Why do I feel burnt out? (software engineering)

Just talking about some thoughts on burn out and some experiences that I have had and some advice I have on it.

### Twitch
Everything is built live on twitch

### Editor

### Links

#vim #programming #softwareengineering

[eesaaphilips]

kinda unrelated to this video. I applied what you said about googling less and trying to remember how I've done things before and it's helped a lot. Keep the good advice coming

[MrElderwand]

I just love this guy, he speaks his heart out!

[jed]

I remember asking you this exact question in your stream "how do you maintain your mental health as a software engineer?" and you answered "do not place your hope into your jobs" I didn't really get what you meant by that until I watched this video. Thank you for making this video :)

[greenpoprocket]

Been burning out for about three years, but couldn't justify it because I wasn't overworked. This video describes it PERFECTLY. It's boredom, stagnation, lack of energy from my peers, and expecting too much happiness from my job. It's changed who I am as a person, affected my relationships outside of work, everything. This video is the-most-on-point on the subject I've ever seen.

[fitsbachinteractive]

Not gonna lie, Primeagen is the discovery of my life. We are the same generation, have a similar background and energy.
I can relate to everything you say so much in most of your videos and when not, I learn about myself.
I'm not aware of any other Youtuber delivering content this way and let me tell you, that's extremely refreshing.
There's something about the little words you pick and the tone with which they are delivered.
Pure magic, keep going !

[Tavadi]

This came just at the right time! Thanks for sharing your experience

[taylorallred]

The way you described how you were bored at your job is exactly how I once felt. At first, I thought that as long as I was coding I would be happy but then I realized that I needed to feel more challenged to be fully engaged.

[bhargavpandya]

I have experienced 2 kinds of burnouts.
1) when the project you're in is absolutely boring, or too easy or something that I am not at all passionate about.
2) when my project is ridiculously hard and every feature you build, every bug you solve requires tremendous amount of knowledge than what you're used to consuming on a daily basis. Feels like drinking from a firehose!

but over time, I have personally experienced that you really do get used to the second type of burnout. and not only that, you overcome it entirely and adapt to it! You learn to make those huge leaps required to build that complex feature.

you need the right mindset, supportive group of peers to guide you, to get through the second one.
you need a new project or a new job to get through the first one.

[TomDoesTech]

Dudes leveling up in his wholesom advice. You're doing an amazing job.

[el_rymai]

Aside from burnout, your videos provide a lot of insight and it means a lot to me because I am an upcoming freshman in a few months. Thank you for being awesome. You also inspired me to pick up vim and I've been loving it. Hope you're doing well Mister.

[peacemekka]

Fixing the symptom instead of the problem. That hit me somewhere very deep in my heart. Thanks man.

[Pbertrand_dev]

I don't have a burnout but I can relate to the external circumstances impacting your work. Seeing the way the war has impacted my family/friends has also impacted my work and is generally a shadow over everything that has happened in the past 4 months. It has changed my productivity. Slowly getting better though.
Still have a lot of fun when coding, especially when I'm just playing around with new things for myself.
Currently fist deep into some new Laravel things and it is just interesting and fun.

Thanks for sharing this. Useful for both juniors/seniors to hear this.

[jimboxx]

Thank you for this video.

I kinda burned out in February this year and had to really do some soul-searching to figure out what happened.

- I got promoted into a new role I really didn't like and without much support.
- I lost all my tools to remove stress during the pandemic. No gym, no spa, no friends and family.
- I was also running a dnd campaign that was taking its toll on me (It's a lot of preparation) and was competing for my energy with work.
- There were a couple of things I didn't like at my last job that just grew worse over time.
- My house was a mess.

I'm lucky enough that I could afford time-off, figure out my issues and get back on track.
Always keep some $ for bad times people, you never know when you will need it.

[kerith]

I've been really burned out three times in my career. Honestly, your videos on vim and learning new things just lights a fire to program. You've already helped me conquer burnout, thanks for all the advice!

[matthiasdebernardini]

While it won’t prevent burnout, you can mitigate it by being healthy. No processed foods, no refined sugar, no seed oils, exercise, good sleep and get sun light. This advice is universal and highly effective.

[Wandering_Horse]

Man, so much to say on this one. Going through this process now. I am chasing a CS degree at age 52 and I have to say I am terrified I'm just not addressing my current issues. I do know I do not want to work on cars anymore, the burn out is severe and I am so deep on a current project that It would be such a dick move to walk away but....its just painful. Thanks for addressing a real issue that as you say affects everyone.

[onlyknows]

Man, I am at a job right now and the things that most make me burnout is: The people, the environment, poor management and communication. I expected things to get better but they didn't, good people who are one of the only things that are still holding me back in this company are leaving, deadlines aren't being met and higher ups are demanding more, so the only thing that is holding me now is the sense of obligation. I was actually thinking of getting a psychiatrist but I need to focus on the main issue and just leave BLAZINGLY FAST when I get the chance. Your advice opened my eyes, Thanks.

[vybhavab]

Felt that way for years. I think your main point on "not putting validation in your work" speaks numbers. Helped me a lot

[thomasmcnutt]

This hit home, I def put too much of my self worth into my career. Thanks for sharing!

[Cygx]

This is so relatable! I didn’t understand why anyone would want to leave a nice comfy job but just like you said, many don’t feel challenged enough!