If Your Tech Job is Comfortable, You're in Danger

Is your tech job feeling a little too comfortable? You might be unknowingly putting your career at risk. In the fast-paced world of technology, complacency can lead to career stagnation, limiting your earning potential and jeopardizing your job security.

In this video, we'll uncover:

The Hidden Dangers of Comfort in Tech Jobs
- How staying in your comfort zone can make you obsolete in a rapidly evolving industry.

Signs You're Experiencing Career Stagnation
- Recognize the red flags that indicate you're not growing professionally.

The Importance of Continuous Skill Development
- Why updating your skills is crucial for career advancement and remaining competitive.

Strategies to Overcome Complacency
- Practical steps to reignite your passion and drive in your tech career.

Exploring Self-Employment and Tech Consulting
- How becoming self-employed or starting a solo venture can enhance your career growth.

Don't let the comfort of today become the regret of tomorrow. It's time to take control and ensure you're not left behind in the ever-changing technology industry.

CHAPTER MARKERS

0:00 Introduction
1:29 1 A Story of Me Getting Trapped
2:59 The Illusion of Security
5:00 2 Signs Your Tech Job is Too Comfortable
5:26 2.1 Lack of Learning
6:18 2.2 Routine Work with Repetition
7:05 2.3 No Networking
8:44 2.4 Content with The Status Quo
9:25 3 The Consequences of Complacency
9:45 3.1 Career Stagnation
11:31 3.2 Job Insecurity
12:12 3.3 Reduced Earning Potential
12:30 3.4 Missed Opportunities
13:19 4 Solutions for Growth when You've Become Complacent
14:41 4.1 Continuous Learning
16:50 4.2 Skills Diversification
18:29 4.3 Consider Self-Employment Benefits
19:28 Career Compass Tech Career Coaching Package

#TechCareer #CareerGrowth #SkillDevelopment #TechConsulting #SelfEmployment

[renatonascimento]

We're entering an era where even workaholics are at risk. I'm doing the bare minimum to stay competitive and trying not to freak out.

[LucasGrecco]

My next move in tech will be to open a small coffee shop and say goodbye to all this BS!

[koerperkontrolle]

Me to myself: "Calm down anxiety, things will be ok, let me just watch some youtube to relax"
Youtube:

[Themanwhoponders]

For real, I got laid off 2 weeks ago on my 2 years job.. I am intermediate developer and I'm doing my best to read the senior level, but ill be honest.. Im getting tired of the corporate world.

[bowuf]

So 25+ years in the career.. and my area of expertise is APIs.. and I can't find a job to save my life. Part of the problem honestly is the beyond ridiculous expectations of roles now. You have to be expert + many years experience in front, back, db, devops, deployment, security and more.. to be considered. Then you are given multiple leet code tests in interviews.. as if the past 25 years of my career was writing algo style code that I did back in college. It's such a shit way to gauge someone's skills. "You didnt solve this intermediate in 20 minutes with perfect answers.. you cant code". I can code.. my side projects tell me I can. But trying to compete for jobs with 100s of other developers.. forget it. I dont know if my tech job career is over or what, but it's by far much worse than it was in 2008.

[PixelOutlaw]

I think it's perfectly fine to get comfortable at a job. If your day job isn't a death treadmill of never-ending hipster technologies with an 83% burnout rate I think that's a good thing.

This will leave you energy to work on personal projects which are infinitely more interesting and challenging.

[NoahNobody]

My company is doing everything possible to reassure us that our jobs are safe, while at the same time every now and then lay someone off with the promise that it will never happen again.

[Jollyprez]

Worst thing is to be the BEST at something in your company.

[JT-mrdb]

I started my career in cushy and cozy engineering positions where you are protected by a team of much more experienced engineers. It’s truly a wonderful way to get started.

But when I eventually moved to a higher position at another company where there was no protection, only pressure and time constraints. That’s where I sharpened my skills.

It was incredibly uncomfortable, but necessary.

[desimaangalwa]

I was at this place 4 years ago. In small startup moving from attachment to team lead in 2 yrs, i had many crowns and owned a big seat. I burned out & resigned. Took me 7 months to get next role in a more serious scale up, with more senior engineers. It was really hard for me to catch up but i learned a lot leaving as mid-level engineer. Am now a senior frontend in another startup for last 1 month. The job is too easy(though good benefits), manual processes everywhere team is too young and doing my first mistakes. Am really careful and i know what i want and where i want my career to head. Thanks man for this pod. Am awake

[martind.]

The problem with focusing on growth when you're unemployed in a dismal job market is that you, as an individual, have to take on all the risk of investing in new learning; meanwhile, your funds are depleting and there's nobody to help you. Your life and your family enter a death spiral and it's the end not just of your career, but your life.

[ChrisIsOutside]

I no longer have full-time staff, but when I did, we used to always dedicate Fridays as "growth day". Growth day is when we finish up anything that was due at the end of the week in the morning asap, then we would work on experimental stuff. whatever it was, the point was to grow. either as a business or as a person. so it could be working on our processes, creating new ones etc... working on internal frameworks or learning new tech (together). I still do it as a solo act :D

[bigneiltoo]

In most industries they have Wellness checks.
In software they have Hellness checks.
If you're happy someone will take notice and they'll have a closed door meeting soon.
In 100% of cases they'll use the word 'performance'.
In 0% of cases will you be allowed to take any standardized tests.

[DevinRhode]

Dude. The inter mingling of guitar is incredible. I actually listen to the next thing you say after the guitar

[isomochyn]

I am currently working through this situation, got complacement and stayed at the same company too long working on old tech and not growing. I decided to leave that job for mental health reasons and quickly found that many skills were outdated and having difficulty finding something else. I am still applying but after a short break back to learning and even starting to enjoy coding again.

[hphp]

One way to deal with pressure from bosses has been to outright lie. Looks like they expect it. When they say "hurry" say "Yes, I will do it asap!" then proceed to realise that your life is actually not a sprint but a marathon. Not even a series of sprints (no matter what scrum is trying to tell you.. when you have one sprint, and then a second one, that second one is no longer a sprint)....

So when your boss say "hurry" you just mod, be polite to their miserable outlook on life and go get that done with your own pace. Don't hurry. It won't pay back if you hurry. Just do the job. In the end any progress is progress and they can't really tell how fast it should be.

[Refactor-igsc]

I worked for companies for about 18 years. Then I got laid off. I switched to freelancing because that was more promising than finding another 9-5 in the current job market. I just got to my one year anniversary freelancing. I’ve been able to do a wider variety of work and wear many more “hats” and am enjoying it! I’ve gotten to do my own project management, more design work, and even some temp hiring for specific projects that needed a team, and learning more about working with clients directly. Learning a new language is liking picking up a took off the shelf and simply using it… all of this other stuff is more valuable and more exciting. My current niche is working with small businesses and startups. I think my adaptability is especially important for these clients since they don’t have a full engineering team and they need someone who can dive in and figure things out. Of course, you make less money if your clients have limited funds, but the growth and freedoms is worth it. Should have done this sooner.

[viperjay]

I have been in the tech support side, 14 years at the same nonprofit. I was Laid off in 2022 after there was change in management and they decided to outsource the tech department. My network's ghosted me or told me that "if I hear anything, I'll let you know". I can't even get a job at local business.. I was Always there early (even though I live an hour and a half away) team supportive, covered on weekends so others can have days off. I even came to work even though I was very sick. So now I am here 2 years out of work and not even be able to flip an hamburger.

[anicemind]

I follow you with great interest. I have been working in software development for over 40 years. Almost 30 of those years as a freelancer. It wasn't always easy, but I was quite independent and self-organized. But because I got involved with the wrong "partners" in the end, I had to go bankrupt.
I have now been in permanent employment for 4 years. A regular, good salary, 30 days' vacation, free weekends (Germany), home office.
But none of that makes me happy and satisfied. On the contrary, I'm well on the way to depression. That's why I'm doing everything I can to be self-employed, independent and responsible again in my late 50s. Preferably with my own product. Without a partner. I'm prepared to take risks to achieve this. That's still much, much better than this dreary and boring existence as an employee. But of course that's just my personal view and experience.

[masatanida]

This is really good advice. I am now almost 18 years into my career, and I've seen this happen to many of my peers. When you're paid a decent amount and you have a comfortable job, it is easy to coast and get complacent. But if you ever lose that comfortable job, it will be incredibly difficult to find a new one. I've seen my friends struggle for up to a year to find a new job after being let go, despite having years of experience, because they coasted for too long and their skills deteriorated and the technology they'd been working with had become outdated.