5 ms·

I've wanted to leave the industry for a while for various different reasons and it seems the golden handcuffs are very real. The only realistic options seem to

I've wanted to leave the industry for a while for various different reasons and it seems the golden handcuffs are very real. The only realistic options seem to be moving towards adjacent business roles (various management, business, or customer facing roles mostly) as you'll see these are pretty much the majority of suggestions you'll see on these threads. Occasionally you'll see the person who left for a trade or something completely unrelated to tech, but ofc with those you risk starting from the bottom again and not making anywhere near your target salary. IT roles can make around what you want, but i imagine you'd be unable to start in roles paying that without experience. Another option, which may be unpopular is to find a less demanding job. No one wants to hear it, but theres a plenty of development jobs, especially in non-tech companies where you don't have to be that good, you won't do much outside the standard 9-5 hours, pay what you want,and you can coast at for a very long time as long as you aren't a total incompetent. These ofc come with their own issues, but it might be the most realistic option you have, although you haven't gone into much details as to why you want out.

iKevinShah 6y ago
> Another option, which may be unpopular is to find a less demanding job. No one wants to hear it, but theres a plenty of development jobs, especially in non-tech companies where you don't have to be that good, you won't do much outside the standard 9-5 hours, pay what you want,and you can coast at for a very long time as long as you aren't a total incompetent. These ofc come with their own issues, but it might be the most realistic option you have, although you haven't gone into much details as to why you want out. What / Where are these companies and where could one look for such?
- burntoutfire 6y ago
  Government, banks, big non-tech corporations in general. In particular, my observation is that anything "data" related (big data, data warehousing, any kinds of report building) can be technically easy (certainly easier than a CRUD app - also easier to maintain, since it's typically not running 24/7), well paying and populated by not that strong people. These data applications often have a lot of value to the business and hence they're willing to pay for smart people who will swallow their pride, handle the boredom and just get the job done. Bear in mind that by being a borderline slacker you exclude yourself from any promotions and from doing more "interesting" work, but in many places you'll still get paid. Also, tech moves fast and, if you don't learn, you'll have problems 10-20 years down the road.
  - iKevinShah 6y ago
    Fair warnings and a genuine suggestion. Thank you :)
  - throw51319 6y ago
    Do you think the 10-20 years down the road thing is just because from the late 90s until now there's been a huge change of paradigms, etc... But now things are bit more established. If you're a good Java 8+ engineer who's worked on complicated large systems... do you really think that will go away?
  - RobbieHacks 6y ago
    this ^^

iKevinShah 6y ago

> Another option, which may be unpopular is to find a less demanding job. No one wants to hear it, but theres a plenty of development jobs, especially in non-tech companies where you don't have to be that good, you won't do much outside the standard 9-5 hours, pay what you want,and you can coast at for a very long time as long as you aren't a total incompetent. These ofc come with their own issues, but it might be the most realistic option you have, although you haven't gone into much details as to why you want out. What / Where are these companies and where could one look for such?

burntoutfire 6y ago
Government, banks, big non-tech corporations in general. In particular, my observation is that anything "data" related (big data, data warehousing, any kinds of report building) can be technically easy (certainly easier than a CRUD app - also easier to maintain, since it's typically not running 24/7), well paying and populated by not that strong people. These data applications often have a lot of value to the business and hence they're willing to pay for smart people who will swallow their pride, handle the boredom and just get the job done. Bear in mind that by being a borderline slacker you exclude yourself from any promotions and from doing more "interesting" work, but in many places you'll still get paid. Also, tech moves fast and, if you don't learn, you'll have problems 10-20 years down the road.
- iKevinShah 6y ago
  Fair warnings and a genuine suggestion. Thank you :)
- throw51319 6y ago
  Do you think the 10-20 years down the road thing is just because from the late 90s until now there's been a huge change of paradigms, etc... But now things are bit more established. If you're a good Java 8+ engineer who's worked on complicated large systems... do you really think that will go away?
- RobbieHacks 6y ago
  this ^^