What is your biggest problem? (2022)

I recently became a solution architect after pursuing this goal for quite a number of years. I love what I do, perform well, have good work-life balance, solve cutting edge technical problems, the pay is great. Wife, kids. Healthy and fit. So, enjoy your nice life, right?

The problem: am Ukrainian. It currently looks like I can get mobilized soon and go to war. If that happens, chances are that what awaits is not domain driven design and distributed systems but trench warfare. Even though I am likely to survive, my mental health and capacity for intense intellectual work may be permanently reduced.

Not just me: it's a trend. Ukraine is a major software engineering hub. The war doesn't care. Tons of talented people have to stop what they do and go defend the nation from the russian horde. Such a striking contrast where you can have cloud solutions and Ww1 style fighting within weeks from each other. Puts things into perspective.

Communicating with any large company.

Try to tell Google, Verizon, Microsoft, American Express, et cetera, that there's something wrong with their servers, or some security issue with their site, whatever, and you'll either not be talking with real humans (Google) or you'll be trying to explain email servers to first level phone support who think that if it works for some people, then the problem has to be elsewhere.

The same goes for companies that have no way for humans to contact them yet have, for instance, old people who need to use them. They ignore ADA requirements for TTD contacts. They have no way to skip their automated phone systems or voice activated systems. They have outsourced people who know nothing about the companies' products and no way to escalate anything. These problems are getting worse over time.

Lack of friends, a meaningful social life and general peace of mind.

My life is great, healthy, happily married with kids, great job, etc.

But I'd like to achieve something special in my life. Have some sense of fulfillment. Be it professionally or towards the local community, etc.

Too many choices.

Want to learn too many things. All right now.

It's so bad it’s almost always crippling.

ADHD, without a doubt. I take medication to manage it well enough to take care of myself and do well at work, but it's still the single largest obstacle I face in all my endeavors personal and professional.

The internal conflict of wanting to leave my country but staying put because of my ageing parents.

No money to buy house, support ppl iny life.

My biggest problem is that I've probably got ~15,000 days of life remaining.

There are only a few ways I might get lucky:

- somebody uploads my mind into a computer

- somebody cures aging

- somebody cures sleep (extra 30% of each day would be nice)

- I decide that ~15,000 days is good enough

My biggest problem is that I dislike my job but it has potential to pay off big and allow me to retire (Or at least, semi-retire) in ~5 years off the stock options.

Retiring at 45 seems pretty appealing. I could finally catch up on my massive library of games I've been wanting to play, not to mention reducing my alarm clock usage to likely 10 times a year, rather than 5 days a week.

The lack of financial freedom.

Jobless. The dreadful feeling of being unable to positively contribute to something.