Title: I posted this a few months ago: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=29709273" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=29709273</a><p>I thought I hated programming and was ready to quit or even divorce my wife. I was not able to have a normal conversation with anyone. I was burned out but I thought I was having midlife crisis.<p>My wife wanted to buy a big house and I kept blaming her for the stress.<p>My job was easy and I had a lot of control over my time, work location, etc. I didn&#x27;t think it could be the job that was causing me feel depressed.<p>What I didn&#x27;t realize while my work gave me freedom on work schedule, it didn&#x27;t give me any real freedom to make important decisions. We were checkmark driven company. I was forced to do a lot of compliance and security related tasks which added zero benefit to our service.<p>After my post, I decided that I either move into management at my last company or get a new job. I worked longer hours and spent all my free time doing LeetCode.<p>LeetCode was hard and pointless. But I was motivated and was able to solve most easy and medium question in 30 mins. However, that was not good enough for FAANGs.<p>I applied to some smaller companies and got a few offers. I picked one really great Series D startup. I believe in their mission and I have freedom to make real decisions here. I got a decent bump in my salary but not really FAANG TC.<p>However, more importantly, work is 1000 times more exciting. I feel alive again. Wife and I are not fighting anymore. I work longer hours but have more energy at the end of day.<p>I just want to thank everyone that responded to my post and tell everyone that if you find your work or life unfulfilling, change your job now!
Upvote: