6 ms·

Do any of you tech folk ever think about just quitting tech altogether?

19 points by bsg75 7y ago

scohesc 7y ago
Almost 2-3 times per week. Stuck in a rut because I stupidly spent all the available, waking hours of my youth on computers playing video games and figured I'd go into a career with computers, because. Not too sure what I should do at this point - whether I should stick it out or just keep pushing and hopefully I'll find another "area" of IT interesting enough to keep my attention.
Nextgrid 7y ago
I think about it very often. Most of big tech nowadays seems to be more about treating customers like shit, stalking them, bombarding them with ads, dark patterns, lies & fraud, intentionally misleading terms & conditions, etc. It's becoming very hard to find a gig where my work will actually make people happy instead of just being a necessary evil they have to put up with.
- streetcat1 7y ago
  Right, which make the opportunity that much bigger. For new startups, it would be much worse if companies respect customers, did not lie, did not mislead.
  - Nextgrid 7y ago
    Most of this I’ve noticed with startups. I guess it’s the “move fast and break things” they all talk about (even when “things” include the law).
streetcat1 7y ago
No.
amalow 7y ago
All the time, current plan is to cash out in a few years and open a Brewery or Brewpub. Making beer makes me happy and is way less stress.
hoompoogrill 7y ago
Quit IT a few months back. Now work at a startup serving lattes for the barista
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
thanatos519 7y ago
Absosmurfly, yes! I would love to participate in the broader discussion, but then I would have to join Twitter. If I could muster the penchant for finishing things, perhaps I could join academia. If I can hold my breath long enough to cash in my stock grants, I will take time off to launch my art career. In the end, though, it seems like it would be safest to leverage my Canadian citizenship to move to the arctic coast and build a fortress to endure the coming zombie apocalypse.
- Buttons840 7y ago
  I've wanted to quit tech, and recently resumed drawing, so I want to ask: Do you want to quit tech because you don't enjoy the tech, or because of the people and culture in tech? If it's because of the people and culture, then do you believe the people and culture in an art career would be any better? While investigating drawing recently, I learned that it can be approached in a very technical way, and that there are many different areas of study. I found it to be more similar to programming, in this way, than I would have expected. I love programming and the tech, but I don't like the culture very often. I've been frustrated with the CEO at my company, who sells our amazing software and AI. What we really have is a basic CRUD app (which we've managed to make very buggy and unreliable) and our AI is humans who manually review things. Yet I believe the CEO is sincere in his delusions. I've been appreciating drawing because there can be no such delusions. What you see is what's there, and our brains are very good at detecting oddities and making them very apparent. It seems to leave much less room for self-deception.
mtnGoat 7y ago
all the time. if only the pay were half as good doing any of the things i would like to switch to. moving to the bottom and retraining, working my way back up doesnt bother me, but not being able to provide for my family to the best of my ability does. Tech doesnt bother me too much, but it would be nice to try other things.
sabizmil 7y ago
I often reminisce about working in a warehouse and going home without any looming thoughts about work. I mean, you can't really take the sweeping and forklifts home with you. These days it takes serious effort to put the work aside and not think about either current or future problems that I am being paid to solve. Sometimes this industry feels like a field of rabbit holes and it requires almost perfect balance not to fall into them.
- malandrew 7y ago
  The ability to turnoff is a huge reason I think about other careers. The other reason is wanting to find a job where I can work 7-9 months and have the rest of the time to travel and get outdoors.
eikenberry 7y ago
> There's a huge number of replies from devs who would be doing anything else if it paid half as well. That says a lot about our industry... What does it say about our industry? I can't think of anything that isn't true of any profession, particularly ones that pay well.
mieseratte 7y ago
Very nearly did! Failed startup, batshit insane startup (6 bosses, 12 months), went Wall St. only to narrowly escape a layoff and a psycho manager (harassing me for leaving), thought I found the perfect job. Turned into the worst job I’ve had. Ended after 4 months. Ended up taking a 33% pay cut to join a local municipal, 8-5 with an hours lunch, business casual dress, etc. Never been happier. If you’re stuck in a rut, look for jobs you would normally turn your nose up at. You might be pleasantly surprised why you find.
- bsg75 7y ago
  > If you’re stuck in a rut, look for jobs you would normally turn your nose up at. You might be pleasantly surprised why you find. This is a simple and for some (like me) maybe a non-obvious approach. An excellent idea.
awillen 7y ago
I quit tech last year. Moved to San Diego. Currently in the process of opening a dog boarding business. So far the first big lesson is that landlords don't want to rent to someone who's going to put 100 dogs in their building, but I'm still excited about it!

19 points by bsg75 7y ago

Almost 2-3 times per week. Stuck in a rut because I stupidly spent all the available, waking hours of my youth on computers playing video games and figured I'd go into a career with computers, because. Not too sure what I should do at this point - whether I should stick it out or just keep pushing and hopefully I'll find another "area" of IT interesting enough to keep my attention.

Nextgrid 7y ago

I think about it very often. Most of big tech nowadays seems to be more about treating customers like shit, stalking them, bombarding them with ads, dark patterns, lies & fraud, intentionally misleading terms & conditions, etc. It's becoming very hard to find a gig where my work will actually make people happy instead of just being a necessary evil they have to put up with.

streetcat1 7y ago
Right, which make the opportunity that much bigger. For new startups, it would be much worse if companies respect customers, did not lie, did not mislead.
- Nextgrid 7y ago
  Most of this I’ve noticed with startups. I guess it’s the “move fast and break things” they all talk about (even when “things” include the law).

streetcat1 7y ago

No.

amalow 7y ago

All the time, current plan is to cash out in a few years and open a Brewery or Brewpub. Making beer makes me happy and is way less stress.

hoompoogrill 7y ago

Quit IT a few months back. Now work at a startup serving lattes for the barista

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

thanatos519 7y ago

Absosmurfly, yes! I would love to participate in the broader discussion, but then I would have to join Twitter. If I could muster the penchant for finishing things, perhaps I could join academia. If I can hold my breath long enough to cash in my stock grants, I will take time off to launch my art career. In the end, though, it seems like it would be safest to leverage my Canadian citizenship to move to the arctic coast and build a fortress to endure the coming zombie apocalypse.

Buttons840 7y ago
I've wanted to quit tech, and recently resumed drawing, so I want to ask: Do you want to quit tech because you don't enjoy the tech, or because of the people and culture in tech? If it's because of the people and culture, then do you believe the people and culture in an art career would be any better? While investigating drawing recently, I learned that it can be approached in a very technical way, and that there are many different areas of study. I found it to be more similar to programming, in this way, than I would have expected. I love programming and the tech, but I don't like the culture very often. I've been frustrated with the CEO at my company, who sells our amazing software and AI. What we really have is a basic CRUD app (which we've managed to make very buggy and unreliable) and our AI is humans who manually review things. Yet I believe the CEO is sincere in his delusions. I've been appreciating drawing because there can be no such delusions. What you see is what's there, and our brains are very good at detecting oddities and making them very apparent. It seems to leave much less room for self-deception.

mtnGoat 7y ago

all the time. if only the pay were half as good doing any of the things i would like to switch to. moving to the bottom and retraining, working my way back up doesnt bother me, but not being able to provide for my family to the best of my ability does. Tech doesnt bother me too much, but it would be nice to try other things.

sabizmil 7y ago

I often reminisce about working in a warehouse and going home without any looming thoughts about work. I mean, you can't really take the sweeping and forklifts home with you. These days it takes serious effort to put the work aside and not think about either current or future problems that I am being paid to solve. Sometimes this industry feels like a field of rabbit holes and it requires almost perfect balance not to fall into them.

malandrew 7y ago
The ability to turnoff is a huge reason I think about other careers. The other reason is wanting to find a job where I can work 7-9 months and have the rest of the time to travel and get outdoors.

eikenberry 7y ago

> There's a huge number of replies from devs who would be doing anything else if it paid half as well. That says a lot about our industry... What does it say about our industry? I can't think of anything that isn't true of any profession, particularly ones that pay well.

mieseratte 7y ago

Very nearly did! Failed startup, batshit insane startup (6 bosses, 12 months), went Wall St. only to narrowly escape a layoff and a psycho manager (harassing me for leaving), thought I found the perfect job. Turned into the worst job I’ve had. Ended after 4 months. Ended up taking a 33% pay cut to join a local municipal, 8-5 with an hours lunch, business casual dress, etc. Never been happier. If you’re stuck in a rut, look for jobs you would normally turn your nose up at. You might be pleasantly surprised why you find.

bsg75 7y ago
> If you’re stuck in a rut, look for jobs you would normally turn your nose up at. You might be pleasantly surprised why you find. This is a simple and for some (like me) maybe a non-obvious approach. An excellent idea.

awillen 7y ago

I quit tech last year. Moved to San Diego. Currently in the process of opening a dog boarding business. So far the first big lesson is that landlords don't want to rent to someone who's going to put 100 dogs in their building, but I'm still excited about it!