In 2017, I was burnt out and at the end of my rope. All I wanted was to quit and run away and consider a change in careers, much like you. Without any backup plan, I quit my very lucrative job. Thankfully, my partner was okay with my decision. I was expecting to feel dread and constant anxiety that I wasn't providing for my family. Yet, once I walked out of that building, the opposite was true. I couldn't feel more relieved.
I took a few months off, which, I know, is a luxury that not many can afford. During this time, I took stock of what was important to me. Did I still love programming? And, was programming the thing that made me unhappy?
What I realized is that I didn't want to feel like a tiny cog in a giant machine, and I didn't want to work on something that wasn't in some way beneficial to others. I needed to feel like I was making a difference and not just burning my life away on something disposable for lots of cash.
I was lucky enough to find a contract with a healthcare startup where I'd be working on technology that would improve the real lives of actual people, not just another piece of software that would be discarded two years down the road. Eventually, they offered me a full-time position, and I joined as employee #9.
Am I happy now? Well, I'm happier than before. But more importantly, I feel that now I can attain happiness.
I took a few months off, which, I know, is a luxury that not many can afford. During this time, I took stock of what was important to me. Did I still love programming? And, was programming the thing that made me unhappy?
What I realized is that I didn't want to feel like a tiny cog in a giant machine, and I didn't want to work on something that wasn't in some way beneficial to others. I needed to feel like I was making a difference and not just burning my life away on something disposable for lots of cash.
I was lucky enough to find a contract with a healthcare startup where I'd be working on technology that would improve the real lives of actual people, not just another piece of software that would be discarded two years down the road. Eventually, they offered me a full-time position, and I joined as employee #9.
Am I happy now? Well, I'm happier than before. But more importantly, I feel that now I can attain happiness.