I like the flexible work hours that I have. I also like my unlimited vacation. And the Covid Restrictions have been the best thing for me because my company is now permanently remoted based and I can work from home indefinitely. I also generally like my co-workers and managers are alright.
The pay is okay. Supports my cost of living and higher than most people my age, but a little underpaid compared to most Software Engineers in the US.
The thing I don't like is my actual work. From the day I got here (3 years ago) I've found the work to be really boring 90% of the time. I would prefer to work somewhere that I can work on an actual product from start to finish. And also work on products that have some actual value to them. I don't really care much for the code, I'm more interested in building products and optimizing them and learning along the way.
The problem is that I have not been able to find any jobs in my area that actually allow me to do this. Most of the jobs I come across just seem more of the same; I would just be a code monkey on some scrum team working for a boring financial company or something.
My ultimate goal is to start my own business but that takes time. Until then, what do you think I should focus on career wise?
Also, there are moments when I think about going back to school for Neuroscience or something else that I find more interesting but that costs a lot of money.
The reality is, 99% of companies aren't actually working on something interesting. They're just making incremental improvements on something that's been done many times, and 99% of the work is grunt work. The kind of research-driven code crafting us developers wish for simply doesn't exist in the programming world. Maybe someone out there is working on self-driving flying cars, but I willing to bet even that isn't as glamorous as it sounds. It's probably mostly turning academic algorithm code into something usable, a.k.a. rote transformation of math into code.
This is because they don't exist. The people who have these jobs have created them; they weren't handed these jobs by their employers.
This often requires going above and beyond the pay grade, doing not only your work but whatever needs to be done. i.e: it is a momentary expenditure of a scarce ressource to reach escape velocity.
This is something I believe the majority of people will shy away from for fear of being a sucker or because they'd work "more than they're compensated for". I understand where they're coming from and that people have different circumstances and that there are abusive employers who'll take advantage of you, but you won't know if the envelope is set by yourself or your employer unless you expand it. If you do what most people do, you get what most people get.
There is a risk, but if you're in a good organization, there is payoff, and if you are in a bad organization, you'll get to know that quicker than if you had worked at a leisurely pace.
What I mean by going above and beyond: being good at the job and tasks you have been given is table steaks. That's your official job. Your mandate, though, is to make your team and organization win. Here's a reply that draws the contours of what I mean: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25367011
There's a lot to do at any company or organization that is not being done for a number of reasons. You can go ahead and be helpful and you'll be dealing with a lot of problems that will knock boredom out of you.
I did it by working for tiny companies or a tiny teams and later as a consultant.
For example; the last company I worked for as an employee had the boss, me and another developer. At another place, I consulted for a company that just couldn't get out of its own way. I was the software guy, my friend was the hardware guy and the 3rd guy did the mechanical engineering stuff. We were a small team but we could move fast.
But earning 800$ a month for the amount of work I do is soul crushing. Life in Mexico is cheaper, but not that much cheaper.
At 25, I know I'm still young, but I also know I could be earning much, much more than that but I haven't had any luck with interviews recently.
At this point, the only thing I wish for is being able to rent a place on a relatively safe neighborhood without spending 70% of my salary on it.
If you currently have a job that's flexible with the working hours, you get alright pay with vacation days, it sounds like you're already perfectly setup to execute the typical "Wage slave by day, business owner by night" lifestyle where you work on your own business in the free time you have, while spending your day earning a living and support the early stages of your own business.
The thing I don't like is my actual work. From the day I got here (3 years ago) I've found the work to be really boring 90% of the time. I would prefer to work somewhere that I can work on an actual product from start to finish. And also work on products that have some actual value to them. I don't really care much for the code, I'm more interested in building products and optimizing them and learning along the way."
Pretty much my same situation, but I hate my job due to doublespeak and being screwed over. Basically, I've learned to accept it. We can't all be astronauts etc. I think the Japanese have a cultural understanding that it's best to hope that your child is average. Makes sense when you consider standard distribution etc. I'll try to work and save so I can retire someday.
Note, though, that you need to be very careful to clarify that you want harder work, not just more work. The goal is not to start working 12-hour days; the goal is work that challenges you enough that you're not bored.
You may want to look into product owner roles.
Most of the companies just using developers to better sell some shit to other companies to let those other companies sell another shit to users.
So either start something new and meaningful or find some good startup you believe in.