Ask HN: I want to quit coding professionally but keep it as hobby. What now?
I'm a web developer and I'm working in a small web shop.
Actually, i'm bad at coding, but I like to code when I can build something for fun. I'm burnt out.
I'm a generalist, have a degree in supply chain, i'm pretty good with coming up with solutions for problems, I can design know a good ammount about UX and Design, I like to learn.
I like the web shop life (working hours, home office)
I live in europe.
I'm a newcomer in coding and lack in fundamental programming skills but don't want to learn it, because I see no future for me in coding professionally.
Because i'm newcomer it's pretty hard to switch to something else with my working experience and degrees.
What would you suggest? What jobs are open for newcomers where my skills are helpful?
26 comments
[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 73.9 ms ] threadSome people recommend starting a lifestyle business https://www.indiehackers.com/ There's a lot of business that use Zapier for automation and are low/no code
If you like the web shop life, some people find freelancing (Marketing, UI design, Squarespace consultant) gives them what they're looking for https://www.moonlightwork.com/
Sorry to hear about your burnout. I think a lot of us are looking for relief from that as well. Wish I could help more there.
Before you quit and do something else perhaps it's worth exploring your situation a little?
Are you feeling burnt out and see no future in programming because you're new to programming and still overcoming the learning curve? This can lead to impostor syndrome which is often mistaken for burnout, but just takes time to get through.
Perhaps it means you just need more support at work, more time for training, more freedom to talk about your anxieties and get some advice?
Is your work situation just quite difficult right now because of market conditions or lockdowns etc? For some time yet, although not forever, this will persist even if you move on so it's vital to learn techniques on how to deal with it now.
If any of these are the case you would find it much less disruptive to have an honest conversation with your boss rather than to quit.
However, if you truly made a mistake with your career direction then do look at other opportunities. There's no shame in that.
BTW: It would seem that global supply chains are very brittle in the face of pandemics and perhaps people with your training could help innovate supply chains to help us weather similar things in the future. Programming may play in to this innovation.
Good luck!
I'm a former biz analyst turned boot camp developer. After a couple of years slogging through, I started applying for jobs these past few months, with little to no traction, and as such have been feeling burnt out because I don't know the fundamentals, have little to no support at work, and felt like I had no future professionally.
So this encourages me to keep on learning, building, and hacking as best I can until I can get to an environment that helps me succeed through mentorship, product vision, and a capable leadership team.
Man, I feel this. I feel burnt out basically all the time. Maybe it is imposter syndrome, maybe I'm still overcoming the learning curve, or maybe there's a third option: I just don't have much aptitude for programming, and never will.
I identified a lot with the OP's question. I still feel like a complete beginner, even though I've got a few years of experience under my belt now. I guess what I actually have is one year of experience, a few times over. I think I've actually reduced productivity in all the teams I've been part of.
It's so tough to know whether to cut my losses and get into a different career, or keep plugging away and hoping I somehow become competent one day. Feeling so useless really knocks your confidence in other areas of life. Maybe the OP should actually cut his losses and get out now, and maybe I should too.
This industry has a habit of labelling anyone who is struggling as having "imposter syndrome". It's well intentioned, but misses an obvious truth. Programming is really hard, and most people don't have the intellect for it. Are we doing people a disservice by encouraging them to stay in a career they have little aptitude for?
I have a GitHub repository[0] with some resources to get started. It can be pretty lucrative too after building some reputation.
[0] https://github.com/sixhobbits/technical-writing
You have less work experience than someone else with the same number of years. This is even worse if you are working in a role where you are basically working a very narrow niche and most things you learn will make you irreplaceable but also don't provide much value at other employers. In an industry that contradictorily values youth but also experience with the latest toys, it can be a tough place to put yourself.
Just worth keeping in mind. You can alleviate this by staying up to date with personal projects but sometimes it's difficult especially if burn out was the issue and you want some time away from the desk, or your experience skews corporate and those kinds of systems aren't what you want to work on at home.
Shameless (but relevant) plug for a book I wrote about how to find/get your first PM job: https://www.amazon.com/Product-Management-Interview-Manager-....
However, I do like tinkering on my own time and not feeling pressured to do better because it’s my job.
In my current non-programming job, I get to go home after finishing my tasks and I still get paid the same 8 hours a day. So, I made a little Shortcut in iOS that tracks my arrival time, what time I finished, what time I left work, and the workload that day. I plan to write another script to parse the data and graph it.
Another example, if you like cooking, you can write a program that calculates cost per recipe given parameters like how much you bought the ingredients for and how much you used.
If you have a good route, you can probably finish in 4 hours and get home by mid-afternoon and have time to actually enjoy life and hobbies.
If you really want, there’s plenty of opportunity for overtime. I don’t know if I’ll be a lifer, but at least there’s a pension building up while I decide what to explore next.
I was never part of the 6 figure startup scene commonly seen on HN. Plus, I worked for a super small company that didn’t pay well for my web development work so the letter carrier job is actually a horizontal move. At the moment, I think of it as a more enjoyable job with similar pay.
Pays slightly less (until you get 5+ years experience, then tends to catch up if you’re good) but my lord it’s so much less taxing on your brain.
You’ll realize that most customer facing folks may be charismatic, but they aren’t very organized or willing to learn on the job. It’s easy to be top 1% while coming in at 9 and leaving at 5, with plenty of time and mental energy leftover for whatever hobbies you want to pursue. Including programming.
Worth checking out if you feel comfortable communicating verbally for a living.
If you want to chat, feel free to reach out at evan dot hellmuth at gmail dot com
It sounds like you either have impostor's syndrome or you lack practice/experience.
you are burnt out?
As others suggested you can try to look for another job, hopefully this would fix it.
I would suggest to look at it in a different light tho. Try this.
Download OBS studio. Record yourself doing your regular day to day coding tasks. Pretend you are some big shot coding sensation with thousands of viewers.
This will help in many ways than one but the most important thing is it will help keep/make it more interesting for you as it did for me.
Much of the 'programming' these days is done visually through cam software. The high end ones are fairly intuitive and it feels more like building something than programming.
I ended up doing a little bit of everything. I learned to do maintenance and a ton of mechanical stuff. I learned the hand work and learned the basics of a trade. It's one of the few times i've ever got to do both manual work and computer work on the same job. If you have inclinations towards making things and still enjoy working with computers while wanting something different, it's something to think about.
Write an outline of it, and the skills you'll need to accomplish each piece.
Focus on learning those skills while you are working professionally.
Keep learning until you feel comfortable working on your own project. It may take switching a few more jobs before you are that comfortable.
Then, start writing your project, and eventually quit working professionally so that you have more code juice for your own pursuits.
Office work may seem miserable, but if you play it right, it's like a more effective university that you also get a pretty good stipend for attending.
Good luck!