I'll not expand on the details of why I think the way I do right now, but unless you can find a way to get paid for a hobby you already have, it does not sound like a career change will do much for you. If you really want to hear details, tell me and we can talk off list.
For now, just a few short thoughts...
Most people stay in a job they have but don't like purely out of fear. Fear is probably the biggest reason people don't grow to thier potential.
Because I like to think different, I'll throw out this suggestion. Be a gypsy for a bit. I don't mean pack a caravan and travel the open roads. I mean just find a new job and plan on finding yet another in a year or two. You'd be surprised how easy it is to do almost anything for a year. This is primarily because the newness of it all takes a certain amount of time to wear off.
A change of scenery brings new perspective. Even if the new job is basically the same as your current job, there will be new people, with new experiences and thus, new things for you to learn.
If you are young enough and commitments loose enough, you do not even have to restrict yourself by geography.
A slight shift left or right might be useful (several suggested testing, DBA or SysAdmin). I did the same myself. But I did it knowing I would come back to programming and with the intention of the "career broadening" phase making me a better programmer.
In the vast majority of today's corporations there is absolutly NO career growth for programmers. Period. I don't care what the Employee Manual or the HR department says. True career growth is almost certainly going to be self motivated.
Surprisingly, this is not really that bad a deal. What it means is you can actually grow in any way you want, regardless of your job. Ways to do this include:
Conning your company into sending you to training and conferences. They will not let you use this training on the job, but they will feel better for providing you the "opportunity" and you'll gain new skills. win-win...
Reading. I and most anyone on this list could provide you a most lenghty list of valuable reading.
Open Source project. Create one yourself or find an existing one to participate in.
Local user groups or professional societies. These will put you in contact with people outside your current job and thus, put you in contact with new ideas.
Advanced or additional college degrees.
If you like programming then find a way to program better. It does not matter if that is outside the job or on a new job. Don't be afraid to take a plunge. I'm not saying it is easy, but it will probably be worth it. I myself am leaving California after 8 years (I was in Arizona before that, Washington DC before that, Arizona again before that) and am headed back to DC. I'm even turning down a higher paying job here in California to do it at a time when it looks like things here are looking up. Time for a change, you see...
In reply to Re: departing programming, what is the next best step?
by KeighleHawk
in thread departing programming, what is the next best step?
by thaigrrl
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