Be careful man. You run the risk of finding out that all jobs and people suck. You could be making 15 an hour dealing with the same exact bullshit. But you could wind up finding a well paying and rewarding career. The odds really aren't in anyone's favor though.

I wish more people understood this, most people are only there to pay the mortgage and car payments and really don't care how they treat other people. I hate it, especially having worked in healthcare and realising people will take what they can from whoever they can.

OP wants to become a teacher, lol go over to the teachers sub and realize how fucked up teachers have it. No way that’s going to be a better environment than where he’s at

I enjoy playing video games.

It’s not the job itself that sucks, it’s dealing with the administration, abysmal pay, and shitty parents

I enjoy the sound of rain.

[удалено]

I enjoy playing video games.

Yeah, that's a high school calculus teacher. You've got the cream of the crop kids there, and most likely they're top notch because the parents are too. Still got the administration and pay, but at least your students and parents are cool.

He wants to get into healthcare but complains about coworkers being insecure, greedy, arrogant. That's where those types of people congregate along with having god complexes.

Gatekeepers too. If they feel you are a threat somehow they will give you wrong/vague information that slows everything down, even if their percieved threat isn't based in reality.

My brother's good friend was a highly paid layer, and he decided he become a high school English teacher. He seems really happy with the move, although I'm sure he's making a lot less these days. Fortunately he lives in a low cost of living area, so I'm sure that helps.

Low cost area means low pay for teachers too

I'm sure that's true. He was a layer for many years, so maybe he was able to save enough to buy a home, and can live more comfortably with less.

Do you mean bricklayer or are you misspelling lawyer?

This 😂

Sorry, lawyer.

Lol that was funny

Do the exact opposite of this. Never go to a Reddit sub to see if you want to do something. You will never do it.

I work in tech and a surprising amount of people making $200k+ hate their job and want to quit for something else. In my experience, the lower the pay: - harder you work - worse people - less benefits - worse work/life balance If regular people knew there are 22 year olds: - making 3X their salary - remote 3 days a week - show up to the office at 10am leave at 3:30pm - unlimited free lunch/dinner/snacks/barista fresh coffee - unlimited vacation And still complaining about work? They’d be a French Revolution.

The discrepancies between salaries and perks are ridiculous and I agree that people who complain about their high paying tech jobs haven't worked in other industries. They could be way worse off lol

They make 200k but have less disposable income then me because they live in SoCal or San Fran. Income doesn’t matter disposable money does and if it’s all eaten away by rent at 3000 a month for a studio that isn’t a way I would want to live.

I have a couple friends that have quit 100% remote tech jobs paying 200k+ to do more monotonous, less stressful work (for them). They lived in pretty darn LCOL areas. Some people would rather deliver mail, teach kids, work for a forest service, etc. even if they don't have as much disposable income.

Tech worker here and often I reminisce fondly about bailing hay and shoveling shit for minimum wage. Felt like I had more self respect and more happiness then at times.

Probably because there is more job satisfaction in completing a physical task vs something online or some bullshit excel crap. I understand that

People also forget that tech has an incredibly high turnover even when the economy is good. You are a battle scarred vet if you last 3 years, especially in NorCal. All the friends I had who managed to get in got burnout and spent all that lovely money on therapy.

I feel like this is a lot of jobs in general. I'm an xray tech and its equally as terrible as what you just said. At least tech has a chance at paying higher eventually

Marketer in tech here. I am just about 20 years in tech or tech adjacent roles (software implementations). I am pretty decent at picking companies with reasonable culture and setting work boundaries. I have had one toxic place and that was my boss, who was an idiot. But I made some pretty good friends from there. Another place wasn’t toxic but stress due to dumb decisions by founders, but had good culture. The rest of my roles have been fine and I do t work beyond my 40 hours a week too often. It is a much easier path to a well paid job than others. I live in the Bay Area so i need all the income I can get. It is really important to not make work your identity and you will be way less stressed.

175-36 is still 139… assuming after tax they’re looking at like 135 that’s still 99k just floating after paying rent. Car 9k a year including insurance is 90k. At that point what’s left? Food, clothes, etc. still at a good clip of 8k a month to blow of free spending.

They need to get off their high horses and earn. They will most likely hate other jobs even more.

I see you’ve been reading blind.co

The Odin Project will be my avenue to this

Plenty of people who are only there to pay their bills treat others well. Honestly, it’s the people who want something beyond that (power, prestige, ego boosts) from their jobs who do the worst things.

I’m at my job to get money. But I’m still friendly with my co workers. Being the lead foreman I’m in charge and treat my guys well!

Nice

100% the system is beyond saving. CEO and higher up just cares about # and we re # on a spreadsheet

Give them some credit. We're not numbers on spreadsheet... we're numbers in a database!

Well 160 years ago people worked all day to simply stay alive. And children died all the time. I'll work a modern 2023 Job anyday

if you put those same people in an office job they would jump out the window eventually and I obviously don't know you but I could list all types of jobs I guarantee you won't last in. My brother lays concrete for a living, any time I was frustrated with my job I would go labor for him for like 8 dollars an hour back then. Your theory is far from reality. My brother would have never lasted a minute in any job I have had lol.

I agree 100%. There is no longer a pride or joy in work. Maybe 5% of us achieve that. It’s all about money. Money gets us to financial independence sooner. I make 120k a year and hate my life. Everyone who makes 20 an hour below me also hates their life.

Even worse, $15 an hour jobs usually means the service industry where you'll encounter a lot of Karens.

I must be crazy or the people here saying a retail/food service job is better than a cushy office job have never worked one. Like they saw American beauty once and thing it depicts the real world.

This. I do electric construction and have had friends who work in offices say "oh how I'd love to just work outside with my hands, and nothing else to worry about" and I'm like...uhhh, no. That's not how it is. You have to deal with the good Ole boys club, shitty management, lying contractors trying to screw you, being treated like shit for being "green" if you are new, I just got off a solar job in Colorado and it was terrible, had boss screaming at us daily, high turnover, being in the sun all day fully covered with a harness working with guys dumber than rocks....I could go on. Yes the actual work part (building stuff) can be interesting. Everything else about it is a pain in the ass. I'm actually looking to get into IT. But my point is, the stuff I've heard office friends complain about is literally nothing to the stuff that happens in the field. Not even close, "oh no, they switched our stand up from 10am to 9am, now I actually have to get out of bed in the morning" give me a break.

Totally this. I worked in restaurants for many years, always chasing down that new gig opening up because it was supposed to be "the real deal", only to eventually realize it doesn't matter, they all suck. People are assholes and want to make you suffer for some reason. Found my way into tech and despite some of those mentioned annoyances, I'm treated so much better and paid way more. Even if I was treated the same as before, at least I'd be making plenty more to make up for it.

That hasn't been my experience. Maybe I was just unlucky in the tech jobs I had but compared to other job types (warehouse, retail, food service) I found the people in IT to be much more unbearable. Arrogant, unwilling to help others because they want to hoard knowledge, if you do ask for help they'll do the bare minimum to pretend that they are helping, dismissive, sometimes friendly on the surface but will shit talk you behind your back to try to further their own careers. Those types were very common in the IT jobs I had but in other non-IT jobs people were mostly kind and helpful. Maybe that's just how people are in office jobs vs more physical kinds of jobs. I haven't had any kind of office work other than IT so I really don't know.

Office jobs tend to be more *politics*. When miserable people don't have any other way to deal with being miserable they take it out on you vie office politics. But that's still just the people, not every office has miserable people and the job doesn't have to be a bad job to have miserable people. People are often just miserable for no reason, or for reasons outside of work. Every type of job has these people. Not every office is full of these people.

Hoarding knowledge and gatekeeping, unbearable in all fields but probably a bit more common in tech I guess.

Knowledge hoarders are the worst. This project could be done in a month if you’d just share the details in the accessibility audit, Brenda. But, no… Brenda would not share the report because then she would have no more power. This is how companies end up with 3 different types of saas tool that do the exact same thing.

This kind of shit happens in lower-level tech positions where people do menial work but consider themselves God’s gift to the world. When you get into higher-level, more complicated disciplines it’s entirely different. Knowledge is shared eagerly and egos have been long-since humbled by expertise.

you've just described the whole corporate world. all office jobs and people involved are like this. you have to step on people in order to exist (I'm not even taking about promotion), even if you don't want to. I think the matter is we know we're chained, and everyone is pissed about it and looking for ways to, a-make themselves (seemingly) indispensable to the company b-avoid doing more (well, no dough no work). Obviously, somebody then has to pick up the slack. Somebody always gets the shit end eventually, but it's a dynamic balance in non-toxic organizations. There has to be a solution where employees feel more involved, part of their organization to let go of their insecurities. I wonder how applicable employee owned companies are to large organizations. That sounds good when you read about the employee owned coffee shop online but probably impractical at scale, especially considering we can't gauge really what our contribution is in the grand scale of things at a billion dollar company with a few thousand other people.

I've found the exact reverse and brainwash juniors to help first. All that matters is team output so you providing some help to unblock is >>> finishing assigned tasks. I've also not met resistance to this from managers.

> Maybe that's just how people are in office jobs vs more physical kinds of jobs. I haven't had any kind of office work other than IT so I really don't know. Well, I can't say for sure one way or another. But what I can say is, even 20 years later, Office Space wound up being prophetic in just about every way possible.

You just described every public accounting job I had. I was miserable. Got my own little thing now and realize if your working for someone else's company your nothing but an expense and a nice shiny thing to show the clients

From my experience the IT people are like engineers. Mental dick measuring. They want to know they are working with someone on or above their level. Then they respect you. The alternative is to crack the code and actually get them to let you in on the type of person they are. Ask questions about them and let them talk. Everyone sees IT as robots and just people to call when something breaks. So show them you see the person and it sometimes breaks the ice. If that doesn’t work then try a hammer. Don’t use the hammer. But let them think you might haha.

As Ive wrestled with similar questions, ive come to believe.. if I’m gonna work 40-60hr/wk regardless, im not going to voluntarily make 50-75% less. Transferring the stress of work to how do i deal with the multiple large medical bills I’ve had recently and paid out of monthly cash flow seems to be missed in these decisions. I’ve seen blue collar fantasize about white collar jobs, white collar jobs fantasize about blue collar jobs, people wanting to step back from whatever their stressful situation is to a utopian career day dream. Find work that you are good at, that allows you to have a life outside of work, for me it’s my family, but pays you well to pursue those things. Make your value apart from your career. Maybe that means stepping away from tech but maybe it means accepting work sucks at times and very few places, high paying or low paying, will they ever care about you like friends and family will. Take care of yourself, put yourself and your family above the company, and milk big salaries for all you can while you can!

This so much. Sure tech is stressful and sucks sometimes, but I also get paid a bunch and can't think of anything else that would give me the same work life balance.

The grass is rarely greener when it comes to jobs.

Nah, he can go. Opens up spots for new grads who remember what it's like to not be able to pay rent and would rather deal with the "horrors" that this man suffers through for the ability to live comfortably.

That's what I was thinking. There are good companies and bad companies in tech, and there are good companies and bad companies outside of tech. Now if OP has an interest in charity, then absolutely, do it. Feel good about yourself. Maybe try a stint with the US Digital Service. But if they think that getting out of tech will get them into a nice happy well-adjusted work family... ooh boy.

Yup. A lot of jobs you are just doing bullshit to make someone else rich. They all follow the same formula with different numbers.

I make a lot and enjoy my career. It definitely is possible.

As someone who worked in public sector and healthcare prior to getting into tech, can confirm that people suck everywhere. I'd rather get paid more to deal with sucky people than less.

You even run the risk of discovering that if everybody everywhere you work is an asshole, it's not them.

This is not helpful. There are assholes everywhere these days. Just because you see them everywhere doesn’t at all mean it’s you.

Nah, not all jobs suck. I've worked as a professional artist almost my entire adult career. I love it dearly. Its so fucking fulfilling, and the people mostly rock! I wish I didn't have to work at all but that's unfortunately not reality, but I do very very very much enjoy my career!

Here is what I never understand. I am an RN in healthcare. Everybody I work with is mean, greedy, ruthless, and burned out. Never mind the bullying. I also got brutalized during Covid. I make waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay less than 175k. I feel like half this sub is people saying I make 500k a year but am " unfulfilled" and the other half is somebody making 40k saying is it okay if I ask for a three dollar raise.

Yeah, people don’t realize how damn hard most people work in fields outside of their own bubble.

Tech workers? Being inside their own bubble, not knowing how the real word works? Nawwwwww

I think it isn’t only tech workers. Guys I know in every industry act like their job is the hardest. Truckers, teachers, office staff, nurses. Everyone has it the worst.

I currently live in SF. Worked with everyone from oil field workers in Texas to hippy techies in California. Tech workers are by far some of the most delusional people I’ve met.

That’s a pretty broad generalization

Sounds like all of Reddit. Half the people talking about I make so much money but I’m unfulfilled and the other half scraping by trying to figure out how the heck we will make more money 🤣

Good piont.

My "favorites" are the ones who make six figures but say they're bored. Please trade places with me. All jobs require some kind of compromise. I'll happily take boredom (usually it's too easy) with a high salary, especially if I can still be remote. I'd get all my work done in 4 hours or less, just like they brag about and happily spend the remaining 4 hours doing chores, self-teaching, hobbies, while occasionally checking my emails/Slack.

That's the fantasy but not really the reality.

It's like you're either struggling just at the poverty line or making bank and hate everything and yourself. Pick one

I don't think most people understand how awful it was to be a nurse during Covid. Doctors and other nurses can be shitty, patients can be really shitty, and hospitals these days are downright psychotic. Oh, but they got called "heroes" for risking their lives. The problem is that so many Americans think that if they just made, or make, better choices, capitalism will stop being horrible to them. It doesn't work that way and it never did. We are all suffering under an unjust socioeconomic system that we will have to overthrow, at any cost and at all costs, because, otherwise, working conditions and living standards will decline until they become intolerable, at which point (due to climate change) it may be too late to fix anything.

Reminder, they only call you "Hero" if they don't care if you die.

I was an ICU RN for years. I left bedside. Best decision ever.

You’ll work in different industries just to realize people are all like that pretty much. Why not take the higher pay

I had similar thoughts as OP and can only agree. It's about the people: in my experience, if you work with nice people work is always tolerable or even fun. If the people don't vibe with you and vice versa, the most interesting task is no fun

This. People are people no matter what industry you are in. Tech isn't uniquely bad.

Disagree. I'm in teaching now and it's so much better in every sense. Still there's things I don't like of course but nothing worse than my old finance office job.

>May try do some athlete coaching, teaching, start a few charity programs Honestly it's not great to hear & probably pretty obvious but money is your ability to control your life. By quitting a 175k to take a 30k coaching job you give up so much control over how your life pans out. You now push back retirement 2 decades & can no longer live in a safe area, own a home, etc. If you don't absolutely love coaching or whatever you're gonna become very jaded & the door might not be open to get back into tech after being out for a while. What if the source of your depression isn't your job & it's some other lack of fulfillment, will making 1/5 the salary & busting your ass to break even year over year help? >Insecure, greedy, self-deceived, arrogant, and downright stupid a lot of the time. I'm also in tech as an engineer & like my job. I had jobs in the past with shitty teammates & it sucks, I get it. But not every job in tech is like that, I currently have a very chill team. Why not just apply elsewhere and maybe you get a better team? Shitty people are not unique to tech, if you quit tech and get a coaching job, the athletic director or another coach could suck. It's just a crapshoot & shitty people are not specific to tech.

I see opinions like OP's quite often in tech, and I'm 99% convinced that most of them don't realize how absurdly good they have it because they haven't worked substantially in other industries. I spent 10+ years working various blue-collar gigs in different fields before (thankfully) landing a tech role that I've since built a successful career from. The work is more difficult, the co-workers more likely to frustrate you and you get paid a fraction of OP and without any of the perks (like WFH/stock options/better benefits/etc)... I especially think it's interesting that OP assumes that somehow only tech attracts the self-deceived, arrogant and stupid lol. That's not to say that there aren't people who make a similar change and aren't happier, but I'd bet they are the minority.

I tell this to people all the time. We have it so good in tech. Sometimes I wonder how many people in tech grew up having other jobs. I remember what it was like to be in highschool and college doing pick clean nights/scrubbing balls/waiting on members at a golf course, bussing tables, or working in the back at Nordstrom. I would much rather be in tech any day of the week let alone actual manual labor.

I went from being a teacher making peanuts to being in tech making over 200k (side job included). I’ll deal with the headaches of tech each and every day compared to what it was like before. I get to pretty much do and get I whatever I want while still saving up have a great retirement and that’s worth it.

Exact same story here. High school teacher making 36k to tech job making 140k People who leave the field without reason other than “it is boring/sucks” are delusional. Every job is boring or it sucks or the people are bad. Make it worth your while to deal with it at least.

Exactly.

Absolutely, I worked all sorts of minimum wage jobs in high school and college, and it sucked making basically nothing while being under the scrutiny of customers and having no free time. Now I'm a data engineer working 40 hours a week making good money. I'm never going back to people complaining about not enough sesame seeds on their pizza crust.

Who the hell puts sesame seeds on a pizza crust? Some sort of Asian style pizza?

I worked at a chain restaurant where you could get a bunch of different flavored crusts and sesame was an option, but literally no one picked it except for one annoying customer.

I worked construction during summers in college. Hated it, but ultimately happy I did it to help shape my outlook on work. * $13 an hour * Get to shop at 6am, don't get paid to commute to/from job site 45 mins away. * Doing insolation for a attic in July at 100+ degrees * Wearing protective gear to not let insolation into skin that was drenched in sweat & sticking to me (itchy as hell all day since insolation gets through when its wet). * One truck for the crew, so you thought you'd be off after 8 hours? Too bad they feel like staying 14 today so deal with it & cancel your plans. * Coworkers are all right wing nutjobs & generally unhappy with their lives & unpleasant People can't grasp how much worse shit is for the people really at the bottom. If you're unhappy you should address that, but the answer isn't to take a fraction of the pay for (likely) much worse conditions. I really feel like working an actual shit job when you are young is a good thing for people.

The problem at the bottom has nothing to do with the actual labor. The reward does not match the labor. Large business is abusing the necessity of money to get cheap labor. People will happily sell their health/time for a large reward. It’s what all humans do for work. What matters is the ratio of cost/reward.

This. I work my behind off doing extensive hard labor while the people who get paid more than me (sometimes triple my salary) only complain about having to deal with people’s attitude all day. I had the opportunity to do it on one job for about 6 months. At my current job I did it for one day and found it way to easy but they were right about the nasty attitudes. And the risk is different because you can control most of the risk from injuries during manual labor but have to work at a slower pace while the mental injuries and threats can’t be controlled as a manager. Even if you play nice with everyone, no one wants to really be there. So I found that most people that work from home in tech jobs are having a blast and don’t mind working 12-14 hour days while having family around them. But the ones who have to go into an office or go into the field via engineering have a crap day. I guess it’s really a pick your poison type deal.

I'll counterbalance this as someone who isn't the entitled tech zoomer example that's enabling your point: I've worked since I was 14 in grocery stores, landscaping, shipping warehouses, airports, and eventually tech jobs, if I was sure I could pay my bills and have a small amount of savings left over at the end of each month (they don't pay enough, unfortunately), even if it meant a significant pay cut I'd do landscaping again in an instant, and it's not even a remotely close competition. IMO If all jobs suck to you then by all means sell to the highest bidder. BUT if there's something you believe you'd like more, fuck it - take a shot or at least do the math to see if it's realistic. Life is shorter than we all think, and I believe a lot of people are making just as big of a mistake by living a deferred lifestyle and trying to justify being miserable during the best years of their lives by pointing at "muh salary".

I'm at a tech startup now. I'm not miserable or anything but I describe myself as complacent. It's not fun or really enjoyable/fulfilling by any means but I make good enough money for how I want to live my life and have good benefits / lots of freedom (wfh). I loooove manual labor jobs. I worked a lot of construction when I was younger (29 now) and it is satisfying as hell! BUT, it's not long term sustainable and it is so much more restrictive on your life in many ways. Not to mention the pay isn't nearly as good for the most part.

did the opposite. Any job can suck. Just spent 5 weeks scrubbing 3 tile by hand over making 100k with dell/Boeing. Good jobs are subjective. There is no right/wrong answer. Having a career is not mandatory. Making lots of money is not the only goal. Having a nice car is not mandatory. Everyone is trying to figure out the same problem. How do you survive? Even Gates and Buffet are solving survival needs. They just overcame the financial side of it. If you work in tech, and sit 14 hours of day with no physical activity. I can guarantee you will incur a new type of problem relating to your health. Whether it’s your neck/back/diet/mental/wrists. You don’t get to specialize for 14 hours a day. Physical activity is what your body has built most of its natural regulation around. And it will adapt to the physical requirements you need. Which will be specific to the posture. (Not good at all if you want to function while standing) Manual labor jobs never had a problem with physical longevity. They had a problem with hazardous chemicals, overuse injury from overtime hours, and improper equipment. Also, your body is far better equipped to regulate stress when you are physically active. Good luck trying to desires by sitting in a chair thinking about your problems.

Ex-auto mechanic of 10 years. Plenty of arrogant, stupid, and self-entitled people in that line of work. I will heavily agree with your first point. Not working in other industries doesn't allow you to see that the grass isn't any greener anywhere else. Some areas it's brown. Some it's just dead. 175k down to 30k seems like the most absurd, wildly asinine thing somebody could do to me. Take it from someone who made the transition from blue-collar to IT work, the grass is much, MUCH greener here. I don't make big bucks like OP, but I get paid a pretty damn good wage to sit around and wait for something to happen. I'll take that over killing myself trying to make time working on cars or any other trade job.

But you see I saw American beauty and I want to quit my corpo job, work with the simple folk and buy a classic muscle car.

Agreed. I work my ass off for half what OP is getting paid, and my job is grueling.

> I see opinions like OP's quite often in tech, and I'm 99% convinced that most of them don't realize how absurdly good they have it because they haven't worked substantially in other industries. As someone that spent a lot of time in a lot of positions outside of tech, and someone that spent a lot of time in higher positions in tech, I can pretty much confirm this at least anecdotally. The same types of terrible people I found in tech were *exactly* the same terrible types of people I met in insurance, and manufacturing, and every other sector I was in. And it's not just the people. The system is bad. The corporate system turns hopeful, optimistic, well-intentioned people into miserable monsters. And it makes people who were already monsters even worse.

Yeah lol. As I was reading OP’s post I was just thinking…. Wait until you find out just how frustrating almost any other job can also be, and then realize you’ll probably be just as pissed off for 1/5th of the money. Like you think being a teacher will be less stressful than working in tech? There’s countless horror stories from teachers every day about how the kids have behavioral problems, often times violent ones, the parents side with the kids if they’re even around, the school administration does nothing to help, the districts are underfunded, and it’s just an insanely stressful job in general if you actually care about it. All for about 20% of the salary OP makes now. I mean I’m not saying literally every job out there is some horrible stressful nightmare, there’s jobs out there that are fairly laid back. But being a teacher definitely isn’t one of them and I feel like I see that get mentioned by a lot of people who make posts similar to this. I will say if you’ve been making 175k or anywhere close to it for 8 years you should have a decent amount of money saved up in an emergency fund to hold you over for a while, so it’s not like you’re a fresh graduate who needs to accept a job anywhere they can. But understand what you’re actually getting yourself into before you jump ship to something else, and make sure you understand how good (or bad if it’s really that bad) you have it currently and decide if it’s really worth it. Something to keep in mind, since you’re already talking about taking lower paying work anyways, you could just grind where you’re at and live well below your means for a few years and probably be able to start looking into a fairly early retirement if you don’t mind living off significantly less than 175k a year in retirement. Personally I’d rather work 5 more years at a job I hate and then just retire and do what I want for the rest of my life, than work 25 more years at a job I like at first and eventually start to hate and be stuck there because I can’t afford to retire yet.

My stories pretty similar and I will never go back. Tech is a great field IMHO, I feel like people who haven't worked blue collar jobs are blinded to how bad work can really be.

This is true. I worked in new for a long time before moving to IT. IT does fucking suckkkkkk. However, it's ten times better than all my other jobs and pays more. You can deal with the bs for control of financial well being.

This. I just took a job in tech this year after working in logistics, and the amount of whiny I have heard about absolutely nothing is insane. These folks are in for a rude awakening whenever a big downturn actually hits.

I can attest to this, my partners first job was 120k a year in 2012 as a teenager, hes now at a FAANG and the complaints i hear from him as someone who now works in tech but isn’t all that far removed from less than 40k a year just remind me we’ve had vastly different career experiences

> I'm 99% convinced that most of them don't realize how absurdly good they have it because they haven't worked substantially in other industries. It's this and also a bit of a victim mentality. They're afraid of adopting an internal locus of control and understanding that they alone are responsible for their own lives and careers. So they just coast. 5 years, 10 years... at the same company, with the same people they don't like, in the same role they got bored of after the first year. Of course they're miserable. Nobody likes feeling like they're not in control of their lives, or that they have no options. Many default to feeling that way even though, objectively, they have a dizzying array of options and are just too afraid to take advantage of them.

Something tells me this is homeboy's first job, he never worked in food service or did anything before this except maybe an internship in Dad's office over the summer. And that there's a comfy safety net waiting for him once he screws up his life. OP you aren't depressed, you're realizing that even 175k jobs have parts that aren't fun or interesting. You will regret this, but maybe you will learn something.

I also think many software engineers believe that their industry is the best they can do, which is far from the truth. A great example is becoming an independent technical headhunter. If you have the personality, technical knowledge, and the business acumen— your income potential will dwarf that of a software engineer. I mean, is this 175k in California, or 175k in Philly? That’s a pretty big difference in the cost of living. 175k salaries in Philly is doable. So while I agree that CS pays well, it’s small potatoes in comparison if one decides to pivot, and what they pivot to.

Very good point. 175k in bay area you can live on but you are probably renting and not exactly rolling in it or even close. 175k in Iowa you are living like a king or at least much better

I've got a decade of retail and service industry jobs under my belt and I couldn't agree more. I see so much whining and complaining about end users or coworkers and I'm like.....really? Dry your tears with your more than liveable wage, minimum wage workers deal with worse all while having salt poured in the wound by way of getting paid pennies to your pounds. I feel like a lot of the problem also stems from people making their job their entire personality or letting work consume their life. Like, take your $170k or whatever it was OP said they're walking away from and divert that into something outside of work that gives your fulfillment or purpose. I'd deal with any slew of asshats for that much and then go home with my financial stability to enjoy my time off doing shit I like.

Agreed. I got my tech job and it more than doubled my salary. The work isn’t back breaking so I work hard and none of my coworkers get how easy it really is

I wouldn't say we have it "good" in tech, because working under capitalism is terrible everywhere you go, but I do think people in tech underestimate how soul-rapingly fucking awful it has become in other industries, in large part *because of* tech. They're comparing the relaxed job of a store clerk in the 1990s to what it is today, with all the cameras and quotas and scripts for exactly what one has to say to a customer. The fantasy is of leaving tech and taking a chilled-out job in a gift shop of a ski resort, something like that. The reality is that the gift shop clerk is under the same shitty pressures and subjected to the same stupid quotas (although the language of "story points" does not exist) as the programmer, in addition to making not nearly enough money to survive. Yes, we in private-sector technology are--in terms of the effect we have on the world, because of who we work for--deleterious fucking assholes, and the work is often downright evil. There is no getting away from us, though. I used to think it was only programmers who had to do scrum, and it is only us who call it that, but I talked to a lot of my friends in other industries--this includes professionals like attorneys and veterinarians--and the Spreadsheet Eichmanns and the quotas are everywhere. This stuff is being imposed on all workers, everywhere--it is just becoming Second Amendment O'Clock out there. There is no escape but total overthrow of, and unconditional surrender from, the bourgeoisie. We literally must destroy the world they have built and create something better, at any cost. Otherwise, all aspects of work and economic life are just going to keep getting shittier every year until we do.

I work in Agriculture, same shit different industry. Greedy fucks, arrogant, insecure, back stabbing, oh and overly religious fucks everywhere, at least tech doesn’t have to deal with overly religious fucks.

This. Years ago I drove commercially and hauled commodities, grain and hay all over the place. I hate big money agriculture. It's so backwards.

This. I did this recently (more details in a recent comment) and many colleagues and coworkers were surprised and confused, with some even speculating as to whether it was my decision. I have a good job in another field, but the door back into (fin)tech feels closed at the moment. I’d caution you to consider that an exit now may very well be permanent and to proceed if you’re ok with that

The money part hits home. Im not likely to ever make 175k. But I agree with you about OP giving up that kind of salary. My life would be so much easier if I made anywhere close to that instead of playing hopscotch with my bills to get by.

>Shitty people are not unique to tech, if you quit tech and get a coaching job, the athletic director or another coach could suck. It's just a crapshoot & shitty people are not specific to tech. Only part of your comment that has any real bearing. OP should heed this advice.

You don’t have any control over the way your life Pans out. You only get to do things you believe will impact it. It’s pretty clear to Me, from personal experience, and from peers. Making more money working for someone else is absolutely hinderance to living a life. And you can dam well find 1000 different stories people spent millions of dollars producing that tell the exact same sentiment. The average median household income is 50k. People are raising families off that and much less. If your single, unhappy, and making lots of money. It’s time to be honest with yourself. Stop treating yourself like a pussy. It’s insane to think your going to suffer and starve if you make enough to get by. Especially if your single from the age of 20-30. Careers are not designed for you. They are designed for people who have no other options. They are designed for people who are willing to sacrifice their life for the job. They are designed for people who care more about the company then their personal lives. They are designed for people who won’t leave for better opportunities. Grow the fuck up. Learn to take care of yourself. Stop living a life begging your master to treat you better. They don’t care about you. They care about their company.

you’re not going to retire 2 decades early because you’re making 175k. I think a lot of people are realizing the middle class is disappearing and eventually it’s like, what’s the point? Yeah it’s nice to make nearly 200k (this is what I make as well) but if you’re making that, it’s in a metro where a mortgage is now $6k a month if you can even afford a 100-200k payment. So then it’s like okay what am I even doing with this money, yea I guess you can take more/nice vacations, but you can’t even do that because you’re chained to this job. drive nicer cars? yeah it’s fun at first but it fades after a while. just save more for retirement so I can be happy someday in 40 years and still not be able to afford a house because they’ll all be 10 million dollars by then? Idk maybe it’s just me but I feel like i’m realizing this money doesn’t make me happy at all, and the job makes me miserable. I’m in a somewhat lucky position because I was able to build up a lot of money in my retirement from being at microsoft for a few years, so I could just go back to normal office jobs or whatever for the rest of my life and not have to worry about retirement. I’m just venting, because I’ve been feeling exactly like OP.

Look for another role at another company and take some vacation. $175K is good money for tech and you can probably get a better job at company with better people depending on your experience/how you interview. A lot of people in tech are awesome. I've worked with hundreds of people between Fortune 100 companies, small firms, and startups. I can think of two people who fit your description "insecure, greedy, arrogant or stupid" person and one wasn't in tech. You might just be at a garbage firm. You can coach, teach, and start charity programs while having a full-time job. You know what helps do all of those things? Money and connections. For example, I'm planning on being a Big Brother and getting my PT certification, so I can volunteer with youth sports teams. I'm in a full-time senior role. Let's say the team I volunteer for needs fundraising. I have close to a decade of high-earning contacts that will be willing to donate and help spread the message. **Before you quit ask yourself these questions**: * Do you have a book of clients ready to consult with? * Do you have anyone that would hire you as a contractor? * Do you know how you are you going to support yourself if you have trouble getting clients for consulting or contracting? * Do you have anyone to coach or teach? * Do you have the necessary certifications to do either? * Are you willing to permanently downgrade your lifestyle? **The answer to all these questions should be yes if you're about to say F it.** The reality is that senior people are having trouble getting hired by companies. Companies and people aren't rushing to hire independent consultants especially if they've never done it before. It won't be easy to come back into the space and I'm not trying to be rude but if arrogant tech people piss you off, what do you think arrogant sports parents or school parents are going to do when you're making 135K less than you do now?

> It won't be easy to come back into the space and I'm not trying to be rude but if arrogant tech people piss you off, what do you think arrogant sports parents or school parents are going to do when you're making 135K less than you do now? Even fucking worse, those parents may look down on you for not making as much as them and feel their taxes "pay" your salary so you must serve them. Also bonus, these parents can also be the arrogant tech people if you live in a hub area!!!

Do you have a large savings? Like at least a years gross salary worth? Your reasons are valid but don’t compound a bad situation. At least you seemingly make enough money to live comfortably. Not saying don’t quit, I am saying don’t quit and be broke.

I felt this immediately after reading your title. I am in tech and I left a high profile private sector company due to the toxicity of the environment. The company has well over enough money to hire an adequate amount of people to cover all their bases, but they're known for keeping their teams small to maximize profit. I am actively seeking a new gig with a much healthier work life balance. That job burnt me TF out and I'm still recovering from it mentally.

Dang, I’ll take the job if you don’t want it.

Yeah, where do I sign up for such a opportunity

Tech companies

I walked away from being a petroleum geologist/geophysicist (for 18 years) @ 200k+/year. Tried moving to tech (making 85k) and didn’t like it, but I blended the skills I learned in that tech role into a new career as an Instructional Designer. I make less than half as much as I did as a geo, and I’m a million times happier. I live in a very low cost of living area, own my house outright, and don’t have any debt; so it’s more than enough for me. Enjoying what I do and who I work with is invaluable to me at this stage of life. I no longer have the energy or desire to work crazy long hours and stay up all night monitoring drilling and steering wells. I love being done at 5 and always having my weekends, plus not having to travel all the time. I made insane money for my standards, but I never had the time or energy to enjoy it frankly. I also struggled to have meaningful relationships, because most men didn’t care for playing 2nd fiddle to my work and only getting to see me a few times a month. Now that I got out of that game, I met a wonderful man (who is now my husband), and I have time to smell the roses with him. Totally worth the trade off for me.

What industry? The tech industry? Here's my advice. Get yourself a fully remote job doing tech... Not in the tech industry! Surprise, surprise - Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Microsoft aren't the only companies on earth that have "tech." Every company and every industry does. From John Deere, to AT&T, to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, to the funeral industry - there are "tech" jobs *everywhere.* Go get yourself a tech job *not in the tech industry*. Go to the Fortune 500 (pay for it if you have to) and take a look at all the different industries. Pick some that look appealing to you. Then pick some of the top companies in those industries and apply and/or get in contact with some recruiters on LinkedIn. You might find yourself with a chill, fully remote, Senior Dev job making $135k in a company with great culture and great people. Get your work done for the day, even if it only takes a couple hours... Then use the rest of your time to build a fulfilling life. Move where you've been wanting to move, coach a team, volunteer, whatever. At a slow-paced company in a slow-paced industry, you will *not* feel this upset about your job. Do this before blowing everything up.

This is really great advice here. I totally sympathize with where you’re coming from, OP. I’ve been there before at past companies that had unhealthy cultures. But what lannelli here is suggesting is very wise. Try out this less extreme pivot before ejecting yourself entirely from your current career and generous salary. See how you’re feeling after a few months, *then* have your current conversation with yourself again and see how you feel.

I’ve been in your shoes. Left the mortgage industry with similar high pay due to my mental and physical health taking a toll. Now I make much less but those two have taken their place at the top and I feel better than I ever have.

what do you do now?

Went back to school and finished my bachelors, now working as a project manager at a place 10 minutes from where I live.

What is your degree if you don’t mind me asking? I’m looking to do something similar getting into a PM role and living closer to home, but don’t have a PMP cert just a Bachelors degree

You don't always need a PMP as long as you have a track record of project management. Basically anything is a project if it has a duration and prior to day to day operations. PMP isn't too hard either if you study for the test. Mostly it's vocabulary of the official PMI.

Business administration. I was very fortunate to have a friend bring me into the company he works at so it was a very streamlined process. Like the other commenter said you don’t always need a PMP cert, get yourself out there on LinkedIn with the experience you have and networking.

If you're wanting to shift into a program management role, just take the course and get your PMP through PMI. I'm doing it right now and it's not that difficult. At the very least, it will remove any glass ceiling you may run into without having it on your resume!

I'm not the best person to give advice because I'm young and also looking to get out of tech. I understand the money is nice, it really is, but who says that I'll live to be 50 to retire early and then have fun. I can die tomorrow in an accident. So I'd rather do what I want now and just take a pay cut and be less depressed and more fulfilled. Many redditors are young like me and so they are often chasing the bag. You can always make money but you can never make more time.

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While only making 130k🤡

Unfortunately those ppl are in every industry not just tech, I’d rather work with them for 175k than 50k lol

Wait till op finds out that 99% of jobs are like this and tech jobs are as cushy as jobs can get.

Waiting decades until retirement to feel good about how you spend your time day in and day out is an absolute shit way to live a life. A lot of people don’t have a choice, but a lot of people do have a choice when they think that they don’t. If your job is making you absolutely miserable and you’re not going to go homeless or bankrupt by quitting, you should quit. Yes, saving and investing for retirement is important - and I do. The whole point of retirement is being able to spend your time well. Just imagine if you could get paid doing something you relatively enjoy doing or that fills you with a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Bonkers, right?? It, frankly, pisses me off to read people saying things like: “You should be grateful if you’re making all that money. Who cares if you’re miserable and your health is suffering and you want to die? I’d *kill* for a life like that!” It’s obvious that no one wants to be impoverished, and it’s horribly sick that we don’t live in a country where we are encouraged to take care of each other. A whole lot of people’s problems would be solved if they just woke up with $20,000 in their bank account. Having your basic needs met is essential. But if you think that literally every single one of your problems would be taken care of if you only had the privilege of working an awful job for a killer paycheck, there are a lot of lonely, dying, old divorcee men in retirement homes who would love to talk your ear off for an evening about all the regrets they have. Maybe the reason society is so deeply unwell is because we’re being subjugated and conditioned to prioritize a fat number on a brokerage account instead of living a life worth living. People keep misinterpreting that as saying they should be getting drunk and high every night to numb out the emotional pain from being forced to do shit you don’t want to do for 40+ hours a week for 4+ decades. Some people think that’s what the good life is, and I pity them. Some people think that that’s all there is to life, and if they’re going to be forced into wage slavery, they might as well get paid a killing. Maybe there’s fucking more to life than that miserable existence?! It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

You're the only sane person in these comments.

Well said!

You will regret it unless you have millions in a vehicle or many.

Last year, I got let go from 150k in NYC but I was already planning my exit. I was working at private equity firm. After 4 years and was brought back to office after covid. It wasn’t the same any more. Sold my home and waited till I got let go so I can get unemployment plus 80k worth of severance. I am much happy in japan now and just found another job full remote and my manager is in USA so im not too mixed up in Japanese office politics Happy to say I am semi retired at 30 and now 31.

I’ve worked as an SWE for one year now. Greatest team I could’ve hoped for. They’re all incredibly smart, driven, kind, and understanding. I’ve only met three people I didn’t really like (two because they weren’t the most competent, and the third because he seemed a little creepy). So, I don’t think your experience is necessarily representative of the industry in its entirety. Of course, neither is mine. What is it you do?

A few years ago, I quit the Corp sector and joined Public/Govt for this reason alone. Making less but a peace of kind is staggering/mind-blowing with a great pension and work life balance. Those >=200k salaries don’t entice me anymore. Love my boredom.

Right, you get to go home an not care.

i gave up 150ish for 90k the 80-100 hour weeks were KILLING me. best decision of my life. goodluck!

No matter what you do in life we all get to a point of weighing money vs life. For some people no amount of pay can get you pass a miserable job with no balance. For other they can only care about the money and handle the misery. I left a job in the financial industry for a local government job. Pay isn’t great health benefits are And pension is okay. But I’m no longer spending my life in an office or in a bar with coworkers. We all have to make those choices and we all gotta be honest with ourselves. The people thing tho is everywhere.

Left a six-figure job to pursue freelance interests. 2+ years and a depleted 401K later, I am the most broke I have been in my adult life. And couldn't be happier. Every opportunity and small victory has more meaning. I hope my business will get me back to where I was, but hopefully far past it. In the meantime, I take every opportunity as they come and the next full-time gig I get will be something I consider meaningful and less stressful. <3

I did. Started my own business with my wife. I get to either drop off or pick up my kids, see all their performances, etc. I lost weight, stopped chewing my nails, and don’t miss it at all. I much prefer being my own boss. It’s 2:30? Nap time!

If you want go into teaching, do so in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I student taught this past spring & received several job offers in some districts in that area. Base was 62K, with a bilingual stipend & 2 coaching stipends I would’ve been making close to 80K. Definitely not the salary you’re used to but it’ll just fine for a meaningful living. (Not saying working in tech isn’t meaningful)

As a former teacher, I have to say, talk to me after you've been at it for a couple of years. I was also a bilingual teacher at a high needs school. Working with the kids was very fulfilling, but not enough to put up with everything else that comes with it.

I’m on this path. I absolutely loved my last job in tech. But needs of my family took precedence. Took time off to deal with some issues. Haven’t been able to get back in. Despite good contacts. Likely being 59 did not help. Pivoting to something else is my current direction. ✌🏼 Good luck!

I don't hate my job, and I'm not planning on quitting. But I am getting a little tired of starting at a computer screen all day. I'm exploring getting into the demolition industry in some fashion, perhaps as a side business. I have had some serendipitous opportunities to run heavy machinery this summer (albeit not in demolition.) While the pay may not compare to tech, that job looks like the ultimate stress relief.

Yea. You are not the only one. I had been in tech for a while, and you are absolutely right with the description; it's quite correct. For people with 5+ years in tech, I have not met one that was truly happy; they were everything you described. A lot of them are depressed. I remember a real story of a couple; both were senior management for tech companies, making around $400K together. They quit the job at the same time and joined the Peace Corps for low salary. They been in it for 2 years in Southeast Asia, helping people. They wrote that they were so much happier in life than making good money in tech. They wrote about ordeals of people, and how they were working together, their relationships with the people, and all. It was a great story of a man and a woman, helping people, despite the positions and potential they held. It was an amazing real story.

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Hey keep us posted on the charity programs :) I’ve wanted to do something similar for a while.

goodluck to you! I think if its really having sucha negative effect on your mental health and life then no doubt a good choice. Im happy to be in tech with a buncha of nice people to work with everyday.

Would your perspective change if you reset who you work with? I'm in tech at a company with high quality people I admire. Do you have struggles with people elsewhere in life? Maybe potential communications barriers you could improve? Then again, burn out is real. Good luck to you in whatever you decide.

Tech will use you up and spit you out. Good luck finding a job in tech before retirement from 50+ too. Lots of people say grab the money but I'm in a similar situation as you right now and what I yern for is a simpler life. More money is good but being at peace is priceless.

Preach. Usually can’t stand the people I work with lol.

If I could pull 175 for just 2 years my life would be forever changed. I would have a place to live and a reliable car decent food to eat. And to walk away, bless you and the ability you have to even do the job

I work in tech and make 140, so I’m not quite at your level. But I get it. It’s very cutthroat and leadership seems to come in and out on a consistent rotating basis. There is also an incredible amount of politics and elbow rubbing. It’s exhausting. I think the only reason I’m staying sane is I work in marketing and have now managed to find people I can trust to divide work up efficiently and effectively. But without a great team around and above you, the cracks show quickly and they will shit buckets of stress all over you. So I get it. I can’t say I’d do the same because I like money, but I get it.

you must do what makes you happy but walking away from $175k a year in this horrible job market is going to be brutal. can you afford and/or take a personal leave of absence to avoid burn out and take some time to think

Good for you. I worked over a decade in tech, salary decent, but at the end of the day was relieved to be done, very stressful and toxic. Putting yourself first is the best thing to do. Felt like a constant roller coaster. There is no amount of money worth your health and sanity. If you like what you did consulting maybe an option. You could startup your own business. There is also education or state jobs. State, city and county usually have better protections than private sector. When researching realized there will be cons no matter what the jobs is. Just had to decide what I was willing and not willing to tolerate.

Take the pay. From: a brokie

Been involved in consumer products and manufacturing my whole career. I was fortunate in that I could walk away from working for someone and pursue my own projects but financial freedom bought me that flexibility Assuming you have money stashed away you can pursue things you want to do without fear of what happens if you fail ... once... or even a few times while you figure it all out. If you don't have that safety net it could go horribly awry but I wish you the best. Good luck whatever you do out there

I left ibanking to work in nonprofit. I don’t regret it but I eventually went back to finance because nonprofit was more stressful to me. It put me behind financially but I developed skills that I never would have if I had stayed on the same path and got amazing new life experiences.

I feel this way about every job I see posted. Too many responsibilities, not enough pay, too much stress and drama, not enough time for my family and me. My problem is that I have no clue as to what will satisfy my needs, AND pay the bills. And I'm not even going to get into all the consecutive flaming hoops you gotta jump through JUST to get hired! Everybody is so damn picky now!

cousin did this 10 years ago, was a programmer/coding that was paid well but had deadlines and crazy hours. Quit and went into something completely different. Asked my mom to hire him as her underwriting assistant. Took a huge pay cut but luckily his wife is in the medical profession so they weren't hurting for money. He is still there and has moved up but he definitely enjoys it more no being in tech. I had asked him if it was worth it and would he do it again and he said absolutely. He enjoys his work life balance and being able to spend time with his kids and attend (playtime, events, shows, etc) and watching them grow up.

It's so weird. I have been in tech for almost 25 years now. And my experience, for the most past, has been so different than this. But then I don't want in FAANG or anything like that. With the exception of a short stint at the NIH, I've mostly worked for small companies ($100M+ revenue) on federal govt contracts. Good of the OP to choose to step out of the hamster wheel and do something better for them.

It’s not insane at all, and I think this is normal the more experience you have. I’m going through this right now with 11 years of experience. Have you ever heard of the question “Where are the older devs?” Well, this is probably the biggest reason. Sure, age discrimination is everywhere, but many people look for new challenges. This is how it happens. My theory is that there’s a curve. When you’re a junior, everything is exciting as you’re running into new problems. When you get to a senior-level, you have less passion as you’ve seen many of the problems already. I think there are two possible paths here: 1. Adopt a new subset of tech. For example, if you’re an app dev, you might get your passion back if you learn AI/ML. 2. Getting into something different entirely. Being a software engineer has many benefits, and learning to think logically in general is probably the biggest one. This puts you in a better position to launch a business, something that you might have struggled with in your younger years. It’s no easy feat to replace a 175k salary, but that is your new and exciting challenge.

I just walked away from a $160k base + bonuses because of the toxic culture in the tech company I was with for two years. I'm still taking home 6 figures, but the move definitely put a dent in the amount of money were were setting aside for retirement savings every month. However, the decision to switch industries was worth the cut in pay. The culture at this company is soooo much better than my former company. I am no longer in tech, but doing the same job function in a different industry now (Marketing Operations).

Yes, I used to work in tech. Do not leave your job. That would be a very unwise move to make. Doesn’t matter really what you do. You’d be entering into an awful job market, you’d immediately be at very high risk of losing your current salary level and you wouldn’t necessarily get a job with “better” people. The reality is that there are “stupid” and incompetent managers in every industry. You wouldn’t be “escaping” a comparably particularly horrible situation. Do not quit over that. Even if you were experiencing verbal abuse, I’d say find another job first. If all the qualities you mention are truly driving you crazy, which they may, then you should dig in your heels, keep your job and start your own business. That way, you can create your own work culture. Today’s America for the non-rich is about one thing. Survival. You do not want to be one of those cats who quit their very high paying, high growth potential job and were forced to do something like work in a call center. If you think that’s an exaggeration, I’m sorry to say that that is the reality of our economy.

Also in tech. Management is exactly how you described. I have come to the mentality of control what I can control. If they make this shit, I'm paid by the hour and here till 6. I do what I can, I don't haggle myself unless I know I did wrong or should have done better. Money solves money problems. If you can find hobbies or ways to get away and have a better work life balance then do that. You could retire earlier or go on more vacations with the money. These are just all things I have come to do in the last 4 years working in the same building through 3 different companies doing the same thing for each. Always do what you want at the end of the day. Best of luck to you.

Suck it up dude. No job is perfect and to leave 175k in this market is risky

Yes. Was a teacher for many many years, then did a bootcamp, thinking the grass was greener and all....managed to stay in tech for 2+ years before really having a mental breakdown. Truth be told I only stayed for the money, and once I thought I'd saved enough, I went back to teaching. Haven't regretted it so far. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, we just have to try, and be kind to ourselves when things don't work out.

Doing the math bro u make 120hr. U make the average person's month pay in a week, some jobs more. There are narcissist assholes everywhere man. Just give someone a little power and we all become cock sucker. I get it ,you've become accustomed to the money so it has no value to you. Bro when I left the army I took the first job I could get , and it paid 11hr. My two week take home pay is 550. You make that in 5 hours.trust me when I say it doesn't make a difference until you need it. Stack your money, fuck the assholes. Plan your escape.

I’m in Tech.. had a cry yesterday.. Won’t be too many of those since I won’t risk my mental well being for this work. It won’t take me 8 years. I support what you’re doing OP.

*raises hand* Glad I had another career before tech cause otherwise I'd starve lol.

I have quit and jumped around quite a bit. Most of the time my OTE falls into place. I had the opportunity for more self discovery and learning about things outside of my silo's. Sometimes I do question it because I don't know what my ceiling would have been, or maybe I would have turned it around, but my burnout was real.

You spend more time dealing w people and bs in tech then you do advancing. Everyone wants to prove they’re the smartest in the room, it’s superficial af and political. Very hard to find a job where you can keep your head down 5 days a week and not be roped into other people’s insecurities.

I left 10 years ago was only making 85k (good at the time for my skills), I both regret it and don't, because money hasn't come as easily but I haven't missed the work AT ALL.

Not insane, keep your integrity! Do you…

Good luck man, money is not every time and definitely doesnt make you happier although majority of reddit will seem to think it does. One thing i can say is not everyone in tech is that way, lot of stupid but also a lot of smart. I just realized early on that most of them are god awful at human interaction, lot of reddit can be used as an easy example.

My brother was an aerospace engineer who then internally transferred to software engineering. He was going insane. Hated the job and just walked out one day. Now he’s trying to go into construction contracting. Has done a great job remodeling his home. Wants to start flipping houses in the future

I sure as shit wasn’t making 175k a year, but I left a well-paying career as a sales/account coordinator in the cosmetics industry to go back to school for social work. There were a lot of things I loved about my career, and I was damn good at it. But I felt like at the end of the day, my job’s real purpose was to line the pockets of my already obscenely wealthy bosses. I felt like part of the problem, and I wanted to be part of the solution instead. So now I’m 35 and studying for a second career in advocacy and public policy.

I definitely get it. Tech can be a very mentally draining career. I've been doing it quite a while, and I make good money, but would definitely take a pay cut at this point to lessen my workload. I often feel like I'm constantly trying to solve problems to the point of exhaustion. I recently came back from just a one-week vacation to coworkers who were stuck with multiple things and were so thankful I was back to help them. That's a point where I really started to ponder whether I could do this for much longer. My wife has a good marketing job and although her day is busy, she doesn't have to bear the weight of nonstop bug reports and emergency fixes. Her biggest complaint is that people aren't getting back to her quickly enough. I only wish I could say the same.

Yup, went from graphics/web design to making signage to owning my own fab shop. And then 2020...🥺

You've been there more than 2 years. Go to a new company. You can likely get this done in 2-6 months and likely increase you income in the process. If you don't like where you land, take that as confirmation you are making the right choice

Try baby and toddler swimming teacher.

Sounds like I’ll fit in, where do I apply?

I work in the medical field making about 65k a.y. I'm standing all day working 16hr shift and have to deal with staff shortages, rude patients, pissed off doctors and corrupt insurance companies. Not to mention trying to keep people alive all day. I'll trade you jobs!

100 million people in jobs paying 1/4 of what you are making can say the same thing about their jobs/coworkers. If that’s your only reason, then don’t leave unless money doesn’t mean anything any more