One of the coworkers over at our channel asked for career advice. I have written a response and I am reposting it here as I feel like it is something everyone will find relevant at some point in their lives. /** Original post (slightly edited by me) **/ I feel pretty burned out. I have 10+ years of experience writing software and delivering products. Good reviews. I like the $$$ and want more. However, I really dislike my current job, I'm being micromanaged, I don't believe in what my team is trying to deliver. I doubt I have the chops to join a more demanding company. I don't want to work more than 40 hrs... actually less would be good. What should I do to move forward or at least figure out the way forward? /***** My response *****/ TL;DR: It is a motivational text. Read the damn thing. It'll tell you how to figure out what you want to do and go about getting it on a basic level. It'll give you that push to change you life. The thing is I don't think there is a way out given your description. You can't magically start making more money while changing nothing about your life. You aren't Bill Gates, and his success didn't come about out of nothing. And even he wasn't happy with his life and became a philanthropist. If you want a similar job: same hours, not being on call, a comparable position, then you will end up being similarly unhappy. You can't change nothing about your life and end up with advancement while becoming happier. You understand that in the back of your head, but you stick to your requirements because you are naturally uncomfortable of change, scared of giving up this cozy comfortable spot, and I don't blame you. I'd be just as uncomfortable as you. And yet you are at a point when you realize this coziness isn't worth the sacrifices you're making, the ways you're limiting yourself in. You realized that not making a choice is one of the choices. I think you already know what you want to be doing, in the back of your head. No person just totally randomly gets bored and tired of their work and has nothing else they'd rather be doing. You know what you want, be it programming, managing people, high frequency trading, or whatever it is. Or maybe you are looking to make a different impact? Maybe you wish to work in a friendlier team? Your main problem right now is a lack of structure in your decision making, and in addition your wanting for cozy life is throwing you off. First, you need to sit down and brainstorm what it is that you want to be doing, without caring about any of your specific job requirements. Describe your dream job. Don't try to write only technical details, focus on the feeling you want in your future. Will you be feeling more satisfied? Will you feel more connection to customers? What is the feeling that you're actually after? What do YOU care about most? Is it impacting millions? Working with great people? Learning more about the world for your next career move after that? You need to sit down and write it out in front of you. Put it on paper. Commit to it. Keep writing your ideas down, until you are literally out of ideas. Then try to simplify and collect items in buckets. For example, connecting with customers and impacting millions could be one item: "customer engagement". Then pick the 3 most important ones. Make these your absolute deal breakers - if the opportunity doesn't have 3 of those 3, you will not even consider it. These are your core values. No matter the money, the location, nothing will change your decision if those 3 are not met, because that will mean delaying your goal that you actually want further. Pick another 3 that you care about greatly, but are flexible on. At this point you should already have a much better idea about what it is that you want. Now, write down the logistics. LONG TERM. You already know that any change, especially one that brings something different to your life, will require some initial energy investment. Yeah, you might have to be on call for the first half year, but then you get into this other thing where you really want to be. Write down what you want long term. But do it in a different way. Do not write "40 hour week", instead write down "good work-life balance". Think of it this way: would you rather work a 40 hour week at a job that is 'meh' than a 50 hour week at a job where you WANT to work because it aligns so well with your values and gives you crazy growth, and yet doesn't feel like it takes up your whole life? Where you feel like you have a lot more time in a day because it doesn't tire or stress you out? Brainstorm, do the same as for the previous one. You should have 3 deal breakers, and 3 requirements you're somewhat flexible on. Understand that in a short term you will have to make a compromise on some things, to get your foot in the door. But your goal should always be to reach the destination that you set for yourself, to satisfy your requirements. Because you know how important it is to you, so if you compromise on your core values then what does it say about your character? Now think like a developer. What you wrote down up to this point is a spec, so now you need languages, APIs, coding patterns, approaches, know-how, to make it happen. Once you define what you want, you will make it happen. (note: I said 'will' not 'can' because if it is an amazing thing you want and must have, if you feel like it is the right thing to do, you will always find a way). Write down your skills. Maybe you're good at explaining concepts to people with different backgrounds. Maybe you're good at forecasting future trends. Maybe you're god-like at debugging. Whatever it is you're good at, no matter how stupid and corny it is, write it down. Write down the skills others compliment you for, ways in which your surprise them. Your greatest asset could be something you feel humbled to be praised for, because it is so easy for you, but keep in mind what is easy for you may be impossibly hard for other people. Then it is simply a matter of believing in yourself and executing. Don't think it is that simple? How do you think you ended up in your current job, by luck? Ha! You've already worked in a similar pattern I've described, except it was subconscious, perhaps at the time it just felt like "the right thing to do". Exactly. Now you need to figure out what "the right thing to do" is for where you are at now and suddenly things will start to fall into place by themselves. When you find something that aligns well with your strengths you'll feel like it is the easiest job in the world. It will feel like assembling a puzzle. First, you assemble the frame, the corner pieces. The core values you wrote down will be just that. Then you go piece by piece, using the skills and approaches you know now, matching it by colour, shape, size, and as you progress you develop new tricks and thinking patterns that make it easier and easier. You'll find some very interesting optimizations. Others will ask you "hey, how can you do this and not get bored?" and what can you say but shrug? You know something they don't, you know why you're assembling this puzzle, you know what it will mean in your life, you know you are doing the right thing. It is simple. By the time most of the pieces are in, it becomes a routine - you know for sure that you're going to finish the puzzle and it is just a matter of time. And when that happens, I'm sure you'll find yourself shopping for a new, more challenging one. Why? The skills you learned will want to be used again and again. You'll crave new challenge as you crave it now. You finished your current puzzle and here you are shopping for a new one. This instinct, this inherent need for challenge is what made you get into where you are at now in the first place. All those frustrations, all those hesitations, the nervousness, the burning, the butterflies of unease, the confusions, and the errors that manifest itself when your mind says "Do this" and your body and personality do not follow- all of these can be washed away... forever. How? By becoming completely honest with yourself- understanding what you truly want, making a plan, and making it happen. You have to put the logical part of your mind in charge to define what is right for you, and once you start working towards something you truly love your feelings will catch up. Remember, no matter how much advice you will ask for, no one can give you advice that is more relevant to your life than you can do yourself. Nobody knows you better than you know you. Use this fact to your advantage, learn to come up with advice that is unique to yourself. Maximum others can do is give you an idea, or how to think in the right direction. These should be specific things that you look for, not asking others to decide the direction of your life. The decisions and execution are always left entirely up to you. Let's get to work.
You would make a good motivational speaker/self-improvement author.
tldr
It is a motivational text. Read the damn thing.
My manager is going to put me on pip because he says i spent Uber's time reading this motivational text.
can someone post a summary?
I could but it would defeat the purpose. The point is to motivate you to make a change in your life and I include basic tips on how to figure out what it will be wrapped in a motivational way. There is your summary.
yawn
😪😴 next
You are fired for writing such a long emai
Toooo long sorry
You are awesome! Thanks for sharing