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Have you ever considered switching to IT support/help desk?
I mean, sometimes I try to analyze my own situation from a 3rd person perspective and I realize I could have a pretty much stressless job with still enough money to live a normal life.
I have a BSc and MSc(soon to have) in CS, with focus on AI/ML. I've always been a geek with a problem solving attitude, that's why I got into computers in the first place. And now I'm pondering if I should just try an IT Support position, it's the kind of things I used to do as a teenager when a classmate had a network/computer problem, it doesn't even feel like a job to me. I could call it a day, get home at 5/6pm, and spend time on my personal projects (software, infosec) with a fresh mind, going to bed (and sleep) knowing that the next day would be a nice one. No clients wanting a new feature that you gotta implement and push on a production server friday afternoon because your ceo(who is also a pseudo proj manager) just said:"Yes, we can", while you watch the technical debt rising like amazon's stocks.
Maybe this is just the burnout talking, I don't know. Maybe I should just try being a software engineer outside of Uni in the first place, and only then start pondering.
Maybe a sysadmin position...
Have a nice day

Comments
  • 5
    after the 10th
    "WHERE is my very very important E-Mail? You guys deleted it! I KNOW that!!!! Don't play games I gonna tell the higher ups you did this!!!!!"
    You wish you had your loud and cozy warm $40k machine learning workstation under your desk again, don't you?
  • 1
    @heyheni I mean, I actually thought about scenarios like that, and I think I would actually enjoy it. Hearing people saying immensively stupid things makes me laugh, I'd laugh all day, like, really hard.

    It's the same as watching someone stuck in a traffic jam pounding their fists against the steering wheel, it's funny af, it's not like the traffic is gonna open for you just because you're angry lol
  • 1
    Being able to hand off the work to the next shift at the end of your work day is one of the few perks of working in a rotating-around-the-world global support organization. Other than that, I wouldn't mind being able to transition to a software development position instead.
  • 2
    Funny. I was just think about that last week. = ).

    You know... I started my comp. career in a Helpdesk dpt. got involved a lot with scripting and creating tools and became a developer.

    Last 3 weeks, I was in the office from 9 to 9. That made me think about the time that I was in helpdesk. I remember that it still was stressful but at 5 pm, I was closing my notebook and went home to study, stay with my wife, play games...etc...

    I think that really depends of what you want for your life right now.
  • 0
    @SomeNone I wanted so say smth like "the grass is (always) greener (on the other side) ", but actually I don't think that's the point here.

    I guess it's very subjective, it depends on what you want from life. I don't care about being rich, I plan to live my life single, I care about my personal time and my mental health, I care about building software that only I would use because I just wanted to create it.
  • 0
    > I plan to live my life single

    @Chrupiter You say that now but when it hits you, it hits you, even if you weren't looking for it…
  • 2
    No way fuck that. If you want to use your skills in a relatively cushy environment go for government or military work or find a good contracting company. Alternatively there are a lot of small (not startup) companies that need devs. In both cases you’ll typically top out around 90k total comp, but they can be found in lower col areas.

    You’ll be way happier making something, and with your skills maintenance on CRUD apps won’t be too taxing.
  • 1
    No, I'd rather eat a bullet. That's really all there is to it.

    No matter how shitty my job gets, I can't imagine anything else being any better.
  • 0
    Yeah not for me. You may be the only person I've ever heard say they think IT help desk is stressless.

    But if it's something you could actually enjoy full time, more than dev work, then why not? You gotta be you. That said, your job sounds shitty, so I wouldn't make that decision based solely on one crappy dev position. It can be a lot better than that.
  • 0
    @SomeNone It tried hitting me, and I avoided it. I'm not gonna give up my free time so easily
  • 2
    I spent 8 years in help desk before I landed a dev position (mind you, no education and I spent the time upqualifying).

    It's a shithole, and you may want to laugh but that will get you in trouble, and then management comes in with a steady stream of bullshit you have to deal with and like that wasn't enough, wearing headphones all day will mess up your hearing and having constant chatter around you will tire you for the rest of the day.

    If at all you can, stay the fuck away from support/help desk, it will ruin your mental health and affect every part of your life with it's bullshit and just suggesting it makes you come off as a delusional ass with no concept of how the world works.

    Want to go slumming? Do it, but don't expect anything good to come from it.
  • 0
    @ArcaneEye Thanks for the feedback
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