Is Software Development the WRONG Career Path for You?
Written by Hendrik. Nov 12, 2021
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10 min read
Wrong Career Path as a Software Developer
Not everyone that enjoys writing code is born to be a developer. If you've stumbled upon this post by some series of misclicks, then you might be asking yourself the following question:
"Is a software development career right for me?"
Although I don't have an exact answer to this question, I can elaborate on my recent experiences in determining that a career as a programmer is wrong for me. I've since switched to being a Solutions Architect.
Table of Contents
- Turning Your Hobby Into a Career
- Signs That Software Development Is the Wrong Career Path for You
- Alternative Career Paths to Software Development
- Conclusion
Turning Your Hobby Into a Career
After high school, I didn't know what I wanted to study. I liked computers, so I started studying computer science. As it turns out, programming can be pretty fun. Writing code, listening to music, being in the flow of things and forgetting the world around you. Experiencing this for the first time was intoxicating. It didn't take long before I landed my first job as a software developer.
It was fun at first, learning how professional software is developed, learning about new technologies and processes like SCRUM. I even started pursuing a master's degree in computer science. I was certain to have found my professional calling.
However, after about a half year of non-stop developing, the tides started to shift. Suddenly, I wasn't enjoying programming anymore. I started to write less and less code outside of work, lacking the motivation to do the same thing in my free time as what I do at my job.
"Don't turn your hobby into your profession."
I didn't think this would apply to programming, but everything I did at work started lacking quality. And it showed. Writing code no longer had the same enjoyment as it did before.
Signs That Software Development Is the Wrong Career Path for You
Maybe you're also CS student who also has their first job on the side. Or maybe you've already started as a full-time developer somewhere, and you're feeling doubt. If you're worried that a software development career might not be right for you, then here are some signs to look out for (based on personal experience). Note that I only experienced these things after about 1 year of working as a software developer
- Procrastinating writing code: Having just been assigned a new ticket, I immediately started procrastinating. Before, new tasks were a breath of fresh air. A new challenge to conquer. While losing my motivation for programming, I started to procrastinate. I knew what I had to implement and how to do it, but I couldn't bring myself to doing it. I didn't want to read into the code, and I lacked any sort of motivation to write.
- Dozing off during pair-programming: Instead of utilizing pair-programming as a way to collaborate and write quality code, I used it to get out of having to write code on my own, and instead mentally dozed off while doing so. The guilt accompanied by it didn't make things better.
- Bothered by code review process: After having painfully finished implementing a ticket after all, the review process began. Not being born to program, I always had several areas in my implementations that needed refinement. The vicious cycle of procrastination continued, even if there weren't many changes to be made.
- Can't establish an overview of the code: I don't know what caused this lack of focus, but I remember not being able to concentrate on reading code long enough to understand what it was doing and how it related to everything else. As soon as that set in, though, I quickly lost an overview of the project as a whole. This only made it harder to write code for the project.
- Prolonged imposter syndrome: I felt imposter syndrome from my first day of work. Everyone always said that it'll go away given enough time. It never did for me, though. I felt like an imposter (maybe because I was one) until my last day as a software developer before switching roles.
- Not contributing during SCRUM ceremonies: Although I knew a lot about our project, and could certainly have contributed more thoughts and ideas during our SCRUM ceremonies, I never did anymore. I didn't care what tickets needed to be refined, what problems newly arose in the last sprint, etc.
Before figuring out that software development was wrong for me, I was banging my head trying to figure out what was wrong with me. Why wasn't I enjoying programming as much as I used to? I knew that I wanted to be a developer. Maybe I was just burned out?
Alternative Career Paths to Software Development
After many, long talks with the people around me, I started to realize that software development was the wrong career choice for me. I love the process as a whole, I just didn't want to be writing the code at the end of it. Realizing, and later accepting, this was a turning point for both my career and my mental health.
If you're in a similar boat, then talk to the people around you who have professional experience in your field. Get their input on things and try to determine if a new role might be better for you.
If you enjoy the software development process as a whole, and enjoy working on projects in general, then a different role within the development process might be suitable to you. Maybe one of the following career paths are a viable alternative.
- Solutions Architect: An SA is responsible for determining how technology can be used to solve business needs. This means figuring out if a problem can be solved and creating an overview blueprint of the project.
- Product Owner: A PO is the central knowledge carrier and acts as a connection between the development team and a customer. Product owners are responsible for carrying out the vision of the product and accomplishing the set milestones.
- Quality Assurance A QA tests the quality of a product and makes sure that a product is void of defects. In software development, this often means trying out the developed product's UX and testing edge cases.
For me, the most important part of this process was changing my mind set. Before, I thought that I had failed as a software developer. It felt like I had wasted a lot of time on the wrong career.
Changing my mindset and realizing that it wasn't a waste of time was a big help. Figuring out what you don't want to do in life is valuable. The experience that I gained in my 2 years as a professional software developer is something invaluable to my new role as a solutions architect. A role which I wouldn't even have without my prior experience.
Conclusion
If the motivation to do something meaningful is there, then it's just about finding the right path to pursue. If you're in doubt whether a software development career is right for you, get some input from the people around you. If you do realize that it's time for a career change, then accept it and make the best of it. Your knowledge and experience from software development will be invaluable, no matter what you do.
Thanks for reading my post. I’d love to get feedback from you, so feel free to shoot me a tweet!
- Hendrik
