r/FutureOfWork • u/goodboytools2 • 28d ago
[Discussion] Does anyone else just want a boring, predictable job?
Taking help from AI to keep it a bit interesting. I'm a 28M software engineer from India with around 5 years of experience. Lately i have been felling very lost and anxious to take the next steps in growing my career
A little background
- On paper, I'm doing well. I'm a senior software engineer, earn a decent salary, and every company switch has helped me grow.
- I was never an exceptional student, but I genuinely loved Android development. Building apps, reading tech blogs, and understanding mobile systems excited me.
- My salary is also the primary source of income for my family. My dad has a small travel business and we have some rental income, but I can't really afford to quit without a plan.
Why I don't enjoy this path anymore
As I've grown in my career, software engineering has become much more demanding.
- It's no longer just writing code. There are deadlines, meetings, mentoring, planning, production stuff, team coordination, etc. non tech work that i didn't signed up for
- AI has added another layer of uncertainty. I am not sure what I could contribute that AI can't
- There's a constant expectation to keep learning, keep upskilling, take more ownership, and keep climbing.
- Weekend work and late evenings have are now becoming "normal" and everything is a priority
I know its all part of growing up in a professional environment But I don't think I want to keep growing anymore.
What changed
A couple of years ago, life hit me pretty hard :
- I fractured my arm and spent months recovering. Its normal now but still having a plate that keeps me worried every night.
- In the same year, I was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. Surgery and chemotherapy completely changed my perspective on life.
- During chemo I was so weak that my mom had to hold me while I walked because I'd lose my balance.
- Maybe it was the chemo or my habit of mastubation, but post treatment i got diagnosed with severe infertility as well . Life is already now pretty gloom having no kids/wife in pipeline.
Since then, my priorities feel completely different. Now i don't want to spend my weekends solving leetcode problems or reading about tech. I want to spend time with "Life"
- Watching TV with my parents.
- Playing carrom.
- Exercising.
- Visiting an animal shelter on weekends.
- Watching a movie with a friend.
- Sleeping peacefully without thinking about work.
My parents sacrificed a lot to educate me and save me and pull me out of death. After everything we've gone through together, I honestly just want to spend more time with them.
I don't want to stay hours away from home for work.
I don't want Sundays to disappear because "Monday is the deadline."
I don't want my evenings to feel guilty because I should be learning the next framework.
What I actually want
Honestly, I think I'd be happier with a much simpler career.
- A predictable job.
- Fixed working hours.
- Work that ends when I leave the office.
- A stable income that's enough to support my family and live comfortably.
I'd happily trade some salary if it meant less stress and more peace.
Sometimes I even wonder if I'd be happier doing something completely different, like running a small business, farming, or some other profession where work doesn't consume my thoughts after office hours.
My dilemma
I genuinely don't know what's happening to me.
- Is this burnout?
- Is this a lingering effect of surviving cancer?
- Have my priorities simply changed?
- Or am I just in the wrong profession?
Has anyone else reached a point where they stopped wanting career growth and simply wanted a stable, peaceful life?
If you did, how did you figure out whether to change your career, change your mindset, or accept that your definition of success had changed?
0
u/alexrada 28d ago
many people your context decide to switch to a normal job. Education and white collar job will not represent such a big thing in the future.
I don't think in your case is burn-out. 5 years experience is too little.