Is Burnout Inevitable in the World of Tech? Let’s Talk About It
I originally posted this post on my blog a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
In 2023, I burned out.
I checked all the boxes for the first time. The burnout boxes. It wasn’t a good thing. And it took me almost an entire year to recover.
I know I’m not the only one, of course. It’s all over the tech industry.
In recent weeks, I’ve been exchanging emails with another senior software engineer who went through a burnout season. His take? The tech industry is unsustainable.
These days, I’ve also been chatting with a group of colleagues and friends. Most of them claimed to experience some sort of boredom at their jobs. OK, boredom isn’t burnout, but it’s a warning sign.
We’re privileged to work in the tech industry. But, it has its own challenges:
YMMV, of course
- We work long hours.
- Coding is mentally exhausting.
- AI threatens us to take our jobs.
- Layoffs are always around the corner.
- Agile and SCRUM take control away from us and trap us in “ceremonies.”
- We’re problem solvers at heart, but often we don’t get to solve problems.
- We’re expected to code after hours just to prove we’re “passionate.” Side projects and open source contributions.
- We have high standards for quality and development practices. But stakeholders’ expectations don’t align ours. They care about different things.
The toll? Our mental health. Burnout.
The solution? I don’t have one. Sorry!
My best idea?
- Detach our sense of meaning from our jobs
- Recognize there’s nothing wrong with coding just to pay the bills
- Set boundaries between work and non-work
- Diversify our sources of joy
Do you think burnout is inevitable in tech? Are you actively doing something to prevent burnout? If you have faced burnout, how did it get over it? Let me know in the the comments.
Starting out or already on the software engineering journey? Join my free 7-day email course to refactor your coding career and save years and thousands of dollars’ worth of career mistakes.
