Pays damn good. Life Sucks!….Software Engineer

Posted by
September 22, 2001

I’m a software engineer writing this so that someone can learn from my experience.

I graduated in 2000 and got two technical degrees from one of the most “esteemed” universities in India.(I would not be able to answer even the most basic questions if asked a question on the subject of either of my degrees. This might sound stupid but you wont believe the number of people who are like me!!!) I got my first job in the US of A. And my first car is something I only previously saw in american movies.

I work in a major communication systems deveopment company and spend my life sitting in front of a computer screen ( mostly thinking “What the hell am I doing here???”. ).

I have been working only for a year now and already I feel I’ve burnt out. The work that I do is really interesting as far as software engineering goes.The field is in embedded system developement. Real systems work. You also get to work on real life problems which affect millions of users worldwide and problems which most computer developers would kill to be working on.

You work with new technology and even have a sense of accomplishment that your work is really being used by people. The work culture ensures that you get the sole credit for any work that you do.

The Good points of my job:

1. Good pay.

2. Intellectually stimulating.

3. Not something anyone can do!

The bad:

1. NO women!

2. No or minimum contact with people.

2. LONG hours in the office.

3. Lots of stress.

4. No social life.

5. Radiation burns from the monitors. :-)

Guys at college: (esp in India)… MONEY IS NOT EVERYTHING! THINK about what you REALLY want to do in life!Its not a joke. And usually in India you dont have a choice. Its YOUR life… dont let anyone else (even parents) make this decision for you.

I am seriously thinking of changing my career. Unfortunately I dont know what I would love to do. And the things that I do love …people would not pay me to do :-) .

I’m searching alternatives right now. Lets see what happens.

I had previously thought that I’d make a million and retire by 25… (yes I said 25). That was possible in my field maybe a year ago but not now and probably not for the next two/three years. And I cant waste those precious years.

In five I years I want see my self on a place with tropical beaches. The same for when I’m thirty… doing something I really love.

Umm enough … I think I’ve bored you enough.

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Old Comments:

  1. I feel like I could have written this a year ago! I was a mainframe analyst/programmer in an IT department at a very large insurance company. One day I felt as if enough of my sould had been sucked away, and I quit, moved halfway across the country (with my EXTREMELY understanding husband), and began pursuing my dream job as an architect. If you do decide to follow your dreams, prepare to be disappointed financially at first (I forgot how dirt-poor I'd been as a student!), but endlessly rewarded on an emotional level.      by
  2. I completely agree with you. I could have written this exact story. I'm also a software engineer, working in my 2nd year out of college. I love computers, but man, what a mistake it is working in this field. You sit in the office in front of a computer all day, no girls whatsoever, everyone is over 50+ years old, boring ass office, the god awful monotony day-in and day-out. My bosses treat me like crap because im just a "worker-bee".<br />
    <br />
    I plan on following my dream too because money is not everything! I should have my college rip-off loan paid off shortly and plain on quitting here in a few months to start my own business.<br />
    <br />
    I won't make nearly as much money doing anything else, but I think living a little happier will be worth it.      by chris greench0ice6@hotmail.com
  3. I am doing my Masters in Computer Science from Bits Pilani, India. I am currently working as a trainee in texas instruments, bangalore, india. Before i started working here I used to envy about the software people who work in stylish companies earning lots of money. Once I get here, though I am not earning much as a trainee, I feel pity for myself and other software people. Really software is not at all interesting, no interaction with people, no close friends in office, no time limits, no enjoyments, long big projects , we dont know where our work fits in the project,really very bad. I used to dream of going to US earning some money and returning to India spend quality time with my friends and family. But now I seriously thought of going to teaching in some local engineering college near to my home town.I am enlightened by my personal software experience as well as the above article.      by prakash nj_bits@yahoo.com
  4. Stop chasing money! You thought you were pretty smart, didn't you? If there's anything I've learned from this message board (especially the Clown story) it's DO WHAT YOU LIKE. Money is secondary.      by
  5. Hey all u nerds, seems to be frustrated with the Software field huh? Well let me tell u one more thing and u all will quit ur job in Software industry by tomorrow. A survey in Bangalore City revealed that impotency amongst Software guys is increasing rapidly. Not only that, the majority of couples seeking divorce, had either of the spouse in some Programming or Software job. <br />
    Even i had a dream of becoming the so-called "Software Engineer", but after joining one amongst top 10 Software firm in India, I felt i was no more than a technical labourer who does some sort of typing and data entry and collects his check at the end of the month. No social life, no friends(only email pals) no interaction, no sexual drive (wat else is left in life ?). So i m planning to leave this field as soon as possible. Hope all of u may also do the same and salvage ur soul and life.<br />
    <br />
         by Prashant
  6. First of all, before anybody chooses a career you should first make sure that this is what you want. Don't just do it for the money. I am a Software Engineer and I'm very happy about my career choice. Yes it gets stressing, but hey, what professional career doesn't require stress.      by Unregistered
  7. One year after I graduated with a Computer Science degree, I finally got a job as a Software Engineer. Yeah, the pay is definitely good and I love telling people that I'm an engineer, but not a single day goes by where I don't regret leaving my previous job. By the way, my previous job had absolutely nothing to do with software. I worked with great people, had a great view of the ocean, the works hours were awesome, the work was easy, and I wasn't stuck in a cube all day. So, why did I leave that job? Stupid me!! I blame myself for thinking that money and the status of being an engineer would bring me happiness. It certainly did not. I guess some people were just born to be software engineers. I'm not one of them. So, be careful what you wish for because you just might get it!!!!      by Unregistered
  8. That's very true. It sucks health also (I'm safe from that, but I see my frnz losing their health completely).
    So, my plan is "work smart. concentrate on getting into MBA. If could'nt, do any business. But, whatever happens - say bye bye to IT field in 2 yrs"      by Unregistered
  9. Hi.
    I just want you to know that there's a 20 years old guy who is studying Economics. I always wanted (bad) to be a race driver and I can be the best but there's nothing I can do because I don't have the money to go to Uk to get started. Life sucks.      by Unregistered
  10. No day goes by when i donot think of the moment i would quit my job.. Software Engineer ....pleases my family a lot.. huh....

    My time will come...but an assersion for all those who might still be in that place about to make a decision...
    Do your own thing..
    Remember Money gets u no pleasure whatsoever..so much for the swanky offices...i want to feel the sun... the rain...i want to live the way god meant us to live....atleast now i know

    just loving computers doesnt mean u make a carreer outta it..think think before u jump in... its the most vital decision u will ever make...

    my day will come too ...pretty soon..      by Just me
  11. I feel the same way. I started to feel like I had no soul after long programming hours. It's one of those things that you have to experience for yourself. It took away my social life. I felt that I was detached from this world and put into some black and white text prison. I found myself crying like a baby some nights but after I drank some beer I felt better. When I worked at a low paying warehouse job I used to think "oh life will be better when I'm a programmer" but it wasn't better. I didn't realise how much I value my friends and family until I started programming long hours. It is a lonely place when you program all day. My girlfriend left me because I was too focused. I will have to look for some other field. I will pick something that is balanced this time.      by festus999
  12. Hello All,
    I am also a software Engineer, was getting dam bored of work, was seeing around , suddenly thought that there may be many more ppl like me , who must have found som solutions to their prblms found this discussion interesting .

    Ya sometimes its too sucking , monotonous sitting and coding / testing for 12 hours a day or something like that .      by san3kor
  13. I have felt alot of this for a few years now. I think I even disliked SE and programming in general even in college but I kept it up for two reasons 1. I wanted to see if I could actaully be successful at it (I liked the challenge) and 2. because it had high job security after college and it paid well. Now its 2009 (I grauated in 2005) and I find myself disliking what I do for a living. Ill be honest with you, Im not a very good programmer. I think I could be, but let me ask you this, would you really wanna go the extra mile, and put in the extra effort to better yourself in somthing you are slowly starting to dislike? I have seen too many people who have been software engineers for years who are burnt up and burnt out. You can forget about doing much of anything outside programming (if you truly want to be good), and dont even get me started on lack of women. Actually one plus is, strangely I do like who I work with for the most part, but I also try to make a habit of getting along with people in general. I even had this crazy idea for a while that I would like to be a actor or a writer; I think it started apealing to me more because it was completely oppisite of what I do now. It is possible that Im simply not putting enough time into it to truly understand, which is why I dont like what I do. The worst part about all of this is that I know I should be happy. I have a job in these tough times that pays well, and yet the idea of well it could be worse just dosen't seem to overly motivate me. Ok so there is a lot more here that I would write, but I can feel myself going off on a tangent so I think I will stop here.      by Ken
  14. I was into art, sketching and creative activities from my childhood, but never opted into the same for obvious reason of Job Security. I work for a large Financial Software Development company and work on several assignments, enough to dull your mind and exhaust you to be dead by end of the day. Few days back I decided to pursue my creative activities and transform it into a career. There is a strong conviction that I will be able to break shackles of my current job in few years, and work on what I love. If I will be successful, I will come back on this blog and share the experience with all you good fellas.      by himanshu.kapoor
  15. It is really true that most of the scams ask for money for the registration.
    I myself have ever fall a victim and they scam me about $100 . In fact i will never forget it in my life.
    But how ever recently i joined a certain data entry site, as for them , they don't ask for any registration fee and they are really paying.
    I thing i will not be selfish to show you the site.
    look for them at : bondali.webs.com/      by myraf
  16. Couldn't agree more. I enjoyed the challenge of the first few years of this profession, but boy do I want to get out now. Why? Because of the isolation, the lack of contact with people. Software engineering is more team-oriented than it used to be, but at its core it's still you sitting on your own in front of a computer screen for long periods of time. I really notice how bad it is on those rare occasions when I spend most of my day with other people away from the computer, for example when I deliver training courses. On those days I feel energised, alive. The days back on my own leave me feeling tired and empty.

    Some people love software engineering but I'm not one of them. My exit strategy -- thankfully already in motion -- is to move full-time into user experience design, which requires the skills, attributes and knowledge I really enjoy and value: empathy, communication, creativity and a deep interest in people.      by aquinn
  17. I am new to IT with approx 3+years exp....
    There are pros and cons with all jobs... and there are reasons to be happy and sad in any job..

    But let us know how u have chagned your career and made urself happy?
    Happiness is where our heart is..
    but where our heart is, there not always the money is....
    Money is Honey      by smilekapoor
  18. I am now pursuing final year btech. i think am quite good in studies(but never care to study every day,only strts 3 or 4 weeks b4 exms) and luckily i've 77% (CUSAT)till s6.Coming to the point,i attended 1 camps selectn process for a sftware cmpny and i got expelled in GD.Actually am not intrstd to spend lot of time in frnt of computer and do crap coding..but now i feel quite sad and depressd coz i din't selectd and obviously my frnd's did although they r not as good as me (in academics :P)....i would lyk to be a prfessor and sure i paved my way for it(wrote gate exam and results'll be publshd aftr 2 days march 15)...but out of disappointmnt now i wish to clear a campus placmnt for a sftware cmpny and get a huuuuuuuge salary and show my frnds how much worth i am..But aftr reading ur experience i am confused...am not expecting huge rank in gate...but i think i might get into some average college with stipend......
    WAT SHOULD I've TO DO.....
    (1)TO ENTER INTO SOFTWARE JOB ..To save my face among teachers and frnds since i've avg marks and i dint evn placd while those who even got back papers does..(my presnt situation really suks
    (2)Or to get along to pursue my dream to do mtech and mmmmm... k tats it PHD....But while frnds are earning huge remmuneration i've to get satisfy with my meagre stipend(for 2yrs mtech and 4-5 yrs phd)..also my family is quite sound .my parents both've govt jobs..and am sure they can push me whr i want to......
    So if u read tis pls leave me an answer...(1) or (2) can do if u r too busy...FEEL FREE TO ADVICE ME>...i believe U ..THNX      by mr11mahesh
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