Have you ever considered leaving tech because you didn’t feel fulfilled?

What I've learned over the years is that X can be fun but X industry can be less fun and sometimes mindless, boring, or even soul crushing.

Early in my life I was very into fashion and so I opened a store. Fashion was fun and interesting to me. The fashion industry was less so.

Next I tried food. Making and consuming food was fun. The restaurant industry, again, was less so.

Today I'm a software engineer. I always wrote code as a hobby (started when was about 11). I love technology and software. Again however, the technology industry leaves me unfulfilled.

I have no plans to leave tech now though. My life is very different. I'm 37. I have a wife and a child. I have other hobbies that I like a lot and so my career in the tech industry is a means to an end. The end being financial support for my family and hobbies. I don't mean to say that I get to gratification from my work. I do really love working on some of the technical problems I encounter at work and I really like the people on my team. Overall it's a positive experience if I can put out of my mind the larger system that I'm in and how I feel about that.

In my experience (of observing others) - "wherever you go, there you are." Meaning, you are either in position to find meaning in what you do, or you aren't - and changing your environment isn't likely to help.

Easy example - used to work in finance. Some folks looked at the job as "shit I don't care about but do for money" - others looked at the same exact job and recognized that their work was having meaningful impact on bringing stability to the markets and helping retirees having cumulatively billions more dollars to spend in retirement than they would otherwise.

Also, if you're involved in charitable work or have a family, it's very easy to feel fulfilled because the high income from your work enables you to very meaningfully support those things.

Not to mention working with great people, having access to a ton of opportunity, etc.

On the flip side, if you don't have family/community/causes you care about, and you aren't able to "see" the meaning that's present in the work you're doing, then chances are switching jobs or industries isn't going to help.

I think the hard thing about mental work is you never feel like you've finished something. There's always more work to do and new features to build. The appeal of something like woodworking is it has a finish, and you have a tangible thing at the end. I think lifting and running scratch the physical exertion itch that the desk job leaves me with.

At the end of the day, if you have a pretty easy going role that pays well enough you can always take the big pay and fill your time with hobbies and what not that do bring you joy and fulfillment.

Only every morning.

I'd love to be working/owning a bakery/coffeeshop/bookstore. Then I remember my salary as a level of my effort and what it affords me and my family and how much time I can spend with me kids.

And then I also remember that anything I like to do for fun now that I'd decide to turn into a job would likely become NOT fun as soon as it's a job.

Yep. I even went as far as getting my real estate license.

Getting a peek into another field makes you quickly appreciate how good we have it and I readjusted to try to focus on what I really love doing in this field.

It turns out, I like teaching and helping people work together more effectively so I've gotten into consulting over the last couple of years. Really enjoying it so far too. I get to work with a wide variety of people, look into how companies are operating to diagnose pain points, areas of inefficiency between teams, bottlenecks and help to solve them. I help with DMARC deployments because so many companies still haven't rolled that out properly yet. I assist dev teams with fixing application and database performance issues too. If asked I also teach official training courses on Gitlab or Scaled Agile Framework.

Essentially, I help with the areas where I have a deep amount of experience and try to make sure people at the company know how to make sure the problems don't come back long term. For somebody like me who deep dives into everything before moving onto the next problem, it's nice to be able to share with more people.

I get the most enjoyment from helping to improve the management structure for developers though. In many cases it's very unbalanced.

Engineers weren’t paid until 2000. Early in my career, I switched to marketing (1983). The problem was, it was repetitive, and ultimately boring. But it paid the bills way better 1983-2000. I switched back to engineering in 2000. It had the same EXACT difficulties as in 1983: assholes who felt contempt for “the details” and were invited to meetings you weren’t. It was actually even worse! Now the assholes were 20 years younger than me and had the same misapprehensions about people I had back then. Yet it didn’t really bother me. Houses were paid off and I could screw around with LabView, Solidworks, and LTSpice all at once and get paid for it.

Considering switching towards tech because finance isn’t fulfilling. Seems like a grass greener problem frankly

I personally have not, but I've seen many posts on here over the years of people leaving for woodworking specifically. In general, I find being able to make something physical that you can touch is very satisfying. I imagine that's part of it.

I had a base-hit acquisition and probably could have turned around and done another VC- or self-funded startup. The burnout was too much. After a hiatus I opened a bike shop this year. I can't imagine going back to writing software for money again (I still do it on the side).

Every bike industry vet I've talked to feels about bikes the way I feel about software. Broken industry, yada yada. Anything can wear you down.

I've come to the conclusion that most industries are filled with bullshit, "bullshit" being defined as going through the motions in directions orthogonal to the mission in order to satisfy someone's/the institution's character flaws. That activity is naturally unfulfilling, but unless you're going to bootstrap a company or go for high-level leadership there's no way to combat it. So that means finding work where the amount of bullshit is minimized and/or the remaining non-bullshit work makes it worth it.

I have a wife and kid and another kid on the way, and I'm a sole provider, so I don't have the luxury of leaving for a lower paying position. Hell just looking at embedded development (bare metal C, micro-controllers, RTOS work and such), the tech work I find most fulfilling, I'd still have to take a decent haircut vs web-backend software engineering. My solution is I'm trying to spin up lifestyle business side projects that can compensate for any loss in salary when I find a job I actually want, and ideally train me for the jobs I actually want. I think that's the best balance I can strike while remaining an engineer.

I think of it less than being fulfilled, but just sick of what others are doing and feeling is a good thing to do with "tech". Targeting, tracking, analyzing, etc just makes me sick to my core that some really bright people are fully engaged in making this shit "better". The entire cryptocoins and NFTs are also just fully vomit inducing to me as well. Now, it's the talent and tools being used to create DeepFakes. We're promoting creating fakes???WTF!! I met someone that was using AI/ML in medicine looking back at pre-existing scans to see if it might be possible to detect cancer earlier than what was/is currently available. That kind of stuff seems like viable expenditure of efforts. Creating video/images to fool other people that someone said/did something they didn't say/do is just absolute maximum creepy to me.

So yeah, I've often thought about not being involved in the same industry as these asshats.

I have been dealing with burnout on and off for a few years, with the biggest episode happening during the height of the pandemic. After being laid off in Feb 2020 and thus able to collect the unemployment plus the extra $600 per week. I started working on my own projects and having leisure time, I found that I could no longer work on things that my heart was into.

These days, I’m doing consulting mixed with working with a non profit I advise. The former being my fuel to keep going and the later being my passion.

I’m still buying a plot of land in the woods for a cabin, but it’s no longer for the reasons I thought.

You may find that you don't have to leave tech in order to find more fulfilling work. "Tech" spans so many industries that you can likely find a position at a company that's more aligned with your interests than whatever it is you're working on now.

In other words, I think you can have it both ways—fulfilling job while utilizing the technical skillset you've built up over years of professional life.

That being said, if you want to leave by all means go for it. One of the benefits of cushy jobs is that you can try something else for a while and come back if it doesn't suite you.

Hmm. I've had friends stating they feel like going into something agricultural.

But consider that on that idyllic countryside farm, you need to wake up at 5 to feed the cows on a fine summer day. Also on that stormy day when you have to wade through half a food of mud to the barn * . And also when the snow is up to your waist * .

Another solution is using that income from your cushy tech job to get some fulfilling hobbies?

* I have waded through half a foot of mud and waist high snow, but recreationally. That was fun, but it's a different thing when you have to do it every day because you must.

Yes. In the early '00s, I was unfulfilled doing web development and bored out of my mind. I went back to school hoping to get into more interesting tech. I got a bit sidetracked from that because I found immense pleasure in mathematics, but luck would have it, and I found my way to quantum computing through a colleague from my research group. So I didn't really leave tech; I got the credentials to migrate into "high tech." Which isn't a "save the world" type of fulfillment but at least the challenges we face are intellectually stimulating.

And, pertinent to today: I quit my web job as the dot-com bubble was bursting. I graduated in 2008 when the economy was collapsing again and I weathered that crash in grad school, making peanuts but not taking on debt. Going to college/university with a few years of "adult" working experience has its benefits: paying my own tuition, I wasn't there to party, I was there to learn. I devoted myself to the work as if it were my job.

If I had stayed in web stuff, I'd probably have been taking a nice salary for the decade or so that I was in school making beans. My salary would probably be 2-3x what it is today, if I hadn't earned enough to retire early. But I never went hungry, I took on very little debt, and I really enjoy what I do today. I'd do it all over again.

Try to attain more autonomy in your role, which admittedly may require a certain tenure or level, and propose work you find interesting for your employer’s or team’s domain. I work at a medium/large tech company and consistently find those of us who feel like we have some control over our destiny to be happier. I also continue to bump into people who it never occurred to them they could propose and lead projects, it really makes a difference.

It's important to understand that "tech" is mostly a "horizontal" part of the economy. Meaning it cuts across multiple "vertical" industries. You can do tech for retail, tech for finance, tech for media. Finding a new vertical to be part of can make a big difference. As can finding the right cohort of people to work with. But otherwise, the lack of fulfillment will likely follow you to whatever job you take.

Posting here because I’m worried about personal burnout leading to an increase in OP’s sentiments. I welcome any advice from experienced folk on how to avoid taking on too much responsibility or otherwise setting myself up for burnout. So far I’ve had a very nice time as a programmer, and I find the work fulfilling and fun (based on feeling like I’m truly generating value that gets consumed to the benefit of others’ wellbeing).

Why would you want to work longer hours with low pay?

There are a ton of different "tech" jobs, even when just staying within software development.

You can go from writing code for the ICs in industrial machinery to controlling said machinery with OPC-UA to doing different kinds of process software for industrial use. They're all mostly 9-5 jobs with mediocre pay, but looooong careers.

I myself spent a bit over half a decade developing software for smart metering, both the meters themselves and the software that reads them. No matter how old a meter was, the person who did the software was still working there and I could just walk to their office for the inside scoop on how to wrangle it.

The pace is completely different from startups and (mobile) gaming "tech" jobs.

I'm pretty sure your current employer will love it if you go to them and say "I want to work longer hours and be paid less" if the cushiness is what's bothering you specifically =)

I have always felt that my managers are the primary inhibitors. They are super focused on their career to the exclusion of others. It has helped a lot of have interesting side projects. I'm currently toying around with stable diffusion and LLMs.

My fulfillment comes from what I'm using the technology to do, not the technology used to do it (so long as we're not being stupid in our technology stack). Right now I work for a large, American electric utility company. I'm building tools to help customers manage their generation from their solar panels and optimize their costs for charging their EV's. The technology isn't sexy, certainly nothing anybody here on HN would get all excited about, but it's having a huge impact on our customers and I go home with the feeling I'm doing some good in my corner of the world.

'Tech' covers so much. Some people I know in 'tech' do urban planning, some archeology, others make movies or furniture or help invent new drugs. Tech is a tool, and that tool can be applied to just about any endeavour. You have to narrow down what it is you find unfulfilling about what you are currently doing. Is it literally the fact that you are working with modern computer technology or is it something else. Because if it's the specific industry you're in that is getting you down, you can certainly switch that without giving up on the tech part, which is presumably your competitive advantage.

sure I have! but it seems like tech is still the best bang for your buck career out there.

careers that pay more (medicine, law, finance) are meat grinders, cut-throat as fuck, hyper elitist (good luck getting into a top tier investment bank or law firm without going to an ivy league school) and require additional schooling.

more fulfilling careers (education, government, NGOs, etc.) are meat grinders, elitist, pay way less, and are exploited by people who worked in the careers listed above.

definitely talk to people IRL in other careers that you're considering before making the jump. it might be possible for you to coast on tech to fund something more fulfilling.

I did, but then I realize it isn't technology that fulfills me. It's my sense of accomplishment because I build (at least a few) things and I like to learn new things. Even if those things have no day-to-day value in my work. That taught me that if I want to have a job that's fulfilling, it needs to have impact.

I had my lowest sense of fulfillment working for contracting companies where my work was as likely shelved due to whole programs being cancelled and I'm just one of many projects. No matter what I did, it did not feel like I had an impact in the world. I also felt like I had little agency to change things, after a while. Months of wasted effort, weekends in the office, etc. go up in smoke.

I considered ditching software development because it was fun, but brought me no sense of accomplishment. I looked at opening a store, going back to school to get a Masters in Tax Accounting (I used to be an accountant), or even law school. My sense of accomplishment came from actually doing side projects. It took me 10 or 15 years to connect those dots.

For the last 5 years I've been working for a cloud/product company where I do feel my work directly impacts people. And that is fulfilling. I've watched the result of my efforts unblock numerous lines of revenue. I wasn't some kind of sole hero, but part of a team. But my contribution had a real, positive impact. The difference is my work actually had an impact.

I currently program in bare metal C - a language I've known for the better part of 30 years. I live in an environment no more sophisticated than Visual Studio Code, CMake, and C. It is enjoyable. More than when I worked on cutting edge frameworks with all the 'best' tools. So it's obviously not the technology - it's the job.

I could probably find that same sense of fulfillment doing any one of a dozen things. It's just that I'm probably undiagnosed something or other and I'm pathologically obsessed about all things related to computers. So probably a good alignment between my interest and my job. What I've learned is that I think I could go dig ditches, and as long as it had an impact, I would have a sense of accomplishment.

I'm going to go ahead and say it's normal to feel some ennui from time to time, but in other jobs you'll likely feel similarly AND have financial concerns you are currently free from. Unless you are at an executive level, or are woefully underpaid (and even if you are) leaving tech will mean taking a 60%+ pay-cut. You probably don't have the mandatory qualifications for other professional jobs that pay reasonably well. All bets are off if you start your own business of course, but the results can be very bimodal.

Eh, tech jobs are not always cushy without long hours. If you are lucky enough to find such a job, consider keeping the job and use your free time to find your missing fulfillment.

Ultimately, satisfaction cannot be achieved only by what you do. If you are called to leave then leave graciously and on good terms. But know if your fulfillment in life is solely tied to your occupation it will always feel empty. You need to feel that hole with something greater than your work.

Don't take my word for it. Study something written by the wisest man of the world. Ecclesiastes.

I totally understand the impulse, but if you can find a way to get a tech or tech-adjacent job in a fulfilling industry, you'll probably be able to have a bigger impact and sacrifice less in terms of pay and work life balance.

I spent two years working in civic tech, and I've known others who have left big tech jobs for non-profits.

I built a fence around my yard a few years ago and got more satisfaction out of looking at that physical manifestation of work every day than I was getting from my day job.

Fence builders probably feel good when they do something outside of their comfort zone, though, so I think it's just a condition of being human.

I did leave tech because I was unfulfilled! Here's my story of leaving tech to become a therapist: http://glench.com/WhyIQuitTechAndBecameATherapist/

I left finance, working in illiquid alternatives - writing checks as an LP into VCs and buyout groups because it wasn’t fulfilling. Went back to manufacturing / industrial tech. Hard at first, very fulfilling and economically good a few years later.

Yes, specially now

The new de-facto is to have an over politicsed and heavily dishonest employer.

My work is also seen as a quick commodity to turn around, thanks to Amazon's hire-to-fire schemes

I love programming but working as a software engineer is terrible. I'm becoming a small shop owner asap

I love tech, but I am less-than-thrilled with the tech industry.

Best thing that ever happened to me, was being forced into early retirement, by reaching the doddering old age of 55.

I now write the software I want, and it has been working well for the last five years.

What about working in a more fulfilling role in tech? For example working on solutions to address climate change - https://workonclimate.org/

I mostly did, and it saved it as a passion and hobby to me. If your heart lies elsewhere, go, but dont dare ignore where and how tech increasingly steers the world.

Fulfilment is found by some people by improving spiritual health.

So cut out unwholesome bad things and replace them with good, love, kindness and beauty.

People find solace in God and meditation.

I seek fulfillment at home with my family, friends and hobbies! Work in tek is just something that I happen to find fund and pays the bills

I did, took a year off to backpack around the world. Didn’t think I’d come back to tech but I did with much renewed interest.

I did but then I realized it’s better to find something else that gives me fulfillment. In this case it’s 3D printing hobby.

I left tech for law. Now trying to jump back to tech.

Tech is arguably objectively better than almost every other industry.

Can elaborate if you want.

Yep, I just wish I could earn the same building cars or houses or wtfever.

That’s what’s keeping me here: the income.

I call the state of affairs “being pinned down with the money firehose.”

What even is “tech”?

Inb4 "No way I am just sooo fulfilled by improving ad targeting on a social media website."