Ask HN: Finding meaningfull work after a decade in tech?
Life is too short to spend it chasing things that don’t matter.
My current company isn’t doing well, and so I started looking at other jobs. It’s what I’ve been conditioned to do — optimize for a higher salary or a more “stable” brand name(The former more than the latter), even at the cost of my health or family time or interests or just in general life. I don't know anything else.
But the deeper I get into interviews, the more pointless it feels. It’s all starting to look like a never-ending rat race.
Why do I feel that switching companies and chasing higher pay is futile? Because most of the work — even at top-tier companies — is basic or mildly challenging at best. I’d likely be overpaid to do very simple tasks, while moving towards becoming “too expensive” to retain or hire again.
I could just accept a better-paying role, check the boxes, and keep the treadmill running. But that feels like optimizing for something artificial — a construct I no longer believe in. What scares me is waking up again in 3–4 years, just as lost or worse ruining my health again.
I want to work on hard problems. Or maybe start something of my own Or work in a compiler optimization shop Or maybe just give up everything and become a hermit. IDK. Or I could call this life, suck it up and do what I've been doing.
Did anyone else also go through this?