27 burnt out in FAANG, 100k in investment accounts, 60k in cash and feeling lost

[syl103]

Hello all, I am 27 single woman living in Seattle, I've been working in one of the big tech companies for 3 years and have been able to save a lot and invest. Recently I've come to realization that I don't want to work here no more, I've been depressed and very stressed out. I don't want to work in this field no more despite the pay is good. I know I am not close to retirement yet but I want to know if there's are people out there feeling the same way and what you'd do if you were in my situation?

I feel lost in general, I don't know what to do for living if I'm not working as an engineer since I went to school for that. I don't really know what else I'm good at. I can afford not to work for up to 2 years but I don't know what to do after that, if I cannot go into other fields and be happy then eventually I'll have to come back doing what I'm doing now which is just a set back on my resume. I'd like to know if anyone out there is living a happy life doing what you do and making enough money to support yourself, if so what do you do and how do you get there? Thank you!

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I don't think you have to change careers, just look for a different job. Someone we know is an engineer who works from home, and lives near the beach, has a job that doesn't seem high stress and seems pretty happy. I worked in tech for years but the in the last part of my career did 1099 work from home and that was great.

 

[Yipper]

Hello all, I am 27 single woman living in Seattle, I've been working in one of the big tech companies for 3 years and have been able to save a lot and invest. Recently I've come to realization that I don't want to work here no more, I've been depressed and very stressed out. I don't want to work in this field no more despite the pay is good.!

I'm with a big tech firm based in Seattle too... and I can tell you there are a lot of other roles in those firms that are not in software engineering. Think about sales, marketing, support, etc.

Also - there are so many great small companies, non-profits, government agencies, etc. that need software engineers and don't pile on the stress of the "big companies".

Lastly - think about independent consulting... again - so many smaller orgs/companies/agencies that need help. You might not make nearly as much as you do now, but you may be far happier.

I'm 6 months from ER but I completely understand your situation and wish you the best. Don't despair - find the right fit for YOUR skills and YOUR passion.

 

[syl103]

I'm also working from home now. I do think I need to change my career path because I don't feel passionate about things I'm doing everyday. It might be that I am so stressed out here in this company too but i feel like even if I switch to another company I might still be unhappy.

 

[RunningBum]

How is the rest of your life? Are there things you could do to improve that, and then maybe work won't seem so bad?

I had some similar thoughts early in my tech career. A lot of it was because I got hired into a job I wasn't really qualified for and had trouble getting up to speed. I think both my 1st and 2nd line manager saw this and offered a switch to another project under the 2nd line. That went a lot better and I enjoyed work more.

Just a couple of ideas. I realize that neither of these may apply to you. Good for you to recognize that you are unhappy and want to make a change. I'd just say you should try to understand what it is that makes you unhappy, so that any changes have a better chance to fix that, rather than just hoping any change will help.

 

[pjigar]

First off, take a week or two off, clear your mind. I have been working in the engineering for over 20 years. I have hit the wall more than once just like you. But I was able to come out of it with some logical thinking and reflection. Having said that, the biggest trick I have learned after first couple of high intensity jobs: Set your boundaries. Especially important in today's world of always-on-smartphone world. I never answer phones or e-mails outside the business hours. I do not work outside business hours. And certainly not on the weekends. Funny thing about the boundaries is that you have to set them up on the first day of your job and stick with them without making a lot of exceptions. I do sometime work outside these constraints when there is an emergency or critical task but I can count those times on my fingers. Another funny thing about boundaries: people will actually notice your boundaries and would leave you alone during your off times! There you have the biggest secret of my work life.

PS: Moral of the story is no, you don't need to leave your career. This is one of the most lucrative career. You just need to trade some of the money (salary) for more time. Join some low profile company in the same field. Or use my trick in even a high-profile company (believe me it will work). The only downside of my trick is that you may not get promoted fast enough but that's the trade off.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

My sister was working in chemical engineering when she obtained a law degree. She got into her employer's intellectual property department and made a ton of money. She has always been the ambitious child in the family, though.

 

[skyking1]

Most people go through four or five or six different career changes during their life. It's absolutely not a failure to decide it's no longer for you. The time you spent in industry has trained you in many other ways so it's not a loss.
It may take some time to figure out what's going to make you happy, take the time.

 

[pjigar]

Most people go through four or five or six different career changes during their life. It's absolutely not a failure to decide it's no longer for you. The time you spent in industry has trained you in many other ways so it's not a loss.
It may take some time to figure out what's going to make you happy, take the time.

You may be right about most people but every engineer (FAANG type) I know has only two career acts: Act 1 and Act 2. I suspect that is because of lucrative income without hard physical work is a rare combination to find in most other careers.

 

[BH58]

I agree with Skyking - Take time to figure out what makes you happy. You are young. There are lots of ways your skills can translate to other careers. Maybe consider getting some career counseling, joining a career transition group, doing some informational interviews with people who have jobs that you think sound interesting. Also sometimes taking a vacation can help give you a new perspective and refresh. When I was 28, I quit my job and spent 3 months traveling. Yes it was hard and took some time to get a new job when I returned but I will never regret that experience and on the grand scale of things, it wasn't a big career setback for me.

 

[Go-NoGo]

During the annual "Individual Development plan" period, work with your manager and tell her that you want to continue to work in the company but on a different career track. You should have done your homework at this point in time and have found something in the Megacorp that you are interested in pursuing.

If you have already completed your IDP for the year, ask your manager for a 1:1 and ask to change your IDP. As they used to say in my megacorp "its a living document"

Ask your manager to help you transition into this new role. If the company has a mentorship program, ask to be added to it and paired with someone in the aforesaid career track. Network-Network-Network and find peers that will help you.

As mentioned before, you are only in act-1 of your career, you have several more to go before hanging it up for good. Working in Tech Megacorp is stressful, but if you can hang in there you will be able to have a very comfortable retirement.

Goodluck to you!

 

[Aerides]

Most of us find the job/career that affords the options to pursue real satisfaction and happiness outside the workplace. Friends, family, hobbies, etc.

That doesn't mean putting up with a joyless soul-sucking slog, or objectives that leave you dead inside. It does, however, mean finding a compromise that pays the rent, etc.

The good news is you are very very young. You can jump around and might find a similar role in a different company works for you. Or a different role in your same company (while keeping your tenure, vacation/sick pay all that nice stuff). You can and should take the time to figure out your next steps while you are still employed - perhaps look into some counseling, etc. Burning through your savings and quitting now should be the last option.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I'm also working from home now. I do think I need to change my career path because I don't feel passionate about things I'm doing everyday. It might be that I am so stressed out here in this company too but i feel like even if I switch to another company I might still be unhappy.

You might, but the only way to find out is to take a risk, change jobs and find out. You are in a pretty high demand field so you don't have to worry about being unemployed for long. If you change jobs a couple of times and still aren't happy, then you may need a new career, or tough it out, look for happiness outside of work and save up while you can make a great salary in order to retire early or downshift your career.

 

[oiseux]

Does the field no longer interest you or is the job and projects you have been assigned the problem? You feel pressured, which is a reflection on the company culture and management.

Being at the other end of a career in the technology field, I've pivoted from engineering work to sales development to marketing to strategy to corporate development. It is about the company, the people you work with, and the role. A role that is engaging, challenging and provides for growth and reward. Passionate? That's a very high hurdle to achieve 100% of the time.

 

[aaronc879]

Don't quit your job until you have something else lined up. I learned the hard way that employers look down on gaps in employment. I don't understand it but it's hard to get a job if you have a gap on your resume unless you were in school. I also learned the hard way that the grass isn't always greener elsewhere. I thought I had bad working conditions so I left and now over 10 years later I realize that was the best work environment I will likely ever have. You work at home so you have no commute, break room and bathroom is very close by and can be used whenever, no one looking over your shoulder. You may regret leaving and realize how good you have it now. Unless you want to take a large pay cut to get a low stress job that still allows you to work from home then I would stay put until you can put at least 10X expenses in savings. Then you will have more options.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Thinking back, it was about the same time (2-3 years in) where I was feeling burned out. Similar - high tech, mega-corp. I would go through these phases occasionally until I finally was able to snap out of it via outside physical activity. In my case, running. That physical stress helped to take the job stress away. At the same time it got me involved with others outside of the mega-corp world and I met some great friends that way.

 

[socca]

Passionate? That's a very high hurdle to achieve 100% of the time.

My attitude toward work during the 20 years I spent in industry as an engineer was mostly transactional: I had to sacrifice an immense amount of personal comfort on the job to otherwise live a comfortable life (house, car, food, clothing, etc.) and work towards a secure financial future. Passion? If it happened at all, it most often happened in my precious off hours. That said, when I worked for the private sector my work usually had 'meaning', i.e., it was clear how I was contributing to the health of my employer. The same can't be said for my public sector work, which most often seemed like a colossal waste of taxpayer money. My salary was much appreciated during those times, though - thanks taxpayers!

 

[HI Bill]

"I've come to realization that I don't want to work here no more, I've been depressed and very stressed out. I don't want to work in this field no more despite the pay is good. ...I feel lost in general, I don't know what to do for living if I'm not working as an engineer since I went to school for that. I don't really know what else I'm good at. I can afford not to work for up to 2 years but I don't know what to do after that.."

Welcome! Many of us who worked for MEGACORP didn't want to work there any more, but did so to be able to retire early. I sense that you have depression, stress, and a lack of satisfaction with life. You may not have any work-life balance, which is important. I'd recommend trying to establish some work-life balance, see a counselor, determine whether anti-depressants could help (very carefully, they're quite powerful and IMHO, potentially life-saving or damaging), get some exercise, and if you're not in a relationship or don't have good friends, work on that.

Stopping work for a couple of years, just to spend down your $ is a really bad idea, from a long-term perspective. Your skills may become obsolete, and you may never work in your field again, nor attain the pay you've been earning. Best wishes!

 

[Oz investor]

Hello all, I am 27 single woman living in Seattle, I've been working in one of the big tech companies for 3 years and have been able to save a lot and invest. Recently I've come to realization that I don't want to work here no more, I've been depressed and very stressed out. I don't want to work in this field no more despite the pay is good. I know I am not close to retirement yet but I want to know if there's are people out there feeling the same way and what you'd do if you were in my situation?

I feel lost in general, I don't know what to do for living if I'm not working as an engineer since I went to school for that. I don't really know what else I'm good at. I can afford not to work for up to 2 years but I don't know what to do after that, if I cannot go into other fields and be happy then eventually I'll have to come back doing what I'm doing now which is just a set back on my resume. I'd like to know if anyone out there is living a happy life doing what you do and making enough money to support yourself, if so what do you do and how do you get there? Thank you!

on the PLUS side , you are now fully motivated to FIRE and early as well ,

how about using that stress to motivate you into some financial education ( there is plenty on-line that is 'cost-free' apart from your ISP charges of course )

hopefully you haven't resorted to substance abuse ( that includes excessive amounts of coffee ... all those coffee-related names in IT got there for a reason )

BTW your engineer training should have taught you to have solved problems outside of your specialized area , is there a parallel career path that can leverage your current training , i have seem many IT folk that are multi-skilled across the IT sector software/hardware/bug-squishing , etc