That sounds rough. One of my friends is in a similar situation: hates his job, but can’t fathom a job hunt. Also, his job keeps him so busy and burnt out that he has zero energy to fill out job applications, whenever he does feel the motivation to do so!

Next week he’s taking a few days off just to apply to a bunch of jobs. I think it’s the right move. Sometimes the only way out is through.

If your job is awful and it can’t be helped, you’re just never going to be happy there. No amount of mental gymnastics is going to fix it. So if you can, maybe take a few days off and just crush a ton of jobs apps? If you get some traction, maybe you’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it’ll be easier to keep applying and making progress.

Also: give yourself some credit! Being stuck in a shitty job doesn’t mean you’re in 50 foot hole wreck of a career. As much as people bemoan the job market (which of course can be tough), SWE’s are very much in demand. And there are a whole lot of companies don’t do leetcode-style BS interviews! My last job hunt only had one leetcode-ish interview, and I just threw that job app in the trash lol.

If you’re that miserable, you could even look at jobs that would be a downgrade in salary, if you can afford it.