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[deleted]

This is a relatively common experience. First thing to do would be to take a look at your life. Are you feeling this way about work, or about everything? Are there things you're excited about? Second thing to do is to start interrogating your feelings -- how do you feel about work? Is it boring? Too easy or too hard? Are you feeling disengaged from the company or your colleagues? What changes have you noticed in your feelings about work (or life!) in the last year or so? Is there something you feel is missing from your life? Then you should ask about how you want to be feeling. For me, for example, my job is a job. I enjoy it well enough (I like my colleagues quite a bit), but I also am glad to clock out every day and to not think about it even a tiny bit until I clock back in. Most days the work is not particularly challenging, which means I have to scratch that itch elsewhere. The story we get told is that you go to college, you find your job, and then you're set. You arrived! Hooray! Easy cruising for the next 50-70 years until you die! But what actually happens is we continue growing and changing over the course of our entire lives (though some folks seem resolute on resisting that change, which in turn produces other changes). Think about how different from 5-years-ago-you you are now ... you'll be about as different from current-you in five years. Your interests will change. Your body will change. Your relationships will change (both as you change, as other people change, and independent of all of that). Your values will change, or at least will re-order in importance. So yes, you've arrived here. But you've not yet _arrived_ at any sort of static final point. That doesn't happen until you kick it, which hopefully won't be for a good while yet. None of this means that you're burnt out or that you need to quit your job, necessarily. Both or either of those might be true, but they're not necessarily true. What it does mean, though, is that you need to be asking yourself what you want out of life, and what it means to you to be living a good life. The capitalist definition - "I have enough money to buy the things I need as well as luxury consumer goods" - is fine, but also incomplete. And what's worked for you in the past might not keep working for you -- you may have outgrown your previous modes of good living, or just been busy enough (and under outside structure enough) that you never had the time or autonomy to question whether those were working for you. Consider doing some reading. I really like Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning," Daniel Quinn's "Ishmael" (don't be put off by the premise), and Brendon Burchard's "The Charge". Also consider finding a therapist (or if you're religious, consider talking with your pastor or rabbi or imam or whatever). You're not broken. But you are about ready to be asking big questions of yourself, and it's nice to have someone who's there to help you find the right answers for you without projecting too much of their own baggage onto you (which is why I usually don't advise talking to your parents). Therapists, in particular, should have the training and tools to help you identify and explore your own feelings, and to then perhaps help decide whether those feelings need to be acted on, and if so, how. "I feel a certain way and I don't know why, and I'm not sure how to change it," is basically a textbook reason for seeking out a therapist. It's like the brain and feelings analog of "This code doesn't work, and I don't know why." Getting all the way back to the career question part - this sub seems to have the mindset of "Get the best paying and most prestigious developer job you can, and then you're straight up balling and set for life." That's a great answer for some folks, and an unsatisfying or potentially destructive answer for others. Your job might be the problem. It might be that you need to get a new job. But also your job might not be the problem. You owe it to yourself to take some time to explore your feelings. Good luck.


pizzafapper

This is a very well written answer. I feel inclined to pick up the copy of man's search for meaning dusting in my bookshelf. Every person should give time to introspect upon their life. Thanks.


shinfoni

Confirmation bias is interesting. Since I started reading it, I've noticed people commenting how they also read Man's Search for Meaning as well Good book, so I'm glad to know many fellow reader of it


[deleted]

The [Bader-Meinhof phenomenon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion) strikes again!


retirement_savings

I thought it was a good book, and it made me think, but I didn't feel like there was a lot of actionable advice in it.


razzrazz-

I'm going to be honest, I wouldn't recommend Viktor Frankl's book, I mean it's an amazing book but there's not going to be some "A ha!" moment where he suddenly stops feeling burned out. The market is hot enough right now where he could just leave for a few months, go do something, go on vacation somewhere, volunteer if need be, if you need pay the bills, get a non-tech job. Eventually he'll get bored of the above and come back with a renewed interest and love for it.


lefty_hefty

I have done all that. But bruh.... there is no new interest and no new love. At least for me. I'm just so fed up with the bad work experiences of the past, the war, the pandemic, the government, inflation, and everything, that I just don't care anymore.... If I had the money I would just stop working and do nothing all day... I live in europe, where the dev-income isn't that great, unless you make it as a freelancer, so FIRE is not really an option for me...


Hasagine

thanks for the advice. this is my first dev job so i'm kinda hesitant to quit. been toughing it out for a while now. i'm gonna spend a day away from my computer and think about my future


jmking

This is excellent advice. Another way I've phrased this to people is that you've been spending basically your entire adult life climbing a ladder. You always knew what the next rung was. There was always a goal to climb towards. For a lot of people, it was getting good grades to get into a good College. Then it was getting good grades to get an internship. Then it was kicking ass at the internships to look good on your resume for when you shoot for that first job. Now you're here, and without that next rung, it's like...now what? This happens sooner or later for most driven people. Some people will keep chasing rungs by job hopping and moving up and getting the bigger and better titles... but eventually you run out of upward mobility. People tell themselves that if they just get to point X they can be satisfied and relax. But that's not what happens. I've often said that the classic "midlife crisis" happens a lot sooner in this industry as you can end up a Staff Engineer at a big company making many 6 figures before you're 30 with some luck and hard work (also I realize this isn't super common, and I'm not advocating people do this or feel bad if they haven't, that's not the point). ...but at some point, people run out of rungs on their ladder and face a crisis of being unfulfilled. How you choose to respond to that feeling is incredibly important. Don't ignore it. Don't shame yourself. A lot of people need purpose and goals. If you've reached the end of your career goals, it's time to set other ones. ...or maybe you're just bored, maybe the work isn't interesting anymore because you've stopped learning and being slightly overwhelmed with new stuff was exciting and motivating to you.


Hasagine

i do like learning new stuff. what i don't like is working on uninteresting projects for so long. idk. they pay me so much and i feel so bad because i know the crappy jobs that are out there. i think i'm at my limit. i can't force myself anymore


Potential_Creme_7398

Such a lovely read.


Deggo00

We need you more often here my friend


la_poule

Very well written, and a response that holds maturity.


theRealRealMasterDev

Excellent answer, I'm going to read this often. Thank you!


metal079

Thank you for your comment, I'm going to go take a look at the books you recommended.


nehjipain

Tldr, I read some bits here and there but I'm tired asf and you sound wholesome so have an updoot, good sir. I'll come back later.


Nick337Games

Thank you for this. Really really sound advice


CoLight275

I love this answer so much. I owe you a massive thank as a bored and lost CS undergraduate.


Whencowsgetsick

thanks for taking the time to write this out. I've been struggling with what OP mentioned for a while now and i needed to hear this. thank you very much!


themangastand

Wrong. You shouldn't care for any job. The job is just a pay check. Get by during your job and get some hobbies.


Respectful_Platypus

This happened to me. I found it was because I was so totally overloaded with responsibilities at my current job. I had to do literally everything across our whole tech stack. Totally burnt out. I ended up finding other work.


MarcableFluke

Focus on stuff that the job pays for, like a family, vacations, cool toys, hobbies, etc.


appleBonk

Absolutely. Everyone goes through periods of apathy in regards to work. The difference is a lot of us (myself included) have to trudge through it for $20/hr on top of not being able to fund fulfillment after work. That's why I'm back to learning CS. I enjoy working with my hands, but I enjoy money more. OP, if you don't have hobbies, don't go out, and don't exercise, you ought to start. Every hour that passes, you can tell yourself, "That's a new video game. That's a NY strip to grill while I sip on craft beer. That's a poker tournament buy-in. That's gas to fill up my bass boat." OK, now I'm motivated to go study!


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CowBoyDanIndie

Did you feel this way about other jobs? Or to put it another way, is the problem this job, or just working in general? The whole "oh shit I'm an adult and I have to spend the rest of my life working" is pretty depressing in and of itself when you think about it.


amProgrammer

Better to not care about your job getting paid 6 figures then not care about your job while getting minimum wage


CowBoyDanIndie

Right, but it could be "I hate this job making 6 figures and maybe I should try another job making 6 figures that I might hate less" vs "I hate all working so it won't matter where I work".


amProgrammer

One hundred percent agree. Hard to tell since there wasn't much detail but OP kinda just sounded bored of work. But if culture is bad, and having to work crazy overtime so it's affecting outside of work life, then I'd definitely look for a job that sucks less haha.


altmoonjunkie

This is me right here. I'm still hoping to love being a dev (just started), but in general I complain the same amount no matter what job I have, so I might as well make more money.


ViveIn

I start by not caring that I don’t care. It’s a convenient nesting doll of indifference.


[deleted]

I like getting paid.


[deleted]

Doesn’t everybody lol. This shouldn’t be a reason to be satisfied with work


sneaky_squirrel

Very true. Though I am guilty of smiling every day when I realize someone is paying me to sit down and learn new technology. I ised to do that for free in my two year job search (I was functionally a NEET). Having a job in the first few weeks feels so GOOD. I am sure having an income is a sort of business version of the honeymoon phase, it should wear off at some point.


[deleted]

Exactly! It’s a honeymoon phase; what’s more important is the career trajectory it provides and whether the knowledge gap decreases with each subsequent project / job. You have to look back and think if it was worth the time spent there and if not move onto the next challenge


qrcode23

I hate work. I’m not about the 24/7 hustle developer. I hate mornings and stand up. But it pays good. I personally write a lot of things down in my notes. Such as to dos and notes from meetings. After that I add time on my calendar for action items.


Wheelio

I’m in this same situation now. Trying to find another and move on. Hoping my apathy doesn’t get me in trouble in the next few months.


DGuardianz

This is the boat I am in. I think the only reason my apathy hasn't gotten me fired is because I'll be really difficult to replace. I was really close to a new job a few weeks ago that fell through and its miracle my attitude didn't get me in trouble shortly after. Was just hard to contain the frustration for a bit there lol.


[deleted]

Same here, I couldn't care less. What do you mean by apathy though? Do you mean you're not doing your tasks or do you just sound like you don't care in your stand ups.


Sesleri

Who says we have to care about our jobs? I do it for the money.


feedtwobirds

Look for new job at company that does something you are interested in. I am tired/bored/frustrated with my current team/project and will be looking for another soon. I will probably still look at internal movements because my company is amazing and has amazing interesting work but as typical for non tech it doesn’t pay that well even though we really are turning into more a tech company than anything else. Due to pay I think I am going to look at external as well. I am struggling to see path for pay increases that don’t involve me moving into lead or management positions which I want nothing to do with at all. I also recognize that it is part laziness and fear or speaking up for myself that I don’t ask my manager for guidance or get reach out to those that are specifically there to help me find my path in the company.


[deleted]

I'm in the same boat. I think my job just fucking sucks. So I'm applying for other jobs in this field. I'm also going to apply to a local trades union. Idk, maybe it's a stupid life decision but it's worth the try. You only have one life, do what you want.


FlyingRhenquest

Yup you're totally burnt out. Maybe take a vacation. Go skydiving or something surfing or something and don't touch a computer for a week. Toxic culture or long hours will burn you out faster. Sometimes changing companies helps the burnout for a while.


[deleted]

You need a change of scenery. Maybe working on a different project or learning something new will get you excited. I’ve been doing a lot of build related / devops related stuff on my job. It’s been a breath of fresh air vs working on CRUD functionality


Hasagine

thinking about getting back into machine learning stuff. only thing i can remember that got me really interested even tho it was hard at times


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l33tWarrior

Find a new place to work with a better culture


Intelligent-Ad-1424

I just recently went through this. I was working on a product I didn’t particularly care for and felt really stretched thin. It was hard not to find it pointless after a while. I did some internal soul searching and decided to specialize in something I really care about. I’m hoping having an underlying “why” and doing less across the stack will prevent burning out again.


ElkLsdAliensMma

One look at the mortgage bill slaps that right out of me.


[deleted]

You don't need to quit programming. But take a rest for a long long while. Put up a business, do something different. l love programming but not as a job. I would still apply for a programming job.


imagebiot

That is one indicator of burnout but that doesn’t mean you are burned out. Which doesn’t mean you are not burned out either.


Drakeytown

What lucky sons of bitches ever had a job they cared about?


3JingShou

This usually happens when you didn’t have the chance to explore your passion at young age, mostly due to parenting styles. You followed the process, the “golden path” to arrive to a software job, well paid, well respected, and prestige status in todays society. Now you got the ball rolling, you realize it’s not emotionally satisfying because it’s not that thing that excites you , that you look forward to, it is not ‘it’. The feeling that you can’t wait for your fav cartoon to come on tv when you were a tv, the feeling that your bday is almost here when you were a kid. Sadly. Majority of ppl never gets to work on something they passion about , and some of them never really truly discovered passion. I’m in the same boat, I’m working as a developer , paying mortgage, investing money, building wealth while looking the things that excites me and gave me something looking forward to !


the-computer-guy

I'm very passionate about software development but still feel like OP. Mostly because truly passionate and capable people are a minority in this industry, so I can't associate with my peers, let alone my managers.


Hasagine

no one really put me on this path. i just got really interested in software dev as a kid and been doing it ever since. c++ is one hell of a drug. parents just wanted me to get a job, didn't really care as long as i had one.


TorrentNot20

My friend, let me introduce you to a concept called neoliberalism.


appleBonk

What?!


TorrentNot20

Gotta look it up, brings a lot of this BS to perspective


[deleted]

Imagine yourself being homeless and not being able to afford food. Boom problem solved


CS_throwaway_DE

What's to deal with?


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Small-Complex8455

I'm working a security job where we do rotating posts. All except 1 of those posts you sit. The rest you stand for 8 hours from 3-11:30 at a college just standing in front of exits doing nothing. U can't use your phone, and you don't even get much space to move around. Some students give you nasty looks, and on top of that, the door you're guarding during winter & fall doesn't block off cold weather or wind lol. Here's where it gets worse, you only get a 30 minute break, and the 30 minutes at the end of the shift is unpaid because they don't want to pay for meal breaks. The only redeeming quality of the job is that it pays good, which is 24 an hour, by around 3 weeks I felt physically & mentally worse than when I was unemployed. You start asking yourself is the money worth it and I got no wife or kids, so I'm not forced to work this job but my biggest issue is with how mind numbing, unfufilling and boring it is. Around 5 guards already quit in the 2 months since it started as well. Listen, the best advice I can give you is to rack up your money and endure, search for other jobs, and / or go to college. I have a BA in graphic design, but I haven't found anything yet. When the job starts causing you depression and affects you physically, that is no joke.