Tech burnout.

Felon

Felon

Felon

Soldato
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This is a bit of a vent post,

So I work in tech, I currently work from home - for a large US west coast tech company (games industry) I work between the EU and Los Angeles, pretty much peaked at the top of my game as a network engineer - I've had CCIEs, JNCIE, been doing it since 2001[ish]. I earn good money - top top 5-10%, I've done some seminars, won some awards, all of the things - age 36 now, but I feel like I've had enough.

The technical side just doesn't interest me anymore, as in - doing actual technical hands on work or even the software side of things, which has taken the network industry by storm - I feel like I've done enough and now I need to move on.

The question is where exactly do I go and what do I do, I obviously want to stay in the tech industry - it's gotten to the point where I've amassed so much technical and 'people' experience, that I have so much to offer - but being a technical engineer is no longer where I feel I fit in, I also want to do this in a way which gives me progression - whilst allowing me to down some of the more traditional tools, so to speak.

Over the last 12 months, I've shaken up quite a few things and changed the way we work for the better, to the point where some of the leadership team feel as though they've been failing, because I've essentially been doing their job for them. Our leadership team are good technically - but poor leaders. I would like a crack at a leadership role, however they're currently all taken and my remote location (I'm a home worker) isn't practical for a leadership role at all.

I'm just not sure what to do, how to move forward - how to leave behind, being a technical engineer buried in my terminals and documentation, because whilstI don't want that anymore - I'm not really sure how to leave it behind without wrecking my career.. I do love the company I currently work for.

I also thought that perhaps this is just a phase I'm going through, but I've been through this before albeit - not as bad, this time it's been grinding me down for a long time, to the point where it's not affecting my work - I simply don't want to do it.. Which is obviously bad.

Not really sure what to do, where to turn to. :E
 
If you're as good and as knowledgeable as well as having done so much for the company you work for speak to the management/directors about your desire for a leadership role and they may make something for you.

Other option, teaching? Having you any interest in that?
 
ttaskmaster said:
Do you not have a manager, or someone senior that can advise you?
Surely you get PDR type meetings and the like?
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Yeah I do, all my PDR's have been awesome so far, I just haven't brought up this issue yet - I'm not really sure how to, without hurting myself if that makes sense. The problem for me is that to take a leadership role, I'd have to emigrate to Los Angeles - which I can't really do for personal reasons, and I'm not really sure I want to, as I'm not a big fan of US culture (however I do enjoy my trips out there!) I'm thinking of plucking up the courage, but I need to think through a strategy to do so, rather than just "throwing it out there" lol

AHarvey said:
If you're as good and as knowledgeable as well as having done so much for the company you work for speak to the management/directors about your desire for a leadership role and they may make something for you.

Other option, teaching? Having you any interest in that?
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Yeah they might - my worry, is that it would almost certainly involve being migrated to LA, the company does this all the time - they've already asked me if I want to go, basically they press a button - put all your stuff in a shipping container, they set you up with accommodation and do everything and give you 6 months... trouble is I have relationship here in the UK and I don't want to break it..

Teaching is an interesting topic, I've actually done lots of it - I know a bunch of people involved with it, the problem for me is that it's an incredibly saturated market - I'm also not sure whether it would give me what I'm after in terms of responsibility, some of the better people I know who run labs and classes spend a frightening amount of time away, and I'm not 100% sure that's for me. Interesting point though..
 
Screeeech said:
Yeah I do, all my PDR's have been awesome so far, I just haven't brought up this issue yet - I'm not really sure how to, without hurting myself if that makes sense. The problem for me is that to take a leadership role, I'd have to emigrate to Los Angeles - which I can't really do for personal reasons, and I'm not really sure I want to, as I'm not a big fan of US culture (however I do enjoy my trips out there!) I'm thinking of plucking up the courage, but I need to think through a strategy to do so, rather than just "throwing it out there" lol

Yeah they might - my worry, is that it would almost certainly involve being migrated to LA, the company does this all the time - they've already asked me if I want to go, basically they press a button - put all your stuff in a shipping container, they set you up with accommodation and do everything and give you 6 months... trouble is I have relationship here in the UK and I don't want to break it..

Teaching is an interesting topic, I've actually done lots of it - I know a bunch of people involved with it, the problem for me is that it's an incredibly saturated market - I'm also not sure whether it would give me what I'm after in terms of responsibility, some of the better people I know who run labs and classes spend a frightening amount of time away, and I'm not 100% sure that's for me. Interesting point though..
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Yeah I wouldn't move to LA either, wasn't a fan but with the way technology is now you can easily manage and train remotely IF the company is willing. Training especially can be done online via webinars etc. Are you part of a bigger dept that you can train initially to see if you enjoy it?
 
Sounds like a job/career/life I'd love to have - maybe take some time to reflect on your achievements and how well you've done for a 36 year old, then decide if it's worth "rocking the boat"
 
Screeeech said:
the leadership team feel as though they've been failing, because I've essentially been doing their job for them. Our leadership team are good technically - but poor leaders. I would like a crack at a leadership role, however they're currently all taken and my remote location (I'm a home worker) isn't practical for a leadership role at all.
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This paragraph is slightly contradictory - if your location isn't practical for a leadership role, how is it that you have essentially been doing the job of the leadership team?
It may not be as much of a blocker as you think.
 
You need to speak up on your appraisal, so the issue is known.

If you are as good as your OP suggests your boss might know of a progression path for you that doesn't involve relocating or even with a different company.

In fact, I once went for a job interview and the interview was paused mid-way whilst they asked me if I was sure I wanted the job because of qualifications, experience etc. When I said yes, they stated that they'd be willing to give a glowing reference with another employer that would better suit my talent. I was shocked, but the moral of the story is you never know who might be willing to help you progress, providing they know you're looking.
 
Can you program? Got leadership experience?

I was in the financial services IT sector but got burned out and walked away. Now work in game development, still the tech game but actually working on interesting problems! Got your foot in the door with games industry already by the looks of it...

Maybe a programming, or production role could work?
 
HangTime said:
This paragraph is slightly contradictory - if your location isn't practical for a leadership role, how is it that you have essentially been doing the job of the leadership team?
It may not be as much of a blocker as you think.
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Because I've made changes to some of the processes and the way we work, which have been adopted by everyone - the leadership people have turned around and said "**** we should have done that" the reason my location isn't practical for leadership, - it's actually company policy that people working remotely can't have leadership roles, however that has happened for some people.

EVH said:
You need to speak up on your appraisal, so the issue is known.

If you are as good as your OP suggests your boss might know of a progression path for you that doesn't involve relocating or even with a different company.

In fact, I once went for a job interview and the interview was paused mid-way whilst they asked me if I was sure I wanted the job because of qualifications, experience etc. When I said yes, they stated that they'd be willing to give a glowing reference with another employer that would better suit my talent. I was shocked, but the moral of the story is you never know who might be willing to help you progress, providing they know you're looking.
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Incidentally, they've booked me in for the appraisal stuff next week so I will be bringing it up with them, the truth of the matter is I don't really want to leave the company - it's a very very good place to work.

I think my problem is I tend to overreact sometimes, when in actual fact I just need to sit back and think things through, a mistake I've made in the past - is to just leave, and not give them a chance to fix anything, I won't make that mistake this time.

The only nagging feeling I have, and it's something that nags me 24/7 is that however hard I put it off, I have this feeling that I'll be moving to the US at some point. If that happens - I think I'd do very well, however it means uprooting my entire life and making some hard decisions, I've essentially already decided not to go, but I can't help thinking that I haven't really decided.. if that makes any sense..

mid_gen said:
Can you program? Got leadership experience?

I was in the financial services IT sector but got burned out and walked away. Now work in game development, still the tech game but actually working on interesting problems! Got your foot in the door with games industry already by the looks of it...

Maybe a programming, or production role could work?
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Yeah I can to some extent, I do have some leadership experience from a previous role (tech lead) and yeah - I'm working for one of the worlds biggest games, so yeah - I definitely have my foot in, it's a very difficult job to get, so I don't want to **** it up.

Overall, I've been technical since forever - and I think on balance, which how things have played out over the last few years, moving into a leadership position for me seems far more desirable than learning different tech.
 
Screeeech said:
The only nagging feeling I have, and it's something that nags me 24/7 is that however hard I put it off, I have this feeling that I'll be moving to the US at some point. If that happens - I think I'd do very well, however it means uprooting my entire life and making some hard decisions, I've essentially already decided not to go, but I can't help thinking that I haven't really decided.. if that makes any sense..
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If you don't take the plunge this could keep nagging away at you. Perhaps you can come up with an exit strategy if it doesn't work out?
Also a good opportunity to push for the package you want, that way if the employer is unwilling to meet your terms you should have fewer nagging doubts - you tried to go down that path but it wasn't feasible, so now you can just get on with your life rather than wondering 'what if....?'
 
HangTime said:
If you don't take the plunge this could keep nagging away at you. Perhaps you can come up with an exit strategy if it doesn't work out?
Also a good opportunity to push for the package you want, that way if the employer is unwilling to meet your terms you should have fewer nagging doubts - you tried to go down that path but it wasn't feasible, so now you can just get on with your life rather than wondering 'what if....?'
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Yeah I know, I'm in a good position in reality - as they actually harassed the hell out of me and got me to leave my previous job, as I had some rare(ish) knowledge that they wanted, if I decided to up sticks and leave, I'm 99.999% sure it would be amazing and I'd get pretty much what I want... However, there are some difficulties around doing that, (relationships and stuff) that would cause a lot of pain. Not nice thoughts to have.
 
You could perhaps push for a leadership role, it isn't exactly unreasonable to have a discussion about progression (obviously you perhaps don't want to put forth the idea that you're otherwise about to leave), at least get a feel for the options. Of course being remote that is a potential issue, it isn't a complete barrier to it though, we had managers at my previous place who worked remotely, including one who moved overseas to a country where we didn't have an office simply because his wife got a big promotion(I guess in that case he was already a manager before he moved but still, it is possible).

Might be worth looking at further education opportunities - I mean I know they get trashed a bit but MBAs could perhaps have some utility for someone in your position - at least an "executive" MBA where you complete the thing part time (or perhaps it could be useful for you to take a year out).

Something like this might be more appropriate to your background too:

https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/programmes/degrees/mpm

Alternatively have you considered perhaps some more academic post grad study - a specialist MSc or a PhD, it seems like you're at the top re: vocational/professional quals/vendor certificates in your field but there is always further to go technically, new areas to work on etc.. I mean is part of why you're getting bored of it that you're working on things you know inside and out and there isn't much of a challenge anymore? Maybe some research in the filed might be interesting, perhaps working for one of the big hardware companies themselves on new tech rather than applying/configuring the products they sell could present a new challenge.
 
Thanks for the suggestions @dowie

I kicked off a chat with the powers that be today, went better than expected - they've given me a huge pile of engineering process work to do, which I'm actually really interested in, something to own and define - they assess individuals who produce that sort of work, for leadership roles later on, so I think I'm forging the right path.

I really like the company, it's the coolest place I ever worked and is also in an interesting industry, I've just felt like I've changed a lot in the last 12 months - and I think the time is right to change the direction of what I do, without throwing away all the industry experience I have. I also don't want to act impulsively - in the past I've made bad decisions which I've regretted, and I don't want to make those mistakes again.
 
WoodyUK said:
I presume due to remote-working that there are no other areas of the company you can transfer to that you might have interest in that aren't necessarily network related if you wanted a proper change of environment? I've a few friends there which have felt the same burnout resulting in them either drastically changing roles or left to do something else instead in the past year.
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To be honest, I have so much network knowledge and industry knowledge that I don't actually want to quit working in networks - for me, it's more a case of using that knowledge and experience to do new things which don't revolve around doing pure delivery or ops work anymore, Ideally I'd like to be more strategy focused - but staying in the same technology space. I still love networks - I just want to move away from doing the same sort of stuff I've done for like 18 years.

Burnout is a problem, people have a tendency to get buried very deep in their work in a company like this. They work and work and work until they burnout, but they don't realise they're burning out until it's too late, it's a common tech company problem.
 
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