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My job has destroyed the pleasure I get from programming

2 points by rooftops ↗ HN
I've been at my current job for almost 2 years and I do a bit of everything. I've written an entire web application (ASP.NET+jQuery), written integrations as Windows services, written complex SQL queries for reporting, and maintained a 100+ table database. I hate all of it.

I'm tired of supporting it all. All I do anymore is boring reporting for boring business, or figuring out why a project's data is bad. I don't care anymore. I'm not impacting anything. Additionally, none of my management is from a programming background. I feel like in order to really learn I need to surround myself with people more talented than myself, which I don't feel like is the case at the moment.

I really want to find a new job but I'm terrified I'm going to leave and find out I'm totally burnt out from programming entirely, and hate my new job too. I'm not in a very startup-heavy area (Indianapolis) and I'm not in a position to move across the country. It's gotten to the point where I've considered dropping out of the industry entirely and finding something else entirely, but I know I'd like that even less.

What can I look for in a job that would, hopefully, revive the pleasure I used to get from programming?

4 comments

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paulhauggis
I have the same issue. I move to a new job every few years and I always run into this issue eventually. My job gets dull and boring and I just want to leave.

The only thing that has't gotten boring is my own business. You may want to consider this.

rooftops
I definitely I have, but I don't really have the capital, experience (I'm 25), or idea to start one. I keep a notebook of ideas but nothing concrete yet.
grossjo
Sounds like your overworked. Cut back your hours and program on your own stuff on the side.
brannon
I have way less experience than you, I'm 24 and still in school, but I feel like the people I work with have a much bigger impact on how I feel about work than the work itself. I don't expect or want to be best friends with everyone I work with, but I think that basically anything can be enjoyable if you enjoy spending time with your coworkers. So my opinion, for what it's worth, would be to look for people that you would be excited to work with more than a project you'd be excited to work on.

It scares me that you're 25 and feeling burned out, I worry about that sometimes.