Title: Using a throw-away because it is career suicide to express these thoughts so candidly. This post might trigger people with different views on work than mine.<p>I&#x27;m an average developer. I can write decent, legible code, with tests, and solve a business problem according to specs. I didn&#x27;t study CS and learned it all out of sheer curiosity and passion. I have about five years of experience, all at web startups.<p>So far, so good.<p>But here is the thing: I only like to stay for a year or less at a given place and then quit (or get laid off, even better because I get employment insurance). I go on a 1-6 months break to recharge before I have to look for work again.<p>I&#x27;m perfectly fine staying an average developer. I want to do my 40 hours a week, sit out of office politics, go home, and do things I enjoy more with the rest of my time. I have no interest in becoming a lead or a senior dev: the extra stress isn&#x27;t worth it, the Kool-Aid doesn&#x27;t taste good, and I&#x27;m paid well enough as it is.<p>It feels like I&#x27;m living a lie though because hiring managers would much rather get docile, &quot;hungry&quot;, &quot;passionate&quot; people who aren&#x27;t going to leave after 9-12 months. So I have to pretend while interviewing so I can get my next job and pay my bills until it&#x27;s time for me to take a break again.<p>I don&#x27;t enjoy doing this because it feels dirty.<p>So this time around, I&#x27;m looking at alternatives: how can I work on my own terms and take long breaks in-between while staying employable? Should I look for agencies and only go for 3-6-9 months contracts? Should I give up tech entirely to avoid the broken interview process and avoid burning out at work?<p>I can&#x27;t believe I&#x27;m the only one thinking this way, I know there are plenty of so-called &quot;clock punchers&#x2F;pragmatists&quot;[0] who refuse to play the game. So I&#x27;m asking you: how do you pull it off? How do you survive? What do you tell your managers and your interviewers?<p>[0]: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;daedtech.com&#x2F;defining-the-corporate-hierarchy&#x2F;
Upvote: