Burned out, how do I get out of the rut?

If you don't over-promise your abilities and are up-to-par with agentic coding, you'd fare well (provided an entry-level position exists) in at least one large-ish company I know of.

(1) Say something honest but as neutral as possible. Whatever you do don't lead with "I have a disability and I want to know if you can give me accommodation" because as an employer I'm more interested in what you can do for me than the other way around.

(2) I am skeptical about both Autism and ADHD and especially when they are claimed to occur together. See also borderline personality disorder and schizotypal personality disorder and other PD's.

I had a mental health crisis at 49 and was lucky, with help from my friends, that I wound up on my back foot rather than having a serious setback. The next year at the library a book practically jumped into my hands that explained just about everything that went weird in my life.

I spent most of the 2010s employed and unemployed trying to commercialize foundation models before the technology was ready and eventually wound up in a very ordinary fullstack job which is stable if not always exciting. Since I discovered what I am I gradually started to spread my wings and realize that people with my kind of nervous system in traditional societies have a talent for divination, magic and healing and I am finding my peeps in that domain.

(3) No idea, but it is not about other people, it is about you. Today's freeze will be tomorrow's hot market but it could take a while.

Interview skills are somewhat different from workplace skills. So first align your original motivation with the industry requirements. If you find mostly aligned, then sharpen your interview skills.

The requirements for SDE have never been changed. The only changes are people’s expectations and more openings for AI services.

1. Why should you tell about burnout to a new opportunity, you are approaching something new to get out of it. Some reframing always helps!

2. To be frank, an Autistic dev in Germany makes no news. Adhd may distract you a bit, but also push you to think out of the box. Just don't try to fit in other people's boxes, be yourself! Otherwisr that will burn you out quick.

3. Market is a bit closed, especially for frontends, but in EU we are not only driven by venture capitalists' money. It's not AI per se, it's uncertainty, protectionism, low interest rates, and the fact that AI is eating all investments for breakfast. But there still are companies doing actual work.

Hope this helps a bit for clarity! Much love and hope from an Italian in Belgium.

take time off - probably 3 months or more. Do things like working out, consuming art that are not related to development at all.

for 1. don't mention anything - people get fired everyday B. or quit jobs.

2. if you're in Europe & hell even the U.S that shouldn't affect you that much.

3. Job market is bonkers good luck.

For (2), at core, this is a problem of how you build your playbook for dealing with things. These diagnostic labels are not useful to others but for you to build your playbook for how to handle life. Like, I have a lot of problems making eye contact, so I make a point to do so when I'm not thinking deeply. I also have to count in my head to pretend to think about what someone said so I don't offend them because they are wrong. It also means that when I come home, I have to decompress from faking so many behaviors that I don't care for.

You need to rest as much as possible bc burnout can lead to skill regression. I went through a similar situation, you’ll be fine. Focus on getting better, enjoy summer, take walks, meet up with friends. You might even realize that you don’t even want to be in software at the end, who knows?

For now, focus on yourself.

I am in a very similar position, although in a different field. Suffered burnout after a shitty job, got fired on sick leave, spent a year trying to recover took a job at some other company even thiugh I wasn't fully ready, just to pay the bills.

Today is my last day with said company. My mental health is worse even tho I have been seeing doctors and therapists for years at this point. Job market crushes you. They do not want you to be okay. They will take all they can and more abd leave you rotting and suffering. I'm fucking done with all this shit.

I was in a rut for a couple of years. Here was my solution:

1. Own your space.

That's it. Don't let other people define you. What this means in practice:

* Don't take a job if you know its filled with stupid people. An an example I love writing JavaScript/TypeScript applications. I super love it, but I will never do it for work ever again. Most people who write that code for a living suck at what they do and are hostile/insecure about it. I would rather flip burgers than work at an adult day-care parenting the toddlers who are too incapable to use a ruler or write an email.

* Always achieve supervisor support. Know your boundaries and always support your boss because you expect them to support you. If your leadership sucks, or worse is toxic, you are in a bad situation. I would gladly take less pay to work with fantastic people. In my case I am in management and work with another manager. That other manager was toxic so I, as politely as possibly, told him to go fuck himself and immediately made my boss aware.

* Be ethical. If you are in management be a shining example for your people to follow. Never assign tasks to your people you are not willing to do yourself, even if its scrubbing shit out of blown up toilets. Never be a hypocrite. Always be aware of and care for the emotional needs of your people. The goal is to retain your people as best you can even through stressful projects.

* Do what makes sense. Most people, surprisingly, are incapable of this. Most people strive for what they perceive as externally validated solutions from peers they have never met. This is autistic bullshit that drives people to hate you. Instead, follow the evidence and save your team from other people's insanity.

Doing these, especially the first 2, are what pulled me out of my rut.