Burnout in tech is hard. I’ve experienced it twice in my career, and it negatively influenced every aspect of my life.

The first time was in early 2022. The second was just months ago, but I managed it more efficiently this time. I had learned the hard way how to detect the red flags and stop right there: no more work, cutting off all links to work. I even abandoned a project I was developing for a special client dear to me. I never abandoned my work before, but this time it was either me or that project. Burnout is hard.

It’s funny how much clearer the vision is when the storm is behind us. I took the time to reflect on the reasons behind my two burnout episodes, and much to my surprise, I discovered that it wasn’t because of overwork or project-specific pressure. No! It was mainly because I worked as a software developer in a tech stack I didn’t choose and with technologies I didn’t like. I’ve done full-stack development for about 13 years non-stop.

But we’re engineers, right? We’re pragmatic and supposed to solve problems, not live the tech-stack drama! Absolutely correct, but I don’t care. Not anymore.

I took an undefined time off months ago to explore new things. I like software engineering and technical challenges, so doing something else is out of the question. I needed fresh air, to touch on new things, to dive deep into low-level programming (like Rust), to explore some controversial technologies (like Blockchain), and to reinvent some wheels.

Now, I’m on to new shores.