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Once due to life circumstances I was stuck for a few years in a job I hated for much of the same reasons (limited growth, very bored, yet simultaneously very st

Once due to life circumstances I was stuck for a few years in a job I hated for much of the same reasons (limited growth, very bored, yet simultaneously very stressed due to ridiculous deadlines). One thing that helped me get by was to have my employer pay for me to learn new things. I really wanted to learn a particular programming language, so gradually over time I built up a compelling case that learning this language would help the business. And it did help the business, especially after my employer paid for me to become an expert. After my life circumstances changed and I was able to move on I had a great new skill on my resume that propelled me to much better opportunities. So my point is you should try to turn your current predicament into a launchpad for bigger and better things.

devonkim 12y ago
A lot of enterprises that are terrible t work at won't even pay for that kind of self development because they're so dysfunctional they can't put the money towards a solution after decades of being in a form of survival mode. I don't know what situation OP is in specifically wrt the organizational dysfunctions but I can sympathize very much with feeling entrapped and can only imagine the pressure with children involved. The first thing I'd recommend is solid at-work time management - your goal should be to do the bare minimum to do well and make steady progress there in terms of you literally doing nothing but somehow being essential - a lot of managers do this after all, why not make it factual instead of how you perceive your job? But your heart and focus should really be on getting out of there and possibly using your side projects as evidence, not your day job (you're likely working on code that is far below your capabilities partly because you're too stressed to take on effectively now btw). Most people besides your peers will have trouble understanding how tough it can be to be a breadwinner stuck at a job that's a deadend when you have so much passion to do better, so staying connected with people that can inspire you is critical. I'd say it's probably kept me from going completely insane and doing things I'd really regret just out of sheer frustration. Exercise helps with few doubts but it won't help much unless you're managing your time effectively to keep the stress and workload at bay so you don't die of adrenal gland failure or something asinine. Keep your head up and try to record your progress for yourself and try to limit work to side projects that do go somewhere and really understand what a minimum viable product means and take it from an entrepreneurial approach than engineering one.

devonkim 12y ago

A lot of enterprises that are terrible t work at won't even pay for that kind of self development because they're so dysfunctional they can't put the money towards a solution after decades of being in a form of survival mode. I don't know what situation OP is in specifically wrt the organizational dysfunctions but I can sympathize very much with feeling entrapped and can only imagine the pressure with children involved. The first thing I'd recommend is solid at-work time management - your goal should be to do the bare minimum to do well and make steady progress there in terms of you literally doing nothing but somehow being essential - a lot of managers do this after all, why not make it factual instead of how you perceive your job? But your heart and focus should really be on getting out of there and possibly using your side projects as evidence, not your day job (you're likely working on code that is far below your capabilities partly because you're too stressed to take on effectively now btw). Most people besides your peers will have trouble understanding how tough it can be to be a breadwinner stuck at a job that's a deadend when you have so much passion to do better, so staying connected with people that can inspire you is critical. I'd say it's probably kept me from going completely insane and doing things I'd really regret just out of sheer frustration. Exercise helps with few doubts but it won't help much unless you're managing your time effectively to keep the stress and workload at bay so you don't die of adrenal gland failure or something asinine. Keep your head up and try to record your progress for yourself and try to limit work to side projects that do go somewhere and really understand what a minimum viable product means and take it from an entrepreneurial approach than engineering one.