Ask HN: Tired of software career. What now?

Hacker News Discussion ↗

Sources of Dissatisfaction

  • Many distinguish between enjoying programming itself and disliking web development and corporate environments: spaghetti code, front-end minutiae, tooling churn, Agile/Scrum/Jira, “points” culture, constant meetings.
  • A strong theme is not caring about the product/domain; building things that “don’t matter” or mainly make others rich feels hollow.
  • Several frame this as an existential or quarter‑life crisis: searching for a job that “makes you feel whole” often signals other unmet needs in life.

Change Jobs vs. Change Careers

  • Many argue to first try changing jobs or teams (especially internal transfers) before changing careers; that’s much easier and often enough.
  • Suggestions: smaller or mid‑sized companies, non‑startup but stable back‑end roles, government IT, firmware/embedded, non‑web stacks (e.g., Rails, functional languages), Linux/system administration, data roles.
  • Others describe successful pivots: to product management, marketing, design, technical writing, venture capital technical research, mechanical engineering, teaching, medicine, farming, carpentry, ceramics, machining, paramedic/coroner.
  • Some warn reskilling can require years of education, loss of seniority, and lower pay; age and debt are concerns, but examples show mid‑life transitions are possible.

Alternatives Within Software

  • Move to domains with tangible impact or physical outcomes (industrial/physical engineering, labs, firmware, climate-related work).
  • Indie hacking / starting a company for more ownership and ability to avoid corporate processes.
  • Use software skills in other industries (engineering firms, digital/parametric modelling, internal tools).

Lifestyle, Money, and Mental Health

  • Strong support for reducing hours, freelancing, or part‑time work to reclaim time and creativity, even at lower income.
  • Advice to live frugally, cut expenses/debt, and build savings to gain flexibility or pursue low‑pay but meaningful paths.
  • Emphasis on therapy, addressing anxiety/burnout, and neurodivergent support; job change alone may not fix underlying issues.
  • Some advocate accepting work as “just a job” and focusing fulfillment on hobbies (creative coding, woodworking, 3D printing, reading, outdoor activities).