Ask HN: Tips on coping with my quarter-life crisis
So I don&#x27;t have any specific advice, per se, but I want to offer my experience as perspective. I am 26 and have had similar thoughts and bouts with depression.<p>I have a pretty diverse work background. I come from a degree in fine arts, have worked multiple minimum wage jobs, outdoor jobs, and desk jockey jobs since graduation in 2014. My current position is in an office in a tech hub city, and I am in the process of finalizing an offer to transition into a coding career.<p>Throughout all the jobs I&#x27;ve held, the different work environments, and the grind - my depression hasn&#x27;t actually eased up or gone away. It just shifts its focus to other areas of my life that I get anxious&#x2F;worried&#x2F;feelings of depression about.<p>It&#x27;s easy to romanticize an outdoor lifestyle and active job, but just like anything, there are pros and cons.<p>I would suggest focusing first and foremost on getting your depression under control. It&#x27;s easy to cast blame on your current work&#x2F;housing&#x2F;love&#x2F;social situation as the cause, but it&#x27;s just your depressed brain projecting and deflecting. Changing careers drastically now may feel liberating at first, but I guarantee that the feelings of crisis will creep back in over time.<p>Once you have some tools to better manage your depression and outlook, things will become clear.<p>As for your career - you are in a good position right now. You have a masters degree and offers on the table. My guy reaction is to tell you to accept one, go and work for a year or two, and re-evaluate. Maybe the feelings of disliking offices and not leading a meaningful life will dissipate if you are busy working on interesting problems, or have fun&#x2F;smart co workers to be around. Worst case you get a year or two experience and know for sure that you don&#x27;t want to be in an office.<p>I don&#x27;t know what your work history is like, but I can tell you from my own experience that making very little money contributed much more to my feelings of depression and angst than working a boring&#x2F;un-filling job that paid well. As a fellow lover of skiing (started when I was 2 years old) who taught weekends throughout highschool and college - the money is crap and the weather gets to you quickly. If you already know all this, then best of luck. I still day dream of quitting to do the same thing.<p>Tbh - there is a very good chance that you could do both things (assuming you actually like coding and aren&#x27;t just fed up with it right now). Why not work an office job for a few years and try to pivot that into a remote&#x2F;part time&#x2F;consulting gig that allows you to work a few hours a day and ski&#x2F;instruct the rest?<p>My point is - there are a lot of paths to take. Don&#x27;t get tricked into thinking that it is an all or nothing choice right now. We are conditioned to plan our lives from A to B and follow the playbook, but you can throw that playbook right out the window.<p>To reiterate, your first step is getting your brain balanced out. However you accomplish that is very personal and not something I am qualified to guide you on. If you really think that switching career paths will do that, then go for it! But if I were in your position I would pursue coding for now and re-evaluate in a year or two. The mountains aren&#x27;t going anywhere.<p>Good luck.