You have skills which other parts of the business cycle need.
If you aren't a "people person" then look to problem solving in logistics: the routing and scheduling behind everyday delivery is a heinous problem. Or, in the construction, mining and related sector. "for the want of a nail" problems abound.
(hint: root cause analysis? duck typing in a process debug?)
Operations Research: linear programming to derive the maximally efficient solution to a problem. Its everywhere.
Epidemiology: Go be a gun-for-hire in stats or data analytics for somebody with smarts in another space, drowning in data. Yea, you have to code. So what! the code will be fascinating and totally different
If you are a "people person" then non-product spaces like health are full of middle manager roles. And.. gues what: its logistics, scheduling, process analysis, root cause analysis. Supply chain behind masks and gowns has become pretty topical...
Look at your cohort, I would venture it's mostly 20 somethings men. Maybe the odd older guy but certainly not a diverse set of people. It's a young man's game because the burn out is real and for most people coding is just an unsustainable profession. Come to grips with the fact that maybe it is unsustainable for you.
It's a lot less tedious and easier in many regards working as an engineering manager. Or a product manager. Or something entirely different. Coding as a career isn't for everybody (wasn't for me). YMMV. If it isn't for you figure out how to change it, it might not be easy but it is probably worth it.
Source: ex-FAANG SDE.
I don't know why, but I really love coding. I have an expected output of 0% in my mind, so even the most mundane tasks can be fun for me because I'm satisfied with producing any output. I try to learn something new with every task, even if it's just a file path or simple SQL call.
And if it's some really horrible spaghetti code abstraction upon abstraction, then my 0% success expectation is even more important for my morale.
If my manager isn't happy with the output? Quit and get a higher salary somewhere else :) That's the market we live in right now.
Why?
The coding I don't like is when there is no requirements or path (architecturally, devops-wise) or when you need approval from too many stakeholders (compliance, managers, release coordinators, etc, etc)
https://www.theschooloflife.com/thebookoflife/what-should-tr...
maybe you'd like a managerial role? or if there's something you're interested you could try to get a job in that, in one of the courses in the EE portion of my Engineering program, a professor told us that after finishing all courses, with just about 4 more courses we could pursue Audio/Sound Engineering as a Career, if that interested us, it's basically some of the fundamentals, applied to sound signals, you could consider something like that
if you don't want anything to do with software... then I'm not sure what to recommend, give some more info about yourself?
like if you would think being a Mechanic is something you'd want... I've heard soldering (like heavy machinery soldering) can be very profitable, and fun, and the training for it takes around 6 months? something like that
oh, and don't quote me on the soldering training time, it's something I heard in passing
I also ate like a westerner (avoided street food, enjoyed the higher quality food). Didn't own a motorbike for safety reasons, so taxies added up. Gym membership is ~$100/mo.
But then, you get experience in Y. If you're good enough (sometimes just meaning hard-working enough), you might get recognized for it and offered an opening doing more Y if they decide they need someone. If not, you'll still have genuine "professional experience" in Y to put on your resume.
Maybe it's ok not to love it but to be satisfied regardless. It's an in demand, well paid, flexible, reasonably interesting (even if I would never miss it) career that allows me to lead a great life in other aspects without giving up too much. Can't that be enough?
I worry that the current narrative of having to 'love' your job is damaging and causing me (and maybe you) to always be searching for the 'perfect' career which doesn't exist.
To some, their job is the main source of fulfilment + a good proportion of their social circle. For others it's a means to an end so that they can fulfill their needs elsewhere in their own time.
The pros you listed are fantastic if you sit on the latter side of the spectrum, but if you really view your work as part of your identity then just being satisfied won't be enough
I don't love my job, but I do like what I do which helps me a lot going through the day.
How? There are many places around the world that at first world and where you can save 50+% of your (market) salary after all expenses. Maybe you’re underpaid in a very high COL area?
Also, friendly but unsolicited advice: if you base your happiness on other’s perception of you and your achievements, you’ll never ever be happy. There will always be someone judging you and deeming you inferior and/or someone who is way better at something than you are.
Unfortunately I’m sort of in the opposite boat, I don’t know how to code and have never successful pushed myself to learn much. A previous instructor told me “maybe you just like the idea of it”.
...But if this option was available to you, you wouldn't be here, asking this question.
Different careers have different paths and ins and outs.
The path I know people talk about out of coding is Product Management. Are there others? It always seems like a pay cut and I'm already always so strapped for cash. Moving cities seems equally as overwhelming as changing careers.
Good luck and don't give up.
If you're strapped for cash as a software dev, either you're not budgeting appropriately (take a sober look at how often you eat out), or you're not making nearly as much as you could (look for a different job), or you've set yourself up to live beyond your means (switch cars, or look for a different living situation). I've been in both of the first two situations before, and getting out of them had as much to do with a different mindset and finding good people to be around. I've always tried to live within my means (aka not taking on more than a couple weeks worth of debt if I can afford not too). That being said, taking that close look at your finances can be difficult when you're not in a good place mentally, so if you can get some help there, I'd recommend it.
If you have family, or really close friends, you might see if you can crash with them for a while, working on a career pivot during that time, or just looking for a different workplace.
I lost a tech job in December of 2018, and didn't get back into tech until August of 2019, and ended up working fast food for a few months. It was a nice time for clarifying some things, and establishing my identity beyond "guy who writes code". Before I was let go, I was struggling with getting things done and fitting into my workplace.
A big YMMV on this, but do try to take some time to walk and start considering some angles to life that might seem more crazy than you'd normally consider.
I'm asking just to figure out what kinds of things to perhaps avoid when thinking of what else to do.
Also, it sounds like a difficult situation you are in if the depression makes changing things in your life more difficult (as it may often do). If you don't have professional help already, try and see if you can find some. The best thing might be someone who personally feel like they could understand you and your issues (especially if you don't have friends like that). It's not a silver bullet but it might help get started.
If money is the problem, try and see if there are some kinds of small-ish changes you could make to remedy that. I know from experience that just making those changes can be difficult if you're depressed enough, but I noticed I could save noticeably by eating out a bit less and making simple meals at home instead. It takes a bit of effort to get started and that may seem overwhelming at first but you may be able to save surprising sums for something else.
Of course all of that depends on your living situation, housing costs etc.
Either way, getting out of a job that's draining you can be important to your mental health and well-being, but other aspects of that are equally important, and making some changes where it's easier first might be helpful.
I've experienced something kind of similar (and, to be fair, I'm not nearly out of the woods yet, but I've seen some of the things that don't work), so I can see how it could be a difficult situation.
(Using a throwaway because I don't really talk about my own mental health in public.)
The key there is also to join the communities to engage and learn, along with getting outside.
There are plenty of paths out of coding. You could become a sales engineer for one, a solutions architect is another. You could become a consultant. You could go back to school and get an MBA for example.