Ask HN: What do I do about boredom?

5 points by rpnx 2 years ago | 3 comments

I work for a FAANG company. I'm at the lowest non-intern level. I am very passionate about programming. For example: I've been writing my own new programming language and compiler for it using LLVM, and created a hello world kernel that compiles with CMake and can be booted with QEMU to output hello world to the console. I have a wide variety of passion projects, many of which go nowhere as a result of my ADHD, but I like to challenge myself and explore new frontiers.

On the other hand, my job consists of working on poorly managed sphaghetti code with very low velocity, the system is very inefficient, and the tooling, debugger support, etc., are pretty terrible.

This is resulting in burnout, my job is frankly, too boring. I want to know if anyone found themselves in a similar situation, and how they would deal with it.

I like the company, but I do not feel like I am living up to my potential in my current role. How does one aquire or transition into "interesting" roles, especially regarding new development? What do hiring managers for new development look for? And what do I look for in job/role listings to weed out legacy/maintinence work?

madsbuch 2 years ago |

I can relate to this.

I think this is a question on what you want to pursue. I want to say choose carefully, but to be honest, it doesn't matter that much.

the important thing is just that you pursue something.

if technical challenge is what you want to pursue, consider planning for and fighting to move into compiler teams or kernel teams (maybe find a new job that can support that).

mikece 2 years ago |

Sounds like you're considering leaving your current role... have you considered telling your boss exactly what you've laid out in this post and asking for more challenging, engaging, and rewarding assignments?

(What's [s]he going to do -- fire you?)

billy99k 2 years ago |

I usually love boring code bases, because it generally means it's been used for a long time and the stress level is usually pretty low. Are you only burning out because it's boring? Or other stresses with the job?