Hacker News Reader

Comment by some_account | Hacker News Reader

I'm not burned out but my reason for moving away from coding is simple. It's not fun in a open office environment with "agile" way of working. I got tired of feeling like a factory worker.

View on HN

Sounds a lot like why I don't like being a working software developer any longer as well. That combined with the short-term memory of the industry where new fads boom and bust constantly. If you enjoy building software still, just not the environment, then perhaps look at other ways to apply your skills. For me that means freelancing, where I can control for my environment and how much project BS I'll stand.

I found working in an agile shop for a few months burned me out as well. Agile takes away the art of programming and daily standups forced me to do only work I can summarize quickly.

Agile methods improved things for a while in my book. Because the old style was WAY worse. Long projects that were designed by people who knew little about the problem or the complexities involved. Everything was under bid and it resulted in every project going through at least 1 death March period. But I think SCRUM has made things too formulaic and it causes bad decisions in project management. I still think it is better than waterfall.

FWIW: there are some great consulting gigs out there in the world for someone with a technical background. You might find you have greater latitude and respect for your skills in that kind of capacity. Some involve a lot of travel though and as a parent I understand that dilemma.

I can't help but chuckle when I hear management banging on about "agile".

Here's their reality:

1. It's all top priority. 2. It all needs to be done yesterday.

No wonder we get stressed!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com