
Ask HN: Burned out on software development & looking for an offline job? - funkyfire
I&#x27;ve been a software developer for most of my life (late 30&#x27;s now) but lately I&#x27;ve been profoundly unmotivated to write more code. I&#x27;m looking for inspiration for a career change, preferably something that can be done nearly completely offline. Any suggestions?
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dfraser992
I starting burning out about 34 - I'm 44 now - and I wish I had made the
effort to start transitioning. But I'm very good at forcing myself to go on
death marches... life got in the way and was distracting as well. The latest
stupid crap has finally convinced me to really start, however. So don't
procrastinate - I really hope you don't.

Usually, in one's 30s, you start trying to figure out what you really want to
be doing for the last half of your life. I quit my job after the first
Internet bubble broke and went to film school, something I'd always wanted to
do, but after film school, I decided it was "practical" to stick with IT.
Writing screenplays is a little too much like programming, and it really
doesn't pay as well... Anyway, such is life.

What would you be doing if you suddenly became 18 again, but kept all the life
knowledge you have accumulated by now? Do you feel the need to do something
completely different or perhaps just something to the "left" of software
development? Any sort of writing is to the left, I think, as a lot of the
skills in IT are applicable to the writing process. Something different would
be the acting classes I took last year - i.e. try to develop the subordinate
side of your personality - more 'artistic' stuff, more feeling than the
thinking. Acting actually involves a lot more analytical processes than one
might think, but you still have to get in touch with one's 'feeling' side so I
found it all useful.

At this point, I'm starting to think seminary school sounds interesting, as it
is aligned with a lot of my intellectual interests. There is a monastery in
Belgium that brews beer, and they need help as demand is growing and the order
is shrinking. Spending my life making beer sounds fun!

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jacooqs
I completely burned out about three years ago and took a break. I was working
at a digital agency and the work was good but the hours were really crazy with
tough deadlines. It was all exciting but then I just burned and couldnt just
write anymore.

I decided to take a break, went into banking - Yeah! Worked in the front
office and doing clerical tasks for about a year and it was extremely
refreshing. It was a huge bore a lot of the time but the break was helpful
because I had plenty of free time compared to previous job so I could spend
the time doing side projects and learning a lot of stuff online.

After one year away, I had spent the time learning new things and tools and
was really excited to get back into full time development again. And now
pretty happy I did that. I guess I needed that.

You dont have to take another job or career change. Just take some time and do
the things you liked about development or try new things and you'll get the
mojo back. But defn take a breather I guess. A couple of days away

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thejteam
I'm mid-thirties myself and am going through the same thing. I decided midway
through 2013 that I just couldn't keep going. I left my job July 31 last year
and thought I would build a software business on my own. I thought the problem
was I just didn't like my previous job or working for others. The problem is
that I really don't like large amounts of coding. I don't mind dabbling in
small amounts of code now and then but large amounts of code day in and day
out just burn me out.

For now, I'm taking up writing. Both technical writing and fiction. Writing
Science Fiction is something I've always wanted to try. Long term, I want to
move into renovating old homes and into farming. Specifically peppers. I like
growing peppers.

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thisisdallas
Have you looked into project management?

Something along the lines of "business technology consulting" might be another
route to get mostly offline. By that, I mean consulting businesses on how to
utilize specific technology to solve their problems, not building that
technology.

If all else fails, look to your passions. What do you do when you aren't
working? Do you like photography, working on cars, building wooden furniture
etc. etc? You might have to get creative but a lot of hobbies can transition
into careers or businesses.

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logn
> I've been profoundly unmotivated to write more code

If that's you're only real gripe, move into management. I enjoyed it a lot.
It's a great chance to multiply the effect of your knowledge. I approached
management as engineering, except I would give up as soon as I knew how the
tasks should be done (because I could re-assign them). Other than that, it's
all team building and communication.

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sharemywin
I'm burned out on business application code but it pays so well compared to
other things.

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mfP314
Welding

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logn
... and plumbing, electrical, carpentry, auto repair. These are all jobs I
think hackers would be attracted to.

