing every interest I had in coding.
I cannot get paid to code anymore whether that's in a fulltime position or as a freelancer. I think I'm too burnt out on it to the point I can't go back. Marketing is now for me wayyy more fun and useful than anything I could ever do with code.
Glad to hear it man! Good for you.
I’m looking forward to know what will be your next job!
THANKS FOR SHARING THIS!
I’m thinking the same. I feel you. But the difference is that I’m almost in my 40’s and I’m in the tech industry for only 3 years. Sad isn’t ? I decided to enter just to get a good salary and prospects of career. But I’m not passionate 100% to stay all day in front of a screen, constantly dealing with impostor syndrome, always having to study and update yourself on new technologies and always feeling like you'll never know everything.
I’m sure that in long term this will impact negatively my life
This is relatable. I spent 20 years in tech out of which 17 I freelanced remotely and it's lonely as hell. Getting out of tech myself (a little harder with family and kids). I am too much of an extravert to be stuck in front of a computer and code away.
Just like you, I enjoy coding, but for fun. For my own projects.
Creator's economy sounds more appealing to me. Consulting, coaching, community, group training, cohorts, etc. Something you might eventually discover as well.
I got a new position recently as an engineering manager, which is actually where I feel my strengths lie, but I absolutely hear you, especially on reason #5. Before I got this role, I was saying that I wished I could go back to being a junior engineer, where my pay was yes, half of what I make now, but my responsibilities and impact were 15 times less. I could just coast and learn and get paid nicely for it to build things (which I also loved doing). I think I got lucky on my new role, otherwise I probably would have wanted out too.
I think in the future, I'll aim to do this role once I try a few other things. I agree about the junior engineer position but I don't think my ego would allow me to go back to being a junior engineer and plus I don't think it would look great on a resume either. Good luck on your new role!
It is true. Tech is getting saturated as more and more people get into the industry, driving the wages down and increasing the competition. Also it has become fast paced and temporary. You never know if you will get the next project. I also have the same thought, but do not know what else to do
We'll figure it out. We just have to apply the same problem solving to our situation and the answer will come up.
THIS !
@@TheDanielRubio Can you share your game plan moving forward? I'm in the same boat and I'd love to watch a video to figure out what to transition into
Saturation?! All the jobs are saturated by lowly paid offshored workers. Countries in Europe protect their workers. Not in America, it’s all about money. Where’s the merit in that?
@@WisdomofHal How does eu protect do they have some law?
I gave up and became an electrician, now i just code as a hobby and genuinely enjoy it again.
This.
This actually sounds like one of the best paths to take. I'm glad it's working out for you!
@@TheDanielRubio I began coding in 1980. Been a senior dev, as well as head of Engineering. Made my own tech company. I now manage a community makerspace and use my skills to teach, and to help them self-host everything. Its awesome.
@@oddlytimbotwillison6296hello , how do i join your community, I'm looking for new opportunities and collaboration with others
I want to become something like an Electrician but I am scared of electricity!
I also just got laid off from 2 years in software after spending 14 years previously in IT admin/support. Man, I'm so done with tech and IT. They want you to do so much more and apply so much more knowledge than ever before and the pay if anything is getting lower. I'm also from Houston, but moved away 7 years ago while in my upper 30's to France.
It's way too hard to grind out a very technical job than it is to grind out lower jobs where less is expected from you. I did that for years simply to meet my financial goals. Once you meet your financial goals, you can relax and take work you enjoy - work you want to do vs. have to do. Best of luck, but Houston is a hard job market. The big companies can grab anyone from around the country since people view Houston to have a low cost of living compared to how much you can earn. It's also a terrible place to be a single person.
Thanks! I appreciate it. I hope you found what you were missing in Houston out over in France. I often too have fantasized about placing roots abroad especially in South America. Something about the culture abroad is just so appealing to me. But you know what they say, the grass is greener on the other side.
Good luck for your new career path and thanks for the video. My son studies SE. I am afraid for exactly your mentioned reasons. The future will tell. Again all the best to you.
I’m only 2.5 years in the industry and I feel the same way. Not feeling passionate about my job just isn’t the recipe for long term success. I resonate with you deeply on that. I’m also looking for alternative careers outside of tech where my strengths in public speaking, teaching g, and people skills can really shine. Good luck brother
Thanks my friend. I appreciate the comment. At least you're not too far and sounds like you can pivot. A lot of people have personally suggested to me solutions engineering, sales engineering, or even an architect. Good luck to you too!
In exactly the same situation. Please keep us posted. I don't know what to do next and am rooting for the rest of your life!
Oh man, I totally get it. I was working as an Junior Frontend guy since 2020. My company suck ass with long hour OT and there is no benefit. I hate corporate job so much everyone putting on a smile and go to work if you have a good boss (which is equivalent to found a unicorn) - they will understand that you already done the job and let you go home. Instead a suck ass boss force you to stay to attend their "workshop", "bonding event",...etc bull shit. If you not joining it you are a "problem" to handle.
I leave in 2022 and become a motorbike repair guy, soon I will open my own shop. Still make good money without putting up with BS and I became my own boss. Best decision ever.
Good luck to you my friend!
That's awesome. Coincidentlally, I just started riding not too long ago on my 2018 honda rebel 500. I love riding it around and it's been really fun doing some mods here and there. I can see why you'd want to start a shop. Good luck!
I kinda feel you, wasn't a software engineer per se but worked in tech for 2 years and couldn't see myself sticking with it. Thankfully it wasn't too long and I'm still in my 20s so have ample time to look at other things, plus I was able to live a pretty good life in a vibrant city and have cool new experiences thanks to the IT money, but it's equally important to find out what you don't like or want to do as much as it is to find out what you really care about. Best of luck for the future!
Wish you all the best Daniel. I am going through the same thing. Became a software engineer 3 years ago and feel like I made a mistake.
Hey no worries! Wishing you luck as well. It's not a mistake if you can learn from it which is what you're doing.
@@TheDanielRubio Thanks!
Great video! I feel much the same, although I do actually love the problem-solving aspect--just don't want to jump through hoops, apply for 100s of jobs, all to get a chance at some interview. So tired of it already.
As a current CS undergraudate who loves tech and building software its a bit demoralizing to see this videos pop up, but I honestly get ur opinion, and its really been eye-opening for me, to see not just the perks,benefits and compensation of SWEs but also the flip side of the coin
Don’t get demoralized. If you love it then pursue it. Just bear in mind that the industry itself is much different than being in college working on fun personal/class projects where everything you do is net new.
same feeling bro
The guy in the video is a bootcamp taught worker which is a completely different market than for CS majors.
@@prostmahlzeit no it’s not. If you are a web dev it’s hell right now. Maybe for embedded devices it’s different, but web, game dev sucks right now
the thing is not everyone likes tech, they think they like it because of the pay...
Why do people even wanna be in tech anyways? The stories I heard were pretty terrible. I mean imagine applying for 20-30 jobs every fucking day only to hear back from like 3-4 companies! I heard fresh grads are in a bad position right now
becasue of 150k -300k salary
@@Niceguy54444 No because a lot of people are genuinely passionate and interested in problem solving and software engineering, by definition, is problem solving. Al this claptrap about 150k -300k salaries is related to people with 8-10 years experience at senior level.
It is pretty bad, I'm not going to lie but there are a lot of people that truly do love to program and code and really wouldn't want to do anything else legitimately.
@@Etcher Keep lying your self...
Many reasons. Money is one, love for technology, building things and problem solving (among others) are a few others.
I'm personally a mental person, I don't like working with my hands or body, just my mind and maybe my fingers. I don't like the lack of AC, getting dirty, etc etc. Working and paying for stuff already sucks, why not make the whole thing a little less painful?
The tech industry is great, and programming is great too. The issue is the globalized job market - no laws protect the inner job market from outsourcing. Globalistic US tech giants did this through the government. It remains only the defense industry because of the secret clearance requirements - no overseas outsourcers there. The government and its real owners need you as a voter, but not as a US engineer.
Also foreign companies should be banned, ie in 2014 we had RUclips ban almost 6 months, local hosting companies and local video providers bloomed with respect to Job openings.
So, you are calling protectionism, from the government?
🎯🎯🎯
@@EduarteBDOWell, the government is supposed to protect. You govern x country, therefore you focus on doing everything for x country. Period.
@@eeaotly The problem with this line of thought is that frequently politicians don't know the consequences of their actions, trying to "protect" something can lead to a lot of unknown economic problems. In the worst case affected companies could leave the country.
your story is relatable. maybe it's a good decision.
Thank you, I'm starting to think so too.
So what are you going to do? My issue is I switched multiple times, at the end of the day I always went back. Salary is too good coupled with decent work life balance, can't really find something similar. I did bartending, construction, personal training, logistics manager. Now with the current iteration I'm trying to build out a net of the things I'm missing by working in SE. A social net, exercise, being outdoors etc. We will see if it's gonna work out this time.
I think this will be a topic for my next video. I have an idea of what I want to try but I need to articulate it better. I will say though that whatever I do next will probably be a downgrade (at first) and will require some sacrifice in something. The one thing that stuck with me in tech was "trade offs". There is a trade off for everything so I just have to choose mine. Good luck with your path!
Bro you so real for this!
Yes 100% the interview process is too much... so much competition... it's very hard to get a job in Software Development now... all the best on your next career man... fresh start...
I'm done doing stupid homework and technical exams to prove to employers I am capable. It's really exhausting.
@@SurpriseMeJT True that... doing a lot of work for nothing... only not to accept you... just bores me this process as we have to go through it will all interviews... only to be rejected at the end...
this is the difference between a bootcamp engineer vs Masters or Bachelors Engineer, we been in industry for 4-6 years even before getting a job
will follow your journey! Better days ahead brother!
Thank you!
Have you ever thought about being a freelancer or build your own products? If software engineering is not your passion but only a source of income, try to work as a freelancer, it seems more calm and less toxic than corporate environment. Building your own business seems to give you more professional and personal fulfillment, although being very challenge.
I believe something akin to this will be next for me. I've dabbled with Udemy and have even made a course there that was well received. Maybe I'll pursue it further. Thanks for the reply
Exactly thanks man for this I’m on the same boat! No regrets! Good luck! 👍🏽
Thanks!
Hey Daniel, the market dried up in 2023, I believe it might return to normal soon. Anyway, if the passion is not there, I'd do the same as you.
Work will never dry up...there's too much work to be done.
Thank you for your honesty. I understand how you feel. I have been doing visual effects for last 10 years and that industry is in very very deep trouble. Much more than software engineering. I left visual effects career behind for similar reasons why you are leaving software engineering. And I went into software engineering with hope of job stability, better work/life balance. Who knows where I will find myself after 10 years. But all I can say is I know how you feel. I got burned out really badly. I really wanted to end it all at one point. Whenever I would sit in front of a computer doing compositing, I hated every second of it. Didn’t find it meaningful at all. I wish you all the best, truly. Life is for us to be lived. Again. I admire you being open about this and wish you all the best. 💪 Maybe we will meet one day gardening or something
Another thing I don’t like about the industry is that I don’t feel like I’m adding lasting value to society. Everything you work on is virtual, ephemeral and will likely be deprecated/replaced within 10 years time.
Compare that to a carpenter or architect or something.They get to spend their entire careers really dialing in their skill sets and getting good at one or two things, and the things they build can last hundreds of years and provide direct tangible benefits to society
I agree, I like the idea of being able to look back and point to something that I made/did that has lasting value for years to come.
You are romatizing the other side of the fence.
@@maximilianmusterhans4659 I’m not saying that carpenters and architects don’t also have their own things to deal with. But the average carpenter or architect are for sure going to have a more tangible long lasting impact on the world compared to an average developer writing crappy code for some massive company.
Keep us posted on what you decide to do next.
I used to be a Senior Engineer, I now grow cannabis, legally of course, making so much more with way less stress.
That's pretty cool! Maybe I should look into that as well sounds like a nice gig to have. There's something nice about the idea of growing something I think. Even better if it's cannabis.
I agree with everything you say except that i dont like programming anymore, that's why im putting my left energy on my project hoping it will payoff the hard working not like other companies i worked for so hard then get fired, no more mistakes like that
I watched your first video and I'm from Brownsville, TX too! I work remote down here. Not sure if you still have a lot of roots down here, but it helps me prioritize things in life like family and friends. I've been feeling more burned out, but the wife and daughter make me keep going. My day job deals with invoices, ERPs, CRMs, etc. Setting an hour a day to program on things I want to learn like Elixir or Unity has helped me a lot. It ignites the passion I had when I was in college for this. I've realized it's the corporate world and it's politics that make me start disliking software engineering, not the actual software itself. Try a passion project and who knows maybe that will support you and you can be your own boss. Good luck!
Cool! Glad to see a comment from the good old Rio Grande Valley. My parents and some high school friends are there and I come back every once in awhile to visit. Sorry to hear you're burned out but at least you have a strong "why" (wife and daughter) to help you push through. Best of luck!
Good for you, dude! I'm 49, and made the same decision a couple of months ago. Luckily I managed to build some financial freedom being more than 20 years in software engineering. I would have probably gone insane if the economy had pulled the rug out from under me after putting in 8 years of effort into this. You're a lot younger, though; you'll get through this! Good luck, man!!!
Good for you! I'm sort of in the same position too. I've always been decent with managing money so I'm really not hurting at the moment, so I have the luxury of taking my time.
@@TheDanielRubiogreat video you just expressed hidden challenges of many of us who are caged in a box and so hard to find our way out. Good luck
@@ikesk3718yall tech ppl complain too much; y'all would rather stick to a high paying job than work a lower status job with less stress just to avoid social shame. It's sad to trade your soul for money.
I respect your honesty and courage that you have with yourself in order to make this bold move. Many of us have been miserable doing software engineering and problem solving for years, but affraid to take a leap of fate and try something different. You seem to be more of a people's person and enjoy interacting wnd communicating with others longer, so maybe a customers relations or even sales/marketting career could be a good fit for your personality..
I have been a dev for over 20 years.. and I feel exactly the same. The problem is that I don't know anything else. So I am doing it anyways. The passion from the beginning is long gone.
And you are right, you have to constantly learn new things to stay relevant. The older I get, the harder it gets to learn, especially after work.
I can't do this anymore longer. But what should I do? I am searching for a new job but it is extremely hard, even here in Europe. But a new coding job will not solve the problem.
I heard many devs started to work on a farm or opened a dog salloon...
I am doing for the past 27 years, even tough i am not so great in software , i don't anything else other than cloud computing and System architecture
Can relate to your words. What do to do, when your lifestyle is adjusted to a nice senior software engineer salary .. and do you even want to another coding job, or something that is as difficult as sw dev ?
Well, luckily we all have some special skills we can maybe put into use, find you own niche and do things there.
Or is it worth ruining your life for the end of your life just for money ?
Totally get your sentiment man especially after recently all these tech companies laid off happened, it's just so discouraging in the whole tech industry.
40 yr.. I feel the same but I can't quit now.... lol I can teach... I can fish some fish and sell them.
25 years, and quitting is not an option for me right now
I'm a CS graduate with 10+ years. If if could quit I would have...
Hang in there guys! I know the feeling of what it's like to feel like you can't quit but have to keep going. I've wrestled with that for a good while although now that decision was sort of made for me though.
@@patrickm.39 Technically, you can. Unless you are stuck w/ a lot of debt or something.
Same here, we are in deep. To the OP - have you considered architecture? Nit managing people like a Team Lead would, less techie architect. Anyway, good for you- it’s a hard hard job. I don’t believe it’s worth the personal cost for most people.
There comes a time when you need to close one door and open another. At some point you have to do what's right for you and sustainable for the long term! I look forward to hear about your next journey.
i salute all the senior devs who step down. you guys give way so that new programmers could get a job. if a senior dev retires, there will instantly be open slots for junior, mid and senior.
in japan it is much more brutal. the people there will literally work until they die. if they do retire, it is when they have permanent sickness or they have 3 years left of their life.
nah there will more open spot for senior there is a LOOOOOT of senior dev.
@@TheBlackManMythLegend i am more targeting junior and mid. whenever a senior leaves, sometimes their mid gets promoted. and their junior becomes mid. that's why i said whenever a senior leaves, there will be 3 vacant slots.
I'm so more than happy to step aside for you to take my job lol. Although I have to say, you're view is a bit optimistic. People don't really move like a conveyor belt up the chain to the next role when a senior dev quits. Usually, they'll just hire another dev to replace that dev.
@@TheDanielRubio if it is an on-site job or in an office, companies would prefer their own people first. especially if the mid has years of experience within the company too. if they do want to hire a "stranger" senior dev, the hiring process would be bloody. because he is a stranger. a new guy.
if the job is work from home, 95% they will just hire another senior dev.
@@claireglory Lol not in my experience, everyone we lost in the last 3-4 years hasn't been backfilled. They just pile the work on to the rest of the team and we can't leave because the job market sucks. Also there are entry level engs on my team who are near 3 YoE with no promo to mid level because the market tanked.
Bro we have a similar story. I'm 10 years deep into coding. Got into it just cause I was more or less good at it, but in the back of my mind, I was never really passionate and always thought it would just be a temporary gig. Here I am 10 years later and don't think I can keep doing it anymore. I'm trying to come up with a plan to get out of this industry and into something that is more aligned with my strengths and passions.
Hey man thanks for your comment. What do you think you'll be doing next? Any ideas? I'm always interested in people who are trying to find something that aligns with what they really want to do. Doing that takes some cojones. For me, I'm going to be doing primarily youtube among other things.
@@TheDanielRubio I'd really like to focus on my drums and my music. Like you, maybe set up a RUclips channel that revolves around that. I was already supposed to do that years ago, but the pandemic messed everything up. It's now 2024 and I'm much older, but hopefully it's not too late. You're right, it does take some cojones. But I see no other way. I can't write code anymore. Good luck on your journey.
I don't spend a lot of time on this channel to watch videos, but I find it ironic that when I do, these kinds of videos are the ones that the algorithm keeps recommending me here 😂 I made a couple similar (probably more unhinged) videos earlier this year. I was laid off myself and although I have another job now (8 months later) this video still hits hard. I'm 27 and completely feel you, literally every point. I know it's only a matter of time before I switch careers entirely. Just trying to truck through in the short term to aggressively pay off some debt and be financially stable. I wish you the best man you'll figure it out!
Hey man, I browsed your channel and saw a video. It really sounds like you've been over this for quite a while. Hang in there. I can relate a lot to paying off debt and using the financial boon of tech salaries to do it. I had to do that at the very start for student loans. I'm lucky enough now that I've managed my money to take some time off. Hope you reach that point and soon! Good luck!
@@TheDanielRubio thanks for taking the time to peruse my channel. Yeah, gotta take advantage of the above average salaries to get ahead while we can. Glad you're in a good spot so you're not up against it with things financially. Definitely hoping I get there myself within the year. Good luck to you too!
I was at a similar crossroads but finally decided that this is my path so i decided to double down from a different angle and work for myself and just build the things that i'm interested in and not for a company. Good luck on the journey Daniel. I just subbed
Thank you I appreciate it! With any luck maybe one of the things you build will take off.
@@TheDanielRubio thank you 🙏
Tech career is most toxic career now. I worked in 7 companies only one was normal
tru. i've been in 6 and three of them were toxic af.
I appreciate this sharing quite a lot, just hitting 5 years in software engineering myself. I relate to some of these points, best of luck in your next pursuits
I am almost in the exact same situation as you. The only difference is that I wasn't been laid off (yet). The thing is that I don't have a clue ehat else I can do. I have more than 12 years of experience, but still not even a senior for various reasons. The problem is that I have never done something different from software engineering, so no idea where else I can fit in. Although I like thinking and doing LeetCode problems, reading about software design, but I am also not passionate about it.
I think I'll make another video about what I'm thinking about doing next after engineering. I truly believe that deep down inside we actually know what we want to do but for some reason or another we just don't do it. For example, your comment about doing leetcode problems and learning about design is a hint about something you'd like to do. I'd explore that a little bit further. There is a reason why you are drawn to those activities.
@@TheDanielRubio That would be very helpful, thanks! I always thought that the reason I like doing these activities is because I probably like software engineering and currently doing it, so I shouldn't have any complains. Anyway, waiting for your opinion on this...
Coding is a really Unique profession. I have been coding for 10 years but I have been always a "computer guy" since 5 years old. I've always knew I wanted to work with computers. I sincerely beleive that this profession requires passion and also being a real "nerd" for this stuff. So many people try to work in this field because of the "perks" and the high salary but this leads to burning out. For myself, I can easly work the 8 hours daily and for myself, solving the hardest problems feels the greatest. It is a joy for me when I am stuck on a problem for 1-2-3 days and when I finally solve it, it is a huge dopamine rush. Also, I NEVER work from home even though I could. As you stated in the video, home office sounds like a perk and it is if done scaresly but working from home all the time leads to depression and anxiety.
knowing the technical side - it will help in jobs like manager, sales, marketing .
I feel the exact same way, I dont want to do it as a career anymore, although getting laid off can be a sign to do something else, the best time to do it, is now.
Amen, my friend. What would you do instead?
I think you should treat a software job like any professional job. Profession - Something that is done for money. No need for passion ;)
Then you can just keep going forever.
Anyway, have fun trying new stuff. Any decision is better than no decision. You can only learn what you like by trying different things.
Exactly, I had real passion early in my career, then with the passage of time it became a job that pays the bills, my passions have also changed with time. I still love it, though, still learning still getting better everyday after 2 decades.
I know how he feels though. The expectations are so high today and at the higher levels of his profession that you can't just wake up and mechanically do the job because it requires a lot of mental effort to survive each day much less each problem. The complex problem solving will grind you down unless you are fueled by the resolutions you create/find. Even if at one point the successes provided positive reinforcement, the constant negative reinforcement from the profess will eventually overwhelm a lot of people.
@@SurpriseMeJT facts
Software engineering is not like any professional job. You have to be learning all your life, and If you don't put effort into it you'll stay at the same level forever, and you need motivation to do that.
@@airixxxx True, Software engineering is not like other professional jobs, it is probably easier than most professions. There is even no professional licence for software engineering, no hard regulations. We can have fun.
Learning all your life? Best stuff is timeless. You learn once, from old books (1980, 1990. etc...) And you can use it for decades.
There is something new once in a few years (like cloud or kubernetes), but this is actually fun. It is fun to do something new every 5 or 10 years.
And there are of course fancy and trendy tools and frameworks that come and go. If you do not learn it when it is trendy, then do not worry, it will disappear. And you still can do your work using real stuff you learned long time ago.
Hey bro thanks for sharing your story. I been working in tech sales over the last 6+ years and while its been a ruthless grind, it continues to drive personal growth and financial rewards I never could have imagined. Just like cooking my own meals, coding is a creative endeavor I love doing at my own pace and I can't think of anything worse than doing it as my full time job and growing to hate it
Thanks for your input. I've actually looked into maybe moving in tech sales myself. I've been told many times unprompted that I can be good at it but to be honest I too am afraid of trading one grind for another. Who knows, I may give it a shot.
and plus the stupid amount of tools/frameworks/apis/languages and often times abusive work culture/demands for a mere $80k-$100k is absurd. Many things in software can be mostly done in SCALA alone, but the industry/markets don't work that way.
what do you mean SCALA?
It's even worse in Europe, the same requirements, but you get paid less than trades people. 45k for a mid software dev
@@ayyubayyyub9415 the programming language
@@ayyubayyyub9415the Scala programming language
Language @@ayyubayyyub9415
Well, that sucks.. For me, computers and everything around them are a life-long passion for me.. Allegedly, I was in kindergarten when I first wrote on a picture that I want to be "computer adminitlator" :D So naturally, I spend most of my life playing with and studying them - from being power user, to family IT administrator and finally to programming. I went to IT high school and IT university and loved all of it.. Then I went and got my first job straight of the first interview (which had no BS questions and certainly no ADTs and algorithms.. just talked about what I did at school and during internship and it was just chill.. Relatively small company and I am still there, 4 years later, slowly getting to a senior position :)
While the money is nowhere near what corporate would likely pay me, the collective and freedom is priceless. And it's so much fun!
Sounds like you're winning in more ways than one. That's awesome that computers spoke to you and you continue to work on your passion. Sounds like you are one of a very few that are thriving and not surviving.
Hey! You should definitely look into making a personal brand related to tech and explore your ideas through projects and share it online. I think it will align well with your strengths. Cheers!
I have 30 years in tech and I'm ready to do something else. I often felt like being a brain surgeon from day one is easier than keeping up with tech trends. Every few years felt like I had to learn from scratch.
I somewhat agree but imagine though having someone's life in your hands. Can't really fix a broken unit/integration test on a brain or push a 'hot fix' lol.
Feel exactly the same, but I have been in it 20 years. Problem is I don't know what else to do. Lost my jiob and had the hassle of finding a new job after 6 months. Small startup, hybrid work, which is way nicer than fully remote.
My mental health as a remote software engineer suffered immensely during the pandemic and i got depression. I was ultimately fired for “inconsistent motivation” without warning. Debating if I can go back to that world
Sorry to hear that. Good luck with whatever you do next!
I was in a similar place, but I used to work in VFX industry (special effects for movies). So I decided to quit and switched to software engineering. Years after the switch I still think it was a good choice. Even with the current job market, it's more stable then VFX. And still I can browse through the jobs endlessly (even though I don't fit for most of the positions), while my friends in VFX have just few options and one job opening every few days or weeks. But I do get it, that if someone started in "tech" right away, it's a bad place to be in now.
Personally, no human contact and writing code is the best thing I like about being a software engineer. I seriously can do this for minimum wage. But that’s just me 😅
Don’t get me wrong. I like writing code, but 90% of the job isn’t code. I hate that part. You know, attending meetings, corporate bullshit, leadership etc. hate that shit
@@Wack373 yes those are parasites of society, invented by bad pupils from high school
This hits home lowkey. Just started as a new grad SWE at a FAANG/Uber-tier company. Was interviewing and mass applying for 1 year after graduation until I landed this job too.😭
Hey man! count your blessings. You've made it through the gauntlet and sounds like you landed in a great company. You're too young for this to hit home lowkey. Keep your head on a swivel, learn what you can from the company, and for the love of god please network while you're there. Your network will pay dividends down the road. Good luck!
@@TheDanielRubio thank you! Gonna make sure i make the most, grind, learn, and try to make impact!
I totally agree with you and look forward to more contents from you. Also, I am a 22 years old international student in the USA majoring in CS. I will graduate next year and I am really frustrated with the current job market. I have been applying for internships but getting rejected. and I really hate this shi"tty interview prep as well as the entire process. There is no other way for me except choosing this track that I have very little to no passion for. If my financial burden was not a deal for me, I would pursue beatmaking/music production as my profession. I am more into entrepreneurship and building business that I love to do and explore. Reality sucks and sometimes it's out of our hands. Do you have any helpful insights you might wanna share?
Wow, just reading the comments makes me dwell on my decision to start a cloud engineer boot camp recently. Been in construction for nearly ten years now in various roles consistently making about 65-70K GBP anually. Do you wanna know why I made the decision to switch to tech? - same fking reasons you outline in your comments.
The cloud is still growing. Friend of mine works for a company that helps companies move to the cloud. They're always busy. He tells me stories about how AWS employees are worked to death though. Working adjacent to the actual cloud infrastructure like he does might be best.
That said, I'd keep your other skills ready. I'm a long time programmer but have other skills in the ready just in case. I'm old enough, most places wouldn't hire me to program.
@@quademasters249 Yes I do keep a positive mindset for the cloud and it is pretty obvious how pivotal it is for today's digital life that we live. It is in fact the backbone of it all, am I wrong?
On the other hand construction skills are such that it is hard to lose them with prolonged periods of no practice. I personally feel that what I do is already baked into my brain and hands, so plan B will always be there.
You say you're at an age that prevents you from getting hired. Is remote freelancing not an option? Theres a few good channels here on youtube that spill insides on how to earn ~70K$ anually on places like upwork.
May I ask what roles you occupied in Construction?
@@onyemaifuma2805 ofcourse. Started out as roto and telescopic operator. Went to crawler crane operator, slinger - banksman and finally lift supervisor. These are all lifting services and are one of the top payers in constructtion here in the UK.
I did try to step out of the sector by working as a solar farm technician back in my country but that pays peanuts in my country, ashamed to say how much exactly. So I quickly went back to my main thing(s).
Which bootcamp u were looking at
Thank you for sharing this. I am experiencing all the same and agree with all your points. Thank you for encouraging others to change as well
Fair enough. I can relate to this.
I think you made the right call. It was interesting for me to watch this as a CS student, but ultimately I do have a passion for it and I think I will be happy as a Software Engineer.
I hope so too. It sounds like you will so good for you!