Ask HN: I've lost interest in software, what next?

[throwaway123198]

My profile. Mid-30s, manager of ML team at a Saas startup.

Academic background: ee degree + msc in data science

Professional background: over a decade in financial space and tech doing software and ML

I just have lost interest in this whole thing and any motivation to keep going.

Thinking of pursuing something like industrial automation.

Currently married with kids and living in the US on a visa, maybe might get a GC this year if things don't blow up.

What are suggestions on other paths to pursue? Just want to do something more real than enterprise Saas or adtech.

[codegeek]

"living in the US on a visa"

If you want to stay in the US, focus on getting that Green Card first. Everything else is moot at this point because without a Permanent Residency or Citizenship, your choices are extremely limited anyway.

[throwandoawando]

I'm a bit older, but can relate to the "lost interest in software" because of the uselessness of most software I see around.

I look at the job ads and for most of them: 1) I don't see myself fitting and/or 2) I could not care less for what they are doing.

So trying to look deeper into my soul, considering something on the verge of software and hardware, related to helping humans, or trying to get to academia.

I don't have a solution for you, but for sure, look deep inside you - if there were no social / financial / ego constraints and the possibilities were endless, what would you choose?

Also curious about a post-mortem - come back to share here when you've figured out.

[JohnBrookz]

Why not do something you care about? I started a company recently making apps for comic book collectors and it’s been more fulfilling than anything else I’ve done.

[Fr3dd1]

What is it, that sparks your interest in industrial automation? I would recommend on focusing on the stuff you want to instead of focusing what you dont want to do. So dont think about "I dont want to stay in ML" but for example more about "I want to see a physical occurence of what I contributed to"

[fuzzfactor → Fr3dd1]

>Thinking of pursuing something like industrial automation.

>industrial automation?

>lost interest in software, what next?

Might have answered your own question. Hardware.

[cdnsteve]

What are you interested in? Go levels deeper. Have you found people in that field and chatted with them?

Do you have active hobbies and things your interested in that are not computer related?

Sometimes energy comes from recharging outside work with hobbies and passion projects, experiences with family and friends.