Similar background and weariness with tech, but I’m a bit older, and I’ve actually left and returned to tech a couple times.
A question I’d ask you is, are there other things that really call out to you? If you could do anything as a career, or at least in a phase of your career, do you have deeply felt answers?
I’ve made the “anything but tech” move before and regretted it after a period of decompression and perspective reset.
Yeah I've gone through bouts of "anything but tech" several times in my career, and each time ended up stuck in software development because it pays the bills.
I'm possibly somewhat burnt out - not entirely sure - but the reason I say so is that it's hard to tell what actually calls to me right now, whereas 5-10 years ago I felt I had a much clearer picture. Nowadays I'm skeptical of the idea that following any passions of mine would result in a better overall quality of life.
It's tough to find something that's both fulfilling _and_ pays the bills. I'm nowhere near "rich", but I'm fairly certain being poor will decrease my quality of life substantially - regardless of how fulfilling my work is. Right now I'm stuck leaning more in the direction of the thing that pays the bills.
In your experience/journey, what tech-adjacent careers have you become aware of? I'd imagine it's easier to pivot into something "tech-adjacent" than something completely different when one is in their 40s/50s.
A question I’d ask you is, are there other things that really call out to you? If you could do anything as a career, or at least in a phase of your career, do you have deeply felt answers?
I’ve made the “anything but tech” move before and regretted it after a period of decompression and perspective reset.