Where are you supposed to go if you don't care about growth?

Tension around “growth” in software careers

• Several commenters interpret the author as wanting to “coast” or avoid upskilling, arguing that in software you must grow skills just to remain employable.
• Others read it differently: the author is fine doing solid work, but rejects the constant pressure to chase promotions, leadership, or “changing the world.”
• Some note that in other fields (e.g., accounting) it’s normal to remain mid‑level for decades; software’s growth obsession is unusual and market-driven.

Suggested career paths with lower growth pressure

• Government and local government roles: often stable, slower-moving, less obsessed with ladder-climbing, though can involve mismanagement and bureaucracy.
• Academia and university IT: limited promotion tracks, substandard pay, but good security, chill environments, and moderate expectations.
• Mature, non‑“tech” companies (manufacturing, industrial automation, medical devices, in‑house IT for B2B firms): real products, steady but not explosive growth, interesting problems without startup hype.
• Mid-sized, niche B2B firms with healthy balance sheets: not aggressively expanding, often family‑oriented cultures, 40‑hour weeks; harder to find and to get into.
• Nonprofits: align more with values and less with profit, but pay much less and can have intense resource scarcity and politics.
• Trades or non-tech jobs (plumber, electrician, etc.) plus programming as a hobby are proposed as a radical alternative.

Bootstrap, side projects, and co-ops

• Some advocate bootstrapping a small business or consulting practice to set one’s own pace, accepting that even “no‑growth” businesses must adapt or slowly die.
• Cooperatives are mentioned as a way to share ownership while still accepting that client needs dominate.

Work vs. hobby and meaning

• Multiple comments stress separating hobby programming from paid work: you’re paid for the un-fun parts.
• Others recommend reframing: see $JOB as a patron funding your real work, or craft meaning from small improvements and good coworkers rather than expecting a “perfect” alignment.
• There’s debate over whether dissatisfaction is mainly a structural problem (capitalism, junior market, growth culture) or partly an attitude/maturity issue.

Values, honesty, and cynicism

• Some endorse “just lie” about ambition because institutions demand a growth narrative.
• Others push back, highlighting ethical discomfort with dishonesty and the broader privilege of even being able to search for “values-aligned” work.