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> I'm starting to wonder if being a software engineer is really the right choice for me. Any thoughts? It may the right choice in the sense that alternatives a

> I'm starting to wonder if being a software engineer is really the right choice for me. Any thoughts? It may the right choice in the sense that alternatives are even worse. Souns like you want your days to be filled with relatively free exploration of things that interest you at a given time. Sorry, but you need to be a genius in a given field to even have a shot at getting such position. [1] For the rest of us, the two realistic ways of achieving this is to either grind in high-paying job and retire early or compromise on standard of living (essentially become a ramen-eating hippy, so that you hardly need paid work) and then fill your days with whatever is interesting to you. Both of these tracks have huge holes and I suspect people choosing them may end up as depressed as regular "lifers" at big companies. On the introvert thing - personality is malleable and plenty of stereotypical tech introvers (starting with Elon Musk) have grown into high managers position where they comfortably spend their days in meetings. It's just a skill like anything else, it just takes at least a couple of years to develop. [1] One exception might be getting into PhD program in a field of your interest where you'll be paid pittance, but, if you're lucky, you might have a couple years of freedom to explore your interests.

baremetal 4y ago
>Both of these tracks have huge holes and I suspect people choosing them may end up as depressed as regular "lifers" at big companies. Anecdotally i have enough money that i dont really _have_ to work. i "retired" and bought a farm. got a job learning to frame houses (to learn to build my own house), and a year later i own a business framing houses. I run the farm, and build houses, and do whatever i feel like doing. i cant imagine getting depressed. there are always new challenges, and things to learn. I was horribly depressed and unfulfilled in corporate america writing software. now i do what i want, there isnt an HR department, and the business politics are fairly down to earth.

baremetal 4y ago

>Both of these tracks have huge holes and I suspect people choosing them may end up as depressed as regular "lifers" at big companies. Anecdotally i have enough money that i dont really _have_ to work. i "retired" and bought a farm. got a job learning to frame houses (to learn to build my own house), and a year later i own a business framing houses. I run the farm, and build houses, and do whatever i feel like doing. i cant imagine getting depressed. there are always new challenges, and things to learn. I was horribly depressed and unfulfilled in corporate america writing software. now i do what i want, there isnt an HR department, and the business politics are fairly down to earth.