
Ask HN: I'm bored with programming, what should I do? - wintron
I&#x27;ve been coding for a living for about 15 years and, while there are plenty of days where I learn something new, overall, I&#x27;d say I&#x27;m actually pretty good at it, and generally quickly earn the respect of my peers wherever I work.<p>The problem is, I&#x27;ve lost my spark and enthusiasm for the job, BUT, I can&#x27;t afford NOT to work, and with 3 young kids, I have some pretty significant overheads to meet each month.<p>I still read HN and other tech sources avidly, so I still have enthusiasm for the industry, in fact, I dream one day of running my own successful tech business. I&#x27;m just finding the physical and mental act of programming for a living draining, having done it for several years, I&#x27;m in need of a change, and, if I don&#x27;t change something, I fear I&#x27;ll burn out.<p>So, turning to HN for some inspiration. What should I do?
======
1qaz2wsx3edc
I'm about 7-10 years myself, I've gotten pretty bored and unmotivated as well.
But what I've learned is: Programming for money and programming for passion
are two very different motivators. They don't have to be exclusive, but
regularly are. And often it can become over extended.

So, here are somethings you can consider: Try finding work you're passionate
about first, that also pays. Maybe work for a non-profit? Try to find a role
that lets you expand from where you currently are, perhaps management,
business analysis, marketing, design or whatever pet preference you have. The
point is not to over extend a single skill. Consider less hours, I've
personally found 30 hours a week to be tolerable. Relax that skill more often.
Try working on different projects regularly, I work on different projects
every 2-6 weeks. The change in pace & direction keeps me excited & interested.

Also consider: building passive income generators, you've been programming for
15 years (why isn't the code working for you?).

All in all, keep changing your angle until you're happier.

Just my two cents.

------
sdesol
I had a six figure salary as a programmer before I decided to give carpentry a
try. I love woodworking so I figured this would be a good vocation to take up.
I enrolled in carpentry classes with my local community college. I did this
for 6 months and stopped for two reason:

\- Hard labour is hard labour. We (programmers) get paid a lot of money to sit
on our ass. It may be mentally grueling but it doesn't hurt your back.

\- I decided that $60,000 a year, which is good salary for a carpenter isn't a
six figure salary.

So I had the option to go back as a programmer and make others money, or take
a gamble and try to make myself a lot of money. I choose the latter and here,
we are today.

What I've learned from my personal experience is we (programmers) have it kind
of good. We get paid a lot to sit on our ass. If you think you are burning
out, then take some time doing something else and I'm sure you'll find going
back to programming won't be bad.

As long as you don't take programming seriously, then I really don't think
you'll burn out. I like to believe I'm an above average programmer, and my
salary has always reflected this, but if somebody said you couldn't program
anymore, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. I'm good at programming, but I'm
not passionate about.

I would personally advise you to stick with programming but learn to
disconnect from it. There are not a lot professions out there that pays as
well as programming for the physical effort required.

~~~
amorphic
I agree that we in the IT profession often forget that we're being paid
relatively well to work in a comfortable environment, doing something that's
reasonably challenging/interesting. Most of us also have an outside interest
in tech, so it's pretty close to having one's hobby as a job.

However I think focusing on physical exertion is misguided. A carpenter may be
out doing physical work all day, but his/her job requires nothing like the
mental exertion of a programming role. A long day of coding is just as
exhausting as a day spent climbing ladders and lugging tools, if not more so.
And as one gets older, both types of exertion take a greater toll and require
more recovery time.

------
ivanca
Teach programming to young folks; you may thing is the same but you get to
have more and different social interactions with new people and to share their
fresh view on programming might be something good for you too.

------
Edmond
I have been programming for about 15 yrs as well but I have never actually
cared much for programming. Programming for me has always been a means to an
end, my primary passion has always been products and I find whenever I have a
product idea the programming motivation just kicks in. Virtually all the
programming I have done has been product development.

So perhaps start thinking more about what you can create via software but
viewing the writing of software itself as a just a way to create, that might
change your perspective. Also maybe take concrete steps towards that
technology business idea, there is never a perfect time for working on
business ideas :)

You could also consider job role change away from programming to maybe a
managerial/leadership role, you already have the experience.

In the mean time you could just wait for my company's product to mature :) it
aims to be a developer tool for those who just want to build software products
without necessarily being bugged down in technical minutiae. (check my profile
for link)

------
Sharma
Start learning something new but without loosing touch of programming...so
here are your options(without knowing what you already do):

1.) Data science : Learn about data mining, machine learning,computer
visions,natural language processing etc etc.

2.) If not above then start diving into computer security. Learn about
penetration testing,cryptography,forensic etc.

3.) Become a designer learn: UX,CSS,graphic designing etc.

You can keep your current job going fine and get the daily dose of excitement
from any of the above item! This is what I have been doing.

~~~
onedev
I think this is a fantastic response. You can do a lot with programming where
the end goal isn't necessarily a program/app but rather to reach a conclusion
or to find out something interesting (e.g. data science). It's a different
take on programming if you will.

I think design is awesome and I would like to do it at some point. I think
having a programming background would help me a lot when doing CSS/HTML/JS/UX
stuff.

------
davehimself
It's been a long time since I've been ass-deep in new tech. Most days I'm
recalling on that thing I did that time in order to help a teammate or a group
of teammates work through a task. I would suggest you look at what you can
give, not what you can get. Mentorship (both giving and receiving) has been a
practice that I've found very rewarding. Generally, I mentor other people in
an area that I have a lot of experience (technology) and I look to be mentored
by those who have experience in areas that I don't have a lot of experience
(management, finance, etc.). I think it contributes to my end goal which is
also to run my own business. Hope that helps.

------
codygman
Learn Haskell ;)

It helped me find excitement. It did the same for Edward Kmett:
[https://www.quora.com/Reviews-of-Haskell/review/Edward-
Kmett](https://www.quora.com/Reviews-of-Haskell/review/Edward-Kmett)

------
bmelton
There will probably be three more submissions just like mine before I hit
submit, but you should very likely consider a transition to a management /
liaison role.

There are a variety of fields that benefit from code-savvy people that are
able to communicate effectively and that have just a little bit of initiative,
namely:

\- project manager -- there are a lot of definitions for project managers, but
the simplest I think is the guy who sits between upper management and the
engineers to ensure that project deadlines are met by removing obstacles for
the engineer. As a developer, your unique insight here is in the ability to
anticipate roadblocks and be able to remove them, as well as not having to
have things explained to you three times before you can act. As a project
manager, you'll be privvy to upper management's goals and directives earlier,
be in a position to shape the project, and tangibly demonstrate how your
contributions streamline the development process. Often-times, as engineers,
we only hear "We need feature X", without an explanation for __why __we need
feature X, and a lot of times, project managers don 't communicate that
downstream. Being able to understand the woes of engineering and the plaints
of management simultaneously gives you an advantage to communicate effectively
and deliver more efficiently.

\- product manager -- Similar to but different than project manager, a product
manager sits between the project manager or engineers and the customer or
potential customers. The product manager evaluates customer concerns and helps
shape the product or products by ensuring that the features you're working on
will actually help improve the product's market position. What features are
people asking for? What features are people asking for that are negatively
impacting the ability of sales to sell the product? What features are people
not asking for that they should be? What could make the product better? Those
are the questions that the product manager seeks the answers to, and provides
those answers to the rest of the team, then puts in a request for the
proverbial "Feature X".

Etc., etc. There are positions that benefit from having a developer's mindset
that aren't development. By your post here, I can see that you communicate
effectively, so you have at least the minimal qualifications necessary that a
transition could probably be easily managed.

------
BadassFractal
After about 7 years of professional programming, every day I'm in awe at how
much I don't know and how much understanding it would make my life better. The
amount of stuff I want to learn seems to increase daily. I can't see myself be
even close to being "done" in 10 years.

There's so much depth, beauty and challenge to be found in language design,
API design, architecture of scalable distributed systems, design of human and
computer-friendly tools, refining one's mastery of various programming
paradigms (working daily with Clojure and Haskell will keep you busy and
interested for many years). Learning about OS internals, graphics programming,
networking etc is mind-blowing. Find inspiration in the great work of those
who came before like all the people featured in the AOSA books. If you ever
reach the point where you've done everything you can as an individual
contributor, you still have a lifetime ahead of you mastering how to inspire,
coach and pass on wisdom to the more junior members of the team, share your
shokunin-like fervor for software with them.

~~~
ams6110
I often feel the same way. The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know.
It's like one of those dreams where you are running as hard as you can but
every time you look up you're farther from where you want to be. It's
depressing.

------
amorphic
You don't mention any details of your current role. Are you full-time or
contract?

If it's the former, you could always try contracting for a while. A few
potential benefits:

\- You're only in the same organisation for 6-12 months so it's less likely to
get stale.

\- You'll earn more $/day so you can take more time out to pursue other
interests, holiday, play with your kids etc

\- It's a solid precursor to starting that 'successful tech business' that you
dream about. You're less likely to break out and pursue that while you're
earning wages.

Of course if you have a family to support then a lot will depend on your
financial situation. But as another poster said you should be in reasonable
shape if you've been a dev for 15 years...

------
trippy_biscuits
Programming doesn't have to be your passion. _gasp_

Transition to a less demanding role, if needed, and look for other areas where
you can contribute the result of your experience.

For example, if you have passion for *BSD, some linux distribution, or some
other community software project you could contribute. You could start by
fixing bugs and submitting patches.

OR, skip out on software development completely. Find a way to get more free
time and then study a foreign language or learn how to play a musical
instrument. Maybe the issue isn't what you are doing but what you aren't?

------
professorTuring
I hear you and I know what you are going through. I burned out two years ago
and I started to think in my future. Do I want to continue programming what I
am told when I am 40? I find out that programming is sometimes frustrating
depending on the motivations of your coworkers as well...

You may be considering you will be a "manager" in the future but I do think
that only a bunch of today programmers will be managers or CTO in the future
(a lot of politics in Spain). Somehow there are some people that are meant to
be CTO no matter they age or experience, so don't trust you will be one.

So I started to think what do I wanted to do with my life. I considered two
options: \- Helping make the world nicer by learning the secrets of design: my
mother and brothers are artists and I consider I have some potential, I have
done some freelancing regarding this topic. \- Helping the IT world to be more
secure in an useful way: I was kind of a hacker in my teen years and I loved
it but I started to work as a developer and I lost this track.

Long story short, I studied a MSc in Information Security and now I am helping
the enterprise where I was a programmer to build useful security. The good
things about the security world is that: is an art, is quite challenging, it
involves working with people, is a growing industry, you can program from time
to time and... It is cool! =D

I continue programming but as a hobby and I find it much more rewarding.

(Any grammar corrections are appreciated since English it's not my mother
tongue).

------
walid
So you are bored and your job has lost its luster. For that do something
completely different and do it just for fun. If you work as X and even if you
are good at X you will eventually get bored of X. Imagine if you had ice-cream
or chocolate all the time. Eventually you will hate eating anymore of it. The
thing is to do something you like or you feel you need but do it only for
yourself and not because you have or need to.

Stand in front of the mirror and ask yourself what you like to do. I, for
example, started exercising more after trying it and stopping because of life
matters. Choose something that you like and make you feel you're experiencing
a new thing. Don't learn another programming language like everyone on HN is
suggesting. You know that saying about when you're a hammer...

Just because you are good at something doesn't mean that it's enough to
fulfill you. It will make you proud of yourself for a while but then it'll
start wearing off. You need something that makes you feel in touch with your
purely human nature that is different from your daily job. How about painting,
cooking, exercising, stamp collection (a dying hobby), reading poetry (I won't
do that but you might), theater, dancing lessons, gardening, sightseeing,
photography, magic tricks. Don't pick something like your job.

~~~
slugslog
I totally agree with this notion. Don't just go out and learn another
programming language..it's an addiction to go after the next shiny
tool/language/package that comes along. instead step away from it and focus on
how you're career has evolved. what are the aspects of various jobs that
you've taken on so far that really appeal to you. try to do more of it on the
side. I am currently in a similar situation where I'm trying to explore how my
experience can benefit other younger students or early stage programmers. The
end result of being enthused by them and also helping them with my broader
perspective is very appealing to me. You can of course ease into such a role;
don't have to give up your day job. family responsibilities are very real,
very important and very satisfying...

------
andyjdavis
>I have some pretty significant overheads to meet each month.

Do whatever you can to reduce your overheads. A few years of sacrificing to
cut your overheads can be hugely beneficial to your overall happiness. I know
this is easier said than done but, if you have any debts, get rid of them as
soon as you are able to.

>I dream one day of running my own successful tech business.

Have you considered starting something in your spare time? Do some
freelancing, build some gizmo and release it online or whatever takes your
fancy. You don't need to spend any money to step out of the employee box and
to start developing a side income or outside projects. If anything it helps
with saving money as you find yourself spending more time tinkering instead of
being out spending money.

I don't know what you do exactly but I had great fun doing onegameamonth.com I
did this free course
[https://www.coursera.org/course/interactivepython](https://www.coursera.org/course/interactivepython)
then started making crappy little games and had great fun doing it.

Go check out coursera.org, edx.org and udacity.com. Take some free courses in
whatever amuses you. Either something technical to broaden your skills or
something totally unrelated just because you want to.

~~~
lsc
>Do whatever you can to reduce your overheads. A few years of sacrificing to
cut your overheads can be hugely beneficial to your overall happiness. I know
this is easier said than done but, if you have any debts, get rid of them as
soon as you are able to.

I read this in the context of his children being his overheads, and I
chuckled.

------
arindam_
Maybe you are too deep to look out... Stop HN. Stop Mashable. Stop RSS. Stop
all your sources that keep you up-to-date... Hopefully, in a few days, some
bit of enthusiasm may return. Right now you might be too attached. Let go for
a while.

My suggestion off the first <br> would've been take a long-long break. But
then, you mention, its not in the picture. You have a family.

So take a break anyways. Break from your routine. From your job. Not right
now, but lay the first stones.

Find good freelance solutions. 15 yrs in, I'm sure you wouldn't need elance,
freelance.com to get you work. You must be having some connections. If you
feel you don't try to figure that out.

So that in the next couple months, you are ready to put down your papers
(assuming you are at a regular job). That is the break you need. A break from
the norm.

You say you still have enthusiasm for the industry, that is great after 15
yrs. I'm ~5 yrs in, and pretty sure I'll burn up quicker than you. Feel really
great about it. And try to channel it.

Another route. Have you tried getting a little off-hands. A tech-lead,
architect sorts roles. They are usually balanced with you typing code, and
not. Pays better. With your source of inspirations, I'm sure you would love
that role. It has its own challenges, but they will be a different kind to
you...

And yeah, try to venture into newer areas in your free time. If you are a
network engg, try web dev. If you're a web dev, try machine learning.

Long term advice: Look to join a startup, a fairly stable one, since you need
some kind of stability. Challenges there are multi-fold and multi-dimensional.
That should keep you hooked on for a good few years.

------
rayiner
Find non programming hobbies? I like programming a lot more now that I don't
do it for a living. You can burn out on too much of a good thing.

------
markthelefty
I would suspect you are probably less bored with programming but probably
bored with your job as a whole. It's likely time to move from day-to-day
programmer to a management role. If you are as experienced as you seem you
should really consider it. It will present a number of new challenges and
leading your peers to do great work will likely be a whole new challenge.

~~~
greenyoda
Management (especially managing people) isn't for everyone. I tried it for
several years, burned out on it, and went back to being a developer.

------
pvnick
Great question. What _are_ you passionate about? What is one thing that would
improve the world that is within your reach? How could you make people's lives
a little better? Answer that question, then figure out some way to use your
coding talents towards making it a reality.

Example from my own life (don't steal it :P) - I'm passionate about nutrition
and exercise. I'm currently making a website that _vastly_ simplifies the
process of getting in shape and eating healthily. I hope to launch within the
next month or so. Thinking about how people's lives will be improved by being
a healthy weight and being physically strong really motivates me to open up
sublime and write code.

Second suggestion: How good are you with people? Look into project management,
particularly a technical role. For example maybe you lead a team of devs and
make decisions regarding backend scalability for a growing startup.

Good luck!

------
was_hellbanned
Awhile back I started working on some Project Euler problems and found that
some of my passion for programming returned. Also, pursuing some projects of
great personal interest to me helped, but the repetitive annoyances (rabbit
hole/yak shaving issues, horrible API documentation and frustrating APIs,
etc.) still got to me eventually. Ultimately, I began to realize that what
made me happy with my work in the past was having good people around me,
regardless of whatever death-march project I was on.

Show me a passionate, mature software developer and I'll show you someone with
a good social work environment.

Oh, and never underestimate the power of a real vacation. I'm talking two
weeks swimming and reading (non-tech stuff) on a beach somewhere, never
fretting about your real-life and tech problems. Really, how many of us _ever_
experience such relief?

------
adamzerner
Why not start a company? If you're good at programming and have been doing it
for 15 years, you've probably got some financial stability. Your family may
need to lower its expenses a little, but thats the price you pay to do what
you enjoy.

~~~
leothekim
Speaking as a parent, I think the OP has three startups already.

~~~
Agathos
I'm not sure what to make of the business plan. What's the exit strategy?

~~~
hoelle
After you pay for college, hopefully they exit your house.

------
lonetwin
I get into these modes every once in a while, now that I have been a IT guy
[1] for 12+ years. Here are a few suggestions that might be worth thinking
about. Of course you are not me, so YMMV

a. Get a _new_ hobby. I have realized that having an out-of-work hobby helps
your work life immensely. I don't mean a hobby that you'd go to only when
bored or on the weekends, nor something 'easy' \-- so listening to music, or
watching movies or reading a book don't qualify for what I am recommending. It
has to have a steep learning curve if you want to get a high enough level of
satisfaction from the process that it improves your overall sense of well
being. Learning to draw/sketch, learning to play a musical instrument or
juggle or scuba dive would qualify.

b. Teach. The easiest way to get into this is get involved in your local User
groups and share what you already know. Do it for free. I assure you this too
will indirectly have a phenomenal affect on your work life. Also checkout
[http://software-carpentry.org/contrib/training.html](http://software-
carpentry.org/contrib/training.html) ...which leads me neatly to my next
point...

c. Challenge yourself and get involved in a writing software for a completely
different domain. I see way too many software engineers limiting themselves to
writing code and creating products that are consumed by other software
engineers. That gets boring after a while. Write code (or quite your job and
join a firm that writes code) for scientific research (think physics, phrama,
genetics ...etc) or for automotive companies or for hospitals ...basically
move out of the domain where software is the central/critical component (eg:
web or software solution providers ...you know what I mean ?)

d. Just take a break. I don't mean a long sabbatical. Just a break. You don't
even need to do something special with your break, ie: you don't need to
travel to exotic locations -- you can just take a break to seriously pursue
(a) above.

Hope this helps, cheers,

[1] translation: I've held positions in pretty much every aspect of delivering
software - userspace programming, systems-level programming, web dev, Level 2
& 3 support, system administration and ^devops^ (whatever that is)

------
adamb_
With your code skills and business aspirations, why not create a "set it and
forget it" style product? Create some freemium app; Dominate a niche
enterprise market.. Income hack.

~~~
jlgaddis
You make it sound so easy.

~~~
adamb_
I don't know the OP's background, but if he's the great programmer he says
then I'm sure he has the smarts to find his place among the countless
profitable one-person companies in our industry.

------
thar2012
I was in same situation around a year back. Then I thought just coding will
not give me financial freedom to do whatever I want and started my own tech
company. It's been a great year I had lots of new experience, learning and
making money as well. Consider creating some products in your free time
preferably in your domain to start with. Connect me tapesh at vitallabs.in if
you need any specific details on how to transition from engineer to
entrepreneur.

------
Rogerh91
I think you need to open yourself to exploring the option of starting your own
company. Start by looking for a good co-founder on the side: once you find the
right person to work with, the idea will be secondary, and this is something
you can do job or no job. It'll let you start cracking at what I think is one
of the hardest, if not hardest tasks in a startup setting: deciding whether to
go it alone, or deciding what team one wants to work with.

------
jlgaddis
_tl;dr: I rambled on way too much, describing my own cases of "burn out".
Unfortunately, I haven't even figured out a good solution for myself so I
don't have any good advice for the OP. You probably don't want to waste your
time reading this wall of text; it doesn't say anything useful or productive,
although it did make me feel a little better. Sorry._

I'm not really a developer/programmer; I'm sr. network engineer at an ISP and
I manage all Linux servers; the only code I write is that which makes my own
life easier. Prior to this, I was in a similar role at a .edu.

A few years ago, I was getting burnt out pretty bad and although there were a
few other contributing circumstances, I decided pretty spur-of-the-moment to
quit my job and move to either Seattle or the Bay Area. I desperately wanted a
change of pace.

I turned in my resignation two days later, on a Friday, and gave 'em two weeks
notice. At noon the next Wednesday, the head of H.R. (also a good friend of
mine) told me I could go ahead home (they did this pretty much anytime someone
decided to leave, although they always us for the remainder of the two weeks).

That was at the beginning of May 2011 -- just when it's really starting to
warm up and turn into summer here. Instead of taking care of personal things
and tying up the loose ends I needed to before I could move 2500 miles away, I
spent pretty much every day on the bike (motorcycle) or the boat and every
night at the clubs (I live in a college/party town). I never got around to
taking care of my personal business so that I could move.

At the end of October, a guy who followed my blog e-mailed and asked if I was
looking for a job -- a company he occasionally worked with in my area was
looking for a new head network guy. I wasn't really looking but I agreed to
talk with them and gave him the okay to pass along my contact info. Shortly
afterwards, I got an e-mail from the owner saying that they really needed
someone who had extensive knowledge of and lots of experience with Cisco and
Juniper gear. Ironically, I was attending an event in San Jose then and so I
got to reply with a cocky "Yeah, I'm actually at Cisco right now and I'll be
at Juniper tomorrow" e-mail.

Anyway, I started working with them shortly afterwards. I didn't really _want_
to have to work -- I had gotten used to all the free time I had every day --
but I was actually starting to get bored (and I was starting to forget
things). While I was doing pretty much the same work that I had gotten burnt
out on, it was a different environment with different requirements than what I
was used to (old: EDU, new: ISP) and so it was quite interesting and had
different challenges. They had grown the ISP from a very small company into a
decent size organization. None of the technical staff had any formal education
and had pretty much learned as they went along. Because of this, they had huge
holes in their knowledge but weren't even aware of it. Things hadn't been
designed properly and best practices were a foreign concept. They made managed
to make it this far but they were starting to hit the point where their
environment wasn't scaling any more and major changes were going to have to be
made -- nearly the entire network needed redesigned. This was gonna be a huge
project and is exactly the kind of stuff that I like to do. I love a good
challenge and especially enjoy being able to finish up a major project
successfully.

Several months ago, after nearly two years, I noticed that I was starting to
burn out again. I wasn't really enjoying my job anymore and was beginning to
dread working. As the OP said, "I'm just finding the physical and mental act
of programming for a living draining" (not programming in my case, but very
similar). Instead of working from home occasionally, I started working from
home all the time -- I didn't even want to go to the office. I was still
getting work done and making progress on my projects but, like you, that spark
and enthusiasm was nearly gone.

At the beginning of October, right as it was really starting to get to me and
I was beginning to seriously consider leaving, I was involved in a (head-on
motorcycle vs. Jeep) crash, suffered some pretty major injuries (two broken
wrists, broken leg, messed up ankle, ...) and was gonna be out of commission
for some time. Fortunately, the systems that I'm responsible for are fairly
resilient and so we haven't had any major issues while I've been out (the
biggest problem happened just last night -- a hardware issue worked around by
shutting down a link).

I've done a few minor things recently but haven't done any major work since my
wreck. It's just been the last few days that I've started catching up on
e-mails, looking back over my previous notes, and brainstorming. I've created
a number of tickets for myself and have been trying to mentally prepare myself
to get back into "work mode" \-- as much as I enjoy not having to work every
day, I'm starting to get bored again (I can only visit HN so many times a day
before I've read everything of interest!). Besides, my bosses and co-workers
have been very understanding and amazingly patient but I'm quite aware that my
absence is making things hard on everyone else.

I realize I'm rambling (sorry), but I can certainly relate to the burn-out.
Part of it is probably because I don't often take vacation time -- my recent
time off due to my injuries is the only time off I've had in the two years
I've been at this job -- and even when I do I almost always end up doing work
of some kind. So, for me, the last several years have basically been: work my
ass off, get burnt out, a few months of not working, get bored, work my ass
off, get burnt out, ...

Wash, rinse, repeat.

Unfortunately, I don't have a good solution for you (obviously, I can't even
find one for myself!) but hopefully you'll figure something out before you do
get completely burnt out. I don't have any children, fortunately, or I
wouldn't have been able to just decide "hey, I think I'll quit my job and move
across the country!" one day. Luckily, I was in a good position financially,
too, or I wouldn't have been able to do that; at that point, having to
continue at my job would've been quite depressing.

I am slightly afraid that, once I start working again, I'll quickly descend
into "burn out mode" again. I've been trying to remind myself how excited I
was when I first started at this company. I had an unbelievably large project
ahead of me (along with lots of smaller ones) and it was going to be a huge
challenge, but I was excited because I was going to get to redesign and
rebuild our entire environment (multiple datacenters, tens of sites, dozens of
links, replacing Windows servers with Linux) from the ground up, with the
flexibility to do things "my way". It's helping, somewhat, and I'm looking
forward to diving back in head first. There's so much I want to do -- and
actually have the freedom to do -- with our infrastructure: make things more
reliable and stable, more scalable, and offer services that we haven't been
able to before. I really do have my perfect job. Even so, I haven't been able
to conquer the "burn out". For me, I think a lot of it simply hinges on that
whole "work/life balance" thing and I need to remember to take some off and
get away every once in a while.

Sorry for the rambling wall of text. Good luck to you, OP.

------
GBKS
Personally, I found that I get bored/frustrated with work when the job is not
aligned with my long-term ambitions. Might be similar for you if you are
working for other people, which does not bring you closer to your vision of
running your own shop. So might be good to think about where you see yourself
in 3, 5, and 10 years (both professionally and with your family) and see if
your current direction aligns with that.

------
ToJans76
You need to think about what you are doing, and why you are doing it. I had a
similar experience a few years ago; walked away and never regretted my
decision (I have 2 kids).

(I blogged about it here: [http://tojans.me/blog/2013/03/30/freedom-learning-
stuff-doin...](http://tojans.me/blog/2013/03/30/freedom-learning-stuff-doing-
consulting-aka-the-fun-and-money-balance/))

------
Koldark
If you are burnt out from your current job, you need a new job. Maybe find a
smaller team where you get more variety in your day. I did this 6 years ago
where I went from a job of basically modifying vendor code and creating new
reports to somedays I don't even know when I am going to be doing on this day
due to support calls, etc. I love the variety and keeps my on my toes.

------
gte910h
Try other fields of programming as well. If you've worked for product
companies, try a service company, or vice versa

See a sleep doctor and get a sleep study if they agree to it to see if you're
getting enough good sleep (depression is often confused for "burn out", and is
pretty reliably caused by sleep deprivation, which is pretty reliably caused
by small children).

------
danso
Can you be more specific about what you currently use coding for? Web
development is different than embedded systems, for example

~~~
a3n
And therein may be a solution. "Programming" is huge, because code is in
everything. Since you don't seem likely to start a business today, get into
programming in some industry that's wildly different from what you've done.
Embedded. Astronomy. Medical. Telecomm. Hell, even CRUD for a bank if you've
never done that. You might even find something interesting enough to start a
business on.

------
CrazyIvan
Keep calm, dude! Billions of people have jobs they don't like. Keep working,
reduce overheads. Once kids dont neet $$$ support you can try and redefine
yourself. Meanwhile, be happy that you do have a job.

------
shire
Open up one of those coding bootcamps like codefellows.org or some hacker
school for younger students. A lot of good money in it but you'll also be
helping tons of people.

------
goldenkey
You should make an iOS or Android app that does something quirky :-)

It'll be also a good way to learn a new language or framework if you don't
know Java, Objective C, or Cocoa.

------
trimbo
Product or project management. Microsoft's "program manager" position might
appeal to you -- it overlaps these more than other places.

------
angersock
Open a nightclub:

[http://www.dnalounge.com/](http://www.dnalounge.com/)

------
motyar
You have good experience, You should write more about programming.

------
joehillen
Learn Haskell.

------
jyf1987
change to gene programmer ? :]

------
seivan
Start into the habit of creating things instead of programming. I despise
programming, yet I love creating things. I've created a ton of open source
tools and libraries that wil l be used for programming (Creating) really cool
software and games.

I despise programming, but I love creating things and which is why I see
myself not as a programmer, but as a product developer...

Now to find a job that pays for design + code + product development....

------
stefan_kendall
Stop thinking about programming and start thinking about products. Perhaps
there's another company in your area, or remote, that's solving a problem or
providing a service you'd like to help build.

I don't give a rat's ass about technology, or which hot javascript framework
or build tool I should be using. That stuff is boring.

I care about building products.

------
beachstartup
> I dream one day of running my own successful tech business.

why dream? just do that now. if you fail, do programming again.

~~~
greenyoda
Because he has three young kids. If people's lives depend on your ability to
maintain a stable income, you can't afford to take the same kinds of risks as
a single person can.

------
tasoeur
How can one be bored with programming? Am I the only one never bored when left
alone somewhere? There's always more to learn, more to do, to experiment with,
etc. It's really a shame to read such a question. I don't even want to work
with you.

~~~
was_hellbanned
> Am I the only one never bored when left alone somewhere?

Ah, boasting disguised as a response.

> I don't even want to work with you.

And a really cruel, personal insult to finish off with.

This sort of attitude needs to end. It absolutely infests tech sites.

