Title: I have a really comfortable web development job, albeit not very exciting, at a medium sized software company. That's why, like most people who probably read this and similar sites, I try to evolve professionally in my free time - read technical books, blogs, pick up languages, etc. I consider myself good at my job, and average compared to the industry. I constantly run into articles where people praise their co-workers, regale on how exciting their job is and how much they learn every day...
I find that almost everyone I work with (company of +50 people) just comes to work to punch a ticket, go home, repeat. This is not an "old" company (avg. age &#60;35), yet people are satisfied with what they picked up so far, and don't feel the need to grow as a professional. When I mention things like github, Erlang or HN, for example, I get vague stares - nobody's heard of them. I understand people have families and non-work related hobbies (I do too - a lot), but for me coming to work just to pass 8-10 daily hours in closing bugs, adding features and resolving tickets is just dull. Yeah, I get it, that's what work is all about.
Don't get me wrong - these guys are good in what they do (mostly C/C++ Devs), but I've got nothing to learn from them, nothing interesting to chat about (I don't consider diaper changing talks exciting) and I keep fighting through the day to make work interesting by coming up with new solutions to old problems (a cliché, I know, but this is really what I do). Even my team members/boss who do web-development aren't different than the rest (a bit worse, actually).
On the plus side, the salary and benefits where I work are great. I have a baby on the way and an unemployed wife, so I can't really afford to be cavalier on job search at the moment. Maybe I'm just selling out, and this is definitely a vent post, but does anyone here feels the same at their current job, and if so - what do you do?
Also, I live and work outside the US, if it makes a difference.
Upvote: