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I went through something similar, and ended up failing a bunch of coding interviews. Also I read David Graeber’s book on bull shit jobs, which was really catha

I went through something similar, and ended up failing a bunch of coding interviews. Also I read David Graeber’s book on bull shit jobs, which was really cathartic for me. I ended up quitting my job, selling my house, and now I’m looking for some property to buy so I can subsistence farm.

montoro 6y ago
This is really awesome - but I feel like it's also an extreme that few are willing to take. One thing which is an argument for software development is that the relatively good salary should enable you to save up and take a sabbatical every 4-5 years. To me, that is absolutely worth doing this job, even if I don't always like it (also, there's also almost nothing I would be qualified to do, at the moment, to be fair).
- lmohseni 6y ago
  For sure, and it’s definitely something I never would have planned or expected for myself. It was also partly influenced by COVID, and further compounded by pretty rough break up. But the funny thing is, I really feel more comfortable and confident than when I was “succeeding”. I used to feel so guilty about a one line code fix taking weeks to deploy, or I used to feel so guilty and terrible for not paying attention during scrum and refinement and all those meetings. I always felt like I was working too hard and not hard enough. Farming has this reputation of just interminable toil and physical labor, combined with high costs for agro chemicals. But then you read about farmers like Gabe Brown or Chris Trump, idk. It only takes three nonlinearities to create chaotic, non predictable behavior.
  - montoro 6y ago
    I never had anything to do with farming but I can imagine its appeal. Living from the fat of the land and not caring about planning and preplanning and retrospectives and all that. Best of luck! Will look up Gabe Brown & Chris Trump. About the three nonlinearities, I'm afraid I'm missing some context - never read up about chaos theory...
    - quickthrower2 6y ago
      If nothing else I can imagine the hard work, hours and constant threat of bankruptcy of farming would make me very happy to get back behind that keyboard again!
  - theonething 6y ago
    > I always felt like I was working too hard and not hard enough. Wow, you've succinctly described how I feel about my dev career spot on.
    - non-entity 6y ago
      Not sure if its the exact same sentiment, but I've started to describe my work as "hard in all the wrong ways".
pyb 6y ago
It's true that a lot of software jobs are in fact BS jobs. But is this a conversation that the industry is ready to have? Probably not.
keenmaster 6y ago
I've read several stories that start exactly with what you're doing (quitting job, selling everything, moving...) where the author didn't stick to the plan but gained a lot from the journey anyway and ended up back in the workforce, except they were more productive and happier than before. I think it takes a certain amount of reflection to reach a mental state where you become the person you want to be. That is crucial to avoid subversion of the self to the corporation. Once you get there, you can have a more symmetric relationship with your employer. Both parties end up better off. It's a shame that society often doesn't have the "speed bumps" which allow people to do this without going through radical ups and downs, but it is harder to change society than it is to change yourself. I hope you get what you need out of your journey.
- lmohseni 6y ago
  Perhaps, but I doubt that I’ll ever be able to go back to a 9-5. Thank you for the kind words, they really do mean a lot.

montoro 6y ago

This is really awesome - but I feel like it's also an extreme that few are willing to take. One thing which is an argument for software development is that the relatively good salary should enable you to save up and take a sabbatical every 4-5 years. To me, that is absolutely worth doing this job, even if I don't always like it (also, there's also almost nothing I would be qualified to do, at the moment, to be fair).

lmohseni 6y ago
For sure, and it’s definitely something I never would have planned or expected for myself. It was also partly influenced by COVID, and further compounded by pretty rough break up. But the funny thing is, I really feel more comfortable and confident than when I was “succeeding”. I used to feel so guilty about a one line code fix taking weeks to deploy, or I used to feel so guilty and terrible for not paying attention during scrum and refinement and all those meetings. I always felt like I was working too hard and not hard enough. Farming has this reputation of just interminable toil and physical labor, combined with high costs for agro chemicals. But then you read about farmers like Gabe Brown or Chris Trump, idk. It only takes three nonlinearities to create chaotic, non predictable behavior.
- montoro 6y ago
  I never had anything to do with farming but I can imagine its appeal. Living from the fat of the land and not caring about planning and preplanning and retrospectives and all that. Best of luck! Will look up Gabe Brown & Chris Trump. About the three nonlinearities, I'm afraid I'm missing some context - never read up about chaos theory...
  - quickthrower2 6y ago
    If nothing else I can imagine the hard work, hours and constant threat of bankruptcy of farming would make me very happy to get back behind that keyboard again!
- theonething 6y ago
  > I always felt like I was working too hard and not hard enough. Wow, you've succinctly described how I feel about my dev career spot on.
  - non-entity 6y ago
    Not sure if its the exact same sentiment, but I've started to describe my work as "hard in all the wrong ways".

pyb 6y ago

It's true that a lot of software jobs are in fact BS jobs. But is this a conversation that the industry is ready to have? Probably not.

keenmaster 6y ago

I've read several stories that start exactly with what you're doing (quitting job, selling everything, moving...) where the author didn't stick to the plan but gained a lot from the journey anyway and ended up back in the workforce, except they were more productive and happier than before. I think it takes a certain amount of reflection to reach a mental state where you become the person you want to be. That is crucial to avoid subversion of the self to the corporation. Once you get there, you can have a more symmetric relationship with your employer. Both parties end up better off. It's a shame that society often doesn't have the "speed bumps" which allow people to do this without going through radical ups and downs, but it is harder to change society than it is to change yourself. I hope you get what you need out of your journey.

lmohseni 6y ago
Perhaps, but I doubt that I’ll ever be able to go back to a 9-5. Thank you for the kind words, they really do mean a lot.