I'm in my mid-40's and am near the top of the IC ladder as a DS in the Valley. I am losing my motivation to keep going. This probably isn't burn out, as my job has been surprisingly relaxed for the last year. I like most of my colleagues. Just not enthused to build one more sklearn model. I could switch companies and that might excite me for a few weeks or months, but I'm guessing that's it.
I don't have the personality or desire to be a people manager or a PM. I like to do the thing not manage the people doing the thing. I've tried managing and the results haven't been great. At the same time, I'm not very interested in the engineering side of DS work. So I'm guessing DE, MLE, and SWE positions are not a great fit.
I've thought about teaching. I have a PhD and was on the tenure track for awhile. But no R1 university would hire me at this age. I don't know how I'd even get the reference letters to finish an application. The workload also seems insane. My friends in academia are miserable. (Side note: how and why did we as a society ruin that job?). The idea of teaching at a teaching college or high school appeals to me in theory. But then I think about the change in salary.
So what comes next? Maybe try to make a small startup? Maybe switch to carpentry or farming? Tough it out for another decade until I can retire? What do people do after they get bored of tech?
I don't have the personality or desire to be a people manager or a PM. I like to do the thing not manage the people doing the thing. I've tried managing and the results haven't been great. At the same time, I'm not very interested in the engineering side of DS work. So I'm guessing DE, MLE, and SWE positions are not a great fit.
I've thought about teaching. I have a PhD and was on the tenure track for awhile. But no R1 university would hire me at this age. I don't know how I'd even get the reference letters to finish an application. The workload also seems insane. My friends in academia are miserable. (Side note: how and why did we as a society ruin that job?). The idea of teaching at a teaching college or high school appeals to me in theory. But then I think about the change in salary.
So what comes next? Maybe try to make a small startup? Maybe switch to carpentry or farming? Tough it out for another decade until I can retire? What do people do after they get bored of tech?