Similar to JimtheCoder, I think it is experience. As a fresh faced college grad, I got hired at a bank. They have good recruitment, and a decade ago, the entire company was almost cult-ish (in the least bad way possible). The mission was constantly talked about, our members are the most important, we are helping members - our neighbors and public servants - with their problems, and every employee works toward that mission.
It felt really important. And to some extent you can still feel that in some places, even that bank.
However, as you get more experience, and you see the same political mid-management games play out, and you realize a lot of the cynical realities of things, you can lose energy. Or, perhaps you watch people not doing the right thing, but having no power to convince them to do otherwise.
Like an old man telling a child that digging a hole with a shovel is better than digging it with a rock and watching them continue to use the rock: you just get worn out.
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I agree with the main reply, that burnout is a thing, but that yes, it does help to be working on something you care about if you're going to put the level of mental effort required in software/IT. Sometimes I dream about being a bartender. You do your job, deal with the shit, and go home.
It felt really important. And to some extent you can still feel that in some places, even that bank.
However, as you get more experience, and you see the same political mid-management games play out, and you realize a lot of the cynical realities of things, you can lose energy. Or, perhaps you watch people not doing the right thing, but having no power to convince them to do otherwise.
Like an old man telling a child that digging a hole with a shovel is better than digging it with a rock and watching them continue to use the rock: you just get worn out. ---
I agree with the main reply, that burnout is a thing, but that yes, it does help to be working on something you care about if you're going to put the level of mental effort required in software/IT. Sometimes I dream about being a bartender. You do your job, deal with the shit, and go home.