3 ms·

I think it's perfectly normal to want to do something else after you've been doing one thing for decades. Humans like variety, the "mid-life crisis" is a thing

I think it's perfectly normal to want to do something else after you've been doing one thing for decades. Humans like variety, the "mid-life crisis" is a thing for a reason. I think IT work in particular is tricky to escape, because it's such a large step down in pay to switch to another career. People end up stuck here for longer than they ought to and burn out or coast, because they don't want to take the pay downgrade to find a new career path.

xbar 4y ago
You're right that it's normal to feel that way, and it's all true that IT is a trap in some ways. But it's also possible to find joy in tech by moving to a new area for a while. Of course, it feels like another particularly tough era to think about moving, which may contribute to both the feelings of anxiety and sadness about where the OP is at the moment. My recommendation when counseling folks on this situation is to start by finding a willingness to try a new path. Working on getting onto a better path is often as engaging at rewarding technical work.