Programming sucks, I quit

My profession, law, is the same way. A lot of people come in and quit early to pursue other fields. I think that's the case with a lot of glamour jobs or jobs that promise large pay. A lot of people get into it for the promise of money and a good job. They later realize that that the actual work isn't for them and pursue something else.

Law doesn't always pay well and requires a lot of passion to stick through and deal with all the crap you have to put up with in practice. I imagine programming is the same way.

I do a bit of programming as a hobby,, there's no better feeling than when you build something that works. But the frustration of getting there can be tough. I can only imagine how much harder it would be with deadlines and project management issues to deal with.

Though, I think working for a big law firm or bad is just miserable, and I can't imagine any amount of passion making it bearable. So perhaps a matrix of what you end up doing and your internal passion for the subject is what keeps people from burning out and hating their jobs.

Been there done that, a long long time ago in this galaxy. Nobody but yourself can find if it's the current job that sucks, or you're starting to hate your job in general, or rather you are deeply stressed and need some shore leave; there's no magic cure for everyone. But if it happens you should act fast before it ruins your life (did I say been there done that?).

As a colleague of mine used to joke back in the day: "Ice creams! I'm going to make ice creams! - If the customer doesn't like the product, well, no redesign, no debugging and no meetings at all: just 30 seconds and voilà, a new shiny product version is ready!"

My brothers, it doesn’t have to suck. There are companies that will treat you decently, I’ve worked for them. All the fun ones were tiny little companies doing non-web development if that helps. They were places where I look forward to going to work. Maybe I’m unusually lucky but after 30+ years of doing fun stuff and getting paid for it, I don’t think it could be just luck.

The only problem with that is, then I’d have to do something else. And that would suck.

Everyday I daydream about escaping the daily grind. I know the problem is really me and how I respond to stress. Basically whenever I work an issue I feel inadequate. I think someone else would have found a solution quicker or a better solution. I procrastinate and then rush to get something done and then beat myself up. I don't cope well with all the corporate b.s and religious wars over agile etc. Does anyone have any tips on coping with the stress of daily life as a developer ?

PSA, the comments are already better than the article, which is entirely fluff IMO.

I hear that. At this point, I've saved up enough cash to FIRE, now I just need the guts to leave. In the meantime, I keep padding my investment accounts...

I often daydream about quitting work for “the man” and making my own software product. Maybe something like kicad, or maybe shotwell.