Hi all

I’ve been working as a software developer for the past few years and frequently decided to leave a company/project myself because I could not find the motivation to keep working for it.

First, I was questioning whether software development was really for me. But in my spare time, I still enjoyed writing small useful tools, configuring my linux desktop and self-hosting.

I recently realised that my demotivation is mostly due to the kind of software I was working on for the companies I worked for. Usually building APIs to facilitate sales/marketing for products I don’t really care for. Or configuring some unnecessarily complicated ERP/CRM microsoft stack.

Instead, I would like to work on software that I use myself. Or at least on something that will useful for other people in the future, not just boost the sales of some company.

But I’m not sure where to look. It seems like jobs focusing on free/libre software are difficult to find (Or I don’t know how to look) and the few I find seem to be looking for senior profiles much more experienced than me.

Anybody have some tips or places I can start looking? Honesly I would prefer to just contribute to some project for free, but I don’t really have the option to do so at the moment.

Thanks!

  • arxdat@lemmy.ml
    0·
    1 month ago

    I understand your frustration; many of us have been there, myself included. After 20 years in engineering, I’ve come to realize a few things. The daily grind for a corporation can indeed be tedious and full of disappointments. Often, it feels like we’re just completing meaningless tasks for someone else’s vision. Our minds wander to our own projects and ideas, and it’s tempting to start prototyping those instead of focusing on work.

    This feeling of unfulfilled potential isn’t going away because we can see how much better things could be. But here’s what I remind myself: I am fortunate to have a stable job, even if it’s programming mundane things for average needs. This stability allows me the luxury of working on my own projects after hours. Without this job, I’d likely be stuck in gig work, struggling with low pay and irregular hours.

    So, I view the routine work as a necessary “tax” I pay to secure personal time for my own creative endeavors. It’s a trade-off that provides income and stability, enabling me to pursue my passions on my terms.