#ITburnout #CareerChange #LifeTransition
Hey there, I totally get where you’re coming from. Sometimes, the IT field can be draining, especially after years of being in the industry. It sounds like you’ve had quite the journey from starting out in tech support to managing infrastructure IT teams. But it’s completely normal to reach a point where you feel like you’re ready for a change. 🤔
I’m sorry to hear about the tough time you’ve been going through, including the loss of your father and the move to a new country. It’s completely understandable that all of this can contribute to feeling overwhelmed and burnt out.
If you’re considering a career change, especially given the circumstances of being in a new country and dealing with personal loss, it’s important to approach this decision with careful consideration. Here are some factors to think about as you navigate this transition:
Assessing your interests and skills
Reflecting on what you truly enjoy doing and what you’re good at is a great starting point. It’s clear that you have a passion for cooking, and you also mentioned being great with people, a good leader, and having a love for music, reading, and good beer. These are all valuable skills and interests that could potentially lead to a fulfilling career in a different field.
Exploring other job opportunities
Given your leadership skills and interest in people, have you considered roles in management or customer service that are outside of the IT industry? This could be a way to leverage your skills and transition into a new field that aligns with your interests.
Considering the impact on your mental health
It’s evident that your mental health is a priority for you, especially with the recent diagnosis of severe ADHD and signs of depression. When evaluating a career change, it’s crucial to consider how the new role may impact your well-being. It’s important to find a balance between pursuing a fulfilling career and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Exploring opportunities in Dublin
Considering the cost of living in Dublin, it’s understandable to have concerns about transitioning to a career that may not pay as well as your current role in IT. However, there may be options to explore in the culinary or hospitality industry in Dublin that could provide a fulfilling career path while also meeting your financial needs.
Seeking guidance from a mental health professional
It’s great to hear that you’re in the process of seeking support from a psychiatrist and are planning to engage in regular CBT. This is an essential step in managing your mental health and navigating the challenges you’re facing. The professional guidance and support will be invaluable as you consider your career options.
Finding a support system
Transitioning to a new career can be daunting, especially when dealing with personal loss and adjusting to life in a new country. Finding a support system, whether it’s through friends, support groups, or online communities, can provide encouragement and guidance as you explore new career paths.
In conclusion, it’s completely normal to feel burnt out and ready for a change, especially after dedicating years to the IT field. It’s evident that you have a wide range of interests and skills that could lead to a fulfilling career outside of IT. As you navigate this transition, it’s important to consider your mental health, assess your interests and skills, explore opportunities in Dublin, seek professional guidance, and find a support system.
Remember, it’s okay to vent and seek advice from others who may have been in similar situations. You’re not alone in feeling this way, and it’s possible to find a career path that brings you both fulfillment and a sense of balance in your life. Keep in mind that taking care of your mental health is a crucial part of this process, and seeking professional help is a step in the right direction.
Hang in there, and best of luck as you consider your next steps. You’ve got this! 🌟
Honestly no. Work is work, and I have worked at a pizza place. Come home smelling like shit, work is insanely hot, the customers are more dog shit rude bastards than you’ll ever see in IT. Every day I’m literally living the fantasy dream of my younger self. I work from home and I don’t want to die. That’s all pretty fantastic.
Sounds like even with that green card you’re gonna still work in IT because Irish wages suck ass and everything is expensive. Average wage to cost of living in Ireland is crap compared to the US.
Embrace the suck, being financially secure is significantly more beneficial to your mental health than constantly stressing about finances. I can promise you that.
Honestly, you sound like you may be depressed. Many people who are shrug it off as nothing. I see you’re currently in the care of a mental health professional so I hope they are able to give you the help you need.
As for IT, I’ve just begun my first role and I love it. My end goal surprisingly enough is to get a job in IT via the critical skills path in Ireland. Any tips? I’ve got the trifecta and should have 3-4 more certs in the next year as I get experience to make myself competitive for companies in Dublin or Cork. I’m American but have lived in Germany for 4 years and absolutely love Ireland, it’s pretty much the only place we vacation to now lol.
I don’t think there’s anything else I could do honestly other than tech adjacent jobs.
My friend who also works in IT and I talk about this all the time. Ive been in it for about 20 years now and Im kind of over it. The problem is there is nothing I can jump into making what im making and I certainly do not want to go back to school. So I guess Im riding it out til retirement.
I only have a couple YoE so i cant comment on the longevity but I can comment on the adhd. Getting the medication for me was life changing and gave me a very strong drive + focus I did not have before. Try the meds and see if that helps things.
Been in 20 years and I can’t stand it. Like someone else here said – riding it out because a lot of the alternatives aren’t great
Lmao! I’m debating quitting IT all together because I have a degree and no damn job!
working in a restaurant is hard work for maybe a fifth of the pay, no thank you. I’ve mostly worked in IT but when younger did a little bit of everything. I started in telecom and lost my first 401k to MCI/worldcom when it went bankrupt. After that I tried construction, landscaping, working in restaurants. It can be a nice change of pace at first, but it wasn’t for me. You still deal with a lot of the same issues, dealing with the public, but for far less money. Maybe look at a different type of role within IT. For me moving to cloud work and a different company with a team I got along much better with made a huge difference.
I’ve worked as a doorman during summers. Easy job, but your brain goes to rot even if you find time to read. The pay isn’t livable either.
I’ve done web dev the past 2 years and all in all it’s great. Hardest part is user support through email with no tiered/filtered support IT team.
I did find out I had ADHD recently, but basically everyone’s got a little of it thanks to device usage through smartphones and email. Mine goes a little further back though. Vyvanse made a huge change in my life and the anxiety I dealt with on a day to day basis and learned CBT to manage is basically gone. But now I’m looking for psychotherapy for ADHD because apparently they last for 2 years post treatment opposed to meds which wear off immediately.
I’ve been feeling a bit burned out 2 years in, but that’s because I see the same mistakes being made despite launching on a new tech stack and I’m too junior to question the status quo of senior devs bringing results. So I’m gearing up to switch jobs, realizing that it’s just a job. Anything I can learn that benefits me personally is a bonus.
> I really want to cook for a living
Oh hi!
> it doesn’t exactly pay well
Yeah, same reasons here. It’s a passion in my personal life, to be able to enjoy the literal results of the labor, but yeah as far as revenue/income generation it’s hard unless you have a really solid business plan together in a space that’s already dominated by incumbents big (e.g. Gordon Ramsay) and small (e.g. ItsQCP).
BTW, good to hear that you made the move. I remember a few years ago you were stateside, sounds like the move to IE has been a good one for the most part, sans the feeling of dissatisfaction.
One thing you may want to ask your shrink is around adjustment — One of my old friends has adjustment disorder, so even though a move to a brand new place that has many awesome things is seemingly awesome, my friend will process it subconsciously as a negative, even though on the surface she seems like she is enjoying it. Genuinely too, but at subtler levels in the psyche she would suffer any time she goes to someplace new.
Not saying you have that per se, but maybe at least run the topic of “adjustment” by your shrink and see what they say.
Sorry you’re going through this rough patch. I remember years ago you had passion for bringing up upcoming talent into the fold of technology and I remember our chats back then about things like DevOps, Cloud, and SRE best practices. Hope you get that spark back!
All of the time but I’m sure I’d be unhappy in other careers but not get paid as much (based on my skills and passions) so I’m rocking with IT, 15 years and counting lol
Personally I’ve been so busy learning and upskilling to increase my salary that I’ve basically taught myself that learning = fun. I enjoy it now, I like learning new things. I love when there’s a problem and you finally get to that ‘bingo’ moment and solve it.
Absolutely. It doesn’t really translate to living abroad but I regularly take breaks from working IT to do more fulfilling things. IT pulls in the money and I do enjoy it quite a bit but oh my god do I need a break from it here and there. The more challenging the position the longer the required break
I kind of am. But then working in tech can make us very spoiled. I look at what my friends who aren’t in tech do for a living and what they make and how micro-managy their managers can be, and having to deal with people (customers) and I’m reminded how lucky I am. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to be a guy who works totally in solitude or with animals or heck, own a comic book store….but I’d never make the money I am in tech and have 5 weeks PTO and the lax schedule. Even though I’m studying all the time and having meltdown moments when things are on fire, I swear my non-tech friends think I don’t really work and play video games all day.
Nope. I love it.
I’ll take this over working with my back or dealing with the public 100 times out of 100. I don’t think you realize how tough some fields have it because of how cushy IT can be.
YES. Been in circuit board design and manufacturing, PC repair, applications support, systems and infrastructure, and now I’m an IT business analyst and project manager. Ive been in IT, one form or another, since the mid 90s (I’m 54 yrs old). I’ve been sick of it for the last 5-6 years but I haven’t found anything else that would pay anything comparable. I’m pretty close to just taking the cut and doing something new though.
Sounds like you know you need to work on your mental health, which is good. I doubt it’s IT specific, but see how you feel after your treatment starts taking hold.
As for cooking, ugh, nothing I’d rather not do than cook professionally now that I’m older. I don’t have the feet/back for it! And the pay cut would be, yikes. I do like cooking for family and friends, but but professionally. I have friends who own family restaurants and it’s grueling. They’re my age and want nothing more than to retire or work in an office. They do make decent money, it’s just a lot of work.
I worked in restaurants for years before I got into tech, spent 3-4 years on the line. Let me tell you, you think you want that life, but you don’t. Working 13 hours 6 days in a row and living for your shifty and cigarettes is no way to live life.
Nope!! I did banking before IT… eff that.
Whenever I’m tired of IT I try to install Linux on something
You can’t get bored when you’re busy telling the universe that you are THE SUPERIOR ARCH LINUX USER
If I have a rough day I’ll text my partner we need to go live in the mountains off grid and never look at a computer again.
My job I love, it’s the stuff that comes with it outside of my job that wears me out
I would absolutely love to work a 9-5, go in, flip burgers, get a lunch break, and at 5 or whatever the 8 hr mark is, GTFO. Never to think or return for ANY reason until the next morning..
I’m not “tired of IT” yet,. there’s way too much cool technology stuff happening.
I’d definitely go back to cooking in a kitchen,. if it paid 6-figures+ (and I didn’t have to start at the bottom again). Food is amazing and it’s a thing that brings humanity together.
I’d also love to work in a homeless shelter (again,. if it paid me enough to maintain my lifestyle).
But those things don’t (pay enough).. so here I am in IT.
Honestly no. I really don’t know what else I would do professionally that is this comfortable and makes this much money. Work is work and I use it to facilitate my family life outside of work.
Yes, this is me right now. The issue, like a lot of folks say, is that I’ll have to start from the bottom again in an entirely different career path or take a plunge back down to stocking or warehouse jobs.
Honestly no. I really don’t see myself doing anything else ever.
Not really no, plus I don’t have the skills to make as much money doing anything else and at 28 im not interested in switching
I used to bust my ass and mainly my hands as a transcriptionist working all night sometimes. Now I get paid to take a shit and study for certs, and the workday ends at 3:00. I could honestly retire as a K12 tech if I didn’t have kids.
Heck, the guy training me retired from a career at an ISP and is doing K12 IT to keep himself busy and pay for vacationing all summer.
*and on top of it, it doesn’t exactly pay well and Dublin is an pretty expensive place to live.*
Dublin really is crazy expensive and pay is about 50% of what you’d make here in the states. But think, if you did something else you’d make even less! What then? You’d be stressed out financially all the time. Also this time of year is not easy. The weather’s lousy and no one wants to hang around outside.
I think you should maybe try to pare back your schedule a bit for a few months. Just the minimum 8 hours a day in the office and see if you can get 1 WFH day too, maybe on Friday. That helps you start your weekend a bit earlier.
I think once spring comes around and it gets warmer out you’ll feel much better. You’ll be able to eat lunch outside, spend your weekends traveling the countryside and having adventures. You can even get a Eurail pass and plan a vacation, Dublin is the gateway to Europe after all. Oh wow, you could even try to catch some of the Olympics in Paris this summer! You could start planning now. So work to live, don’t live to work. Just keep the trains running on time and try to enjoy the marvelous city you live in now.
Not anything but ready to jump from this sinking ship.
Not really. If work is pissing me off, it’s almost always because of “people” and never because of the technical stuff I actually have to do.
I have other things that interest me of course, but I usually delegate those interests as hobby and not a way to make a living. Sometimes you might find that pursuing those passions to make a living isn’t feasible, or you find out later that the grass wasn’t greener on the other side (at least here in the US, I don’t think working as a cook in a kitchen is a great or safe work environment, nor does it adequately pay the bills).
I feel this way from the middle of November until the middle of April, like clockwork, every year. I don’t think that it’s related to my job….
I feel that way, but I also extend that to living. Every day is exactly the same.
Side gig it. Do pop-ups. Or plan lunch packs and take orders at work for the next day.
Other jobs sucks way more than IT. If you don’t trust me, try anything else as soon as you got the chance. We just don’t realize how incredibly lucky we are.
Maybe build your own business? But even your own business will probably suck for a while, even several years or until complete failure.
I’m too far down the road in my career to change now. But I’m not sure I’d change my path if I could. I love technology.
I’m not entrepreneurial and I work in an office. I make sure I go to botanical gardens, take my kid to a petting zoo/farm, go ti the beach, etc. The balance keeps me sane.
I left a help desk job with advancement opportunities and on the job training bc i got burnt out— went and pipelined natural gas a while until covid and negative oil prices. The move has given me tremendous personal growth but i regret it in the career aspect.
I feel you. I’ve been doing it for only 4 years and during that time I’ve done almost anything sysadmin/devops related. The problem is I’m currently in the top 2% of my country income wise. I would love to change it to anything else, but there is no way I can get that income at 23, so I’m sticking to it. No matter how much I’m starting to hate it.
If anybody is interested, in the past 4 years I have been support at a web hosting, devops for a start-up running microservice in different public clouds, 2 years at a software-defined storage company as part of the Operations and Support team, and for the last half a year I’m working at a company trying to move from monolith to microservices
Looks like you need some hobbies outside of IT. Work will always just be work after awhile. Try hunting
How many different jobs have you worked for?
Find fulfillment outside of work. Work is work. Get the bag.