Over 10 years at FAANGs (mostly working in ML) I've lost the joy of software engineering, and I've been at some level of burnout for a few years. I'm considering leaving tech, but I wonder if a change of focus could reignite my motivation. Can you suggest some options, or share any relevant advice?

I figure I could take a sabbatical and explore some new areas, try to transition to contracting, or look for jobs outside of the big tech/web startup scene. Ideally I'd like something that requires rigor, with a focus on software architecture or algorithms/optimization. I'd also like to minimize the type of workplace politics I've experienced at FAANG. I'm open to suggestions that don't exclusively have to do with software. Part of me is tired of spending so much of my life in front of a computer.

Here are some disorganized ideas that might give a sense of my interests:

- Cryptography and security (not cryptocurrency/blockchain): I have a math background and I was always an algebra/discrete math person, so this seems a potential fit.

- Formal verification / theorem proving

- Open messaging standards (e.g., Matrix): I find the current state with siloed proprietary messengers a travesty

- Open repositories of knowledge (e.g., Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap)

- "User-empowering" software (e.g., Emacs, Ableton Live)

- Distributed systems

- Programming language development (compilers, libraries)

- Graphics (though the gaming industry isn't exactly the place to recover from burnout)

- Research in cognitive science, psychedelics (lots of hype here though), complex systems, physics

- Studying music composition or audio engineering

- Helping out with homelessness, loneliness, the elderly or disabled

user:	janussunaj
created:	February 9, 2023
karma:	151