👀 Have you ever thought of leaving Tech? Why? Feel free to share more in the comments!

Honestly yes, I would love to not be sitting on the computer all day. Ideally, I would want to own a small business that allows me to stand up, walk around, and talk to customers constantly. Not to mention, I’d be the owner of my own time.

Yes everyday. I’m very good at what I do but the environment sucks and pay is getting worse. No longer happy even though I love tech.

All the time. Its feels like tech leadership is getting more toxic and unhinged every day.

Field is absolutely cooked. Too many marketing weenies and tech "managers" with no background. Add on the H1-B visas that are clicky only hiring their own with no tangible skill set beyond their fake resumes and resumes.

aRtIfIciAl iNtElLiGiEnCe

Thinking about it now since it seems finding a job is impossible 😅

Just to add 2024 was the year a major outsource wave hit the US tech industry. Fewer jobs in the US but those who stick around have to deal with offshore teams with questionable work output. Latin American devs are good to work with since they seem very competent and closer to US time zones. I've entertained moving to Latin America just to take advantage and be outsourced myself 😆, but we'll see.

No, I’m not planning to leave Tech. I actually worked in a completely different industry before my first tech job, and I love it here. I’m constantly learning, the benefits and pay are great, and I get to work with talented colleagues. Am I spoiled? Maybe—but I’d never go back.

Yes leaving tech is a top priority for me. Tech is cruel these days the way they are doing people, and not worth any more of my effort.
Moving my Agile PM skills (hard and soft) to another industry where the over experienced and marurity are totally welcomed with open arms. There is so much opportunity! Tech has disguarded 'the mentors' they had on tap ready to give back to the junior employees on staff and new kids graduating out of college. Tech is so short sighted on attrition plans. Cheaper paid employees or new prospects with fresh degrees is not better, experience is worth gold. and you kick us to the curb. Hmmm.

Once you’re in tech there’s no going back. Benefits, pay, perks, growth and learning opps will be far better than any other company or industry

I've already taken three long breaks from my tech career. Each time it was after working for employers who overloaded their teams, didn't replace people who left, and slowly burned everyone out. I filled up my savings account then took an opportunity to do something else for 6+ months before I considered another job.

My current employer value bureaucracy and connections over engineering roadmaps and technical competence so I'll be moving on in the next few months while I still enjoy working in the field.

Yes. After 30 years. 6 months of job search, unemployment running out in a few weeks, and only a handful of interviews. Studying to go into healthcare (massage therapy) at age 60.

I've been thinking about it. I am in a dead end job with no hope of leveling up and no hope of a raise. I look at what skills and languages that are in demand right now and hearing about people struggling to find work makes me happy that I have a paying job, but makes me wonder if it will get better and scared to lose my job. I have thought about and wondered if I should break out on my own and start my own business, a franchise of something to pave my own way without relying on someone else for my success.

Not yet but I'm getting older and ageism is a reality in this business. I would hop to teaching or working with youth if I got pushed out or no one would hire me. But for now I'm pivoting within tech from backend to frontend/full-stack because the AI revolution is changing every industry and the tech overlords are pushing it down our throats. 😨☹️

As someone with over 30+ years of experience in the field, here’s my perspective:

Tech is a great field if you’re an “A”+ level software engineer fully immersed in AI, cloud computing, and machine learning. Having seen firsthand what top-tier engineers make, the numbers are mind-boggling—ranging from $250K to $800K or more.

However, if you’re a mid-level engineer or working at a smaller company, it’s often a rough ride. Job stability can be elusive, with many finding themselves out the door every 1–2 years.

For roles like project manager, scrum master, or product owner, it’s even tougher—the job market is highly competitive, and salaries are generally lower.

Leaving tech depends entirely on what you have lined up next. Personally, while I left the tech industry in a formal sense, I’m still involved in it to some degree. In today’s world, staying relevant means knowing how to leverage technology, regardless of the field you’re in.

if you can start something on your own and control your own destiny, that has its own rewards as long as you can manage the risk

Already left. The problem I find in corporate IT (other than the usual socio-political issues in every workplace these days) is that we have become non-managers who manage now. We do not have managerial powers or authority but are now required to manage employees and systems, conduct audits, and do more managerial duties and responsibilities without any of the authority or pay. Become way more responsibility than the positions pay is worth, and you have no teeth to enforce, and you get used as a scapegoat by management.

Yes, and I finally left it sort of. I was burned out from being on call 24 / 7 / 365 for other peoples code.
I left and started working on my own. I am no longer on call and I don't have to answer to ignorant managers who know nothing about coding.

Tech has left me. I'm a software developer/programmer. After more than 40 years, and dozens of employers and fun projects. Mostly as an independent contractor/consultant some as an employee. The last five companies I have had contact with have collectively left a bad taste in my mouth. Bait-and-switch jobs, hostile coworkers, incompetent and/or dysfunctional management, and an employer going into receivership leaving us all out of 10s of thousands $. Now I'm running into ageism, lack of support for borderline-spectrum and a lack of remote jobs. I've worked 5 months out of the last 24. All the places I used to see a combined 10-20 jobs I could apply for each week now might have 5 each month all together. It's gotten to the point where I've completely given up applying for any jobs and basically retired. I don't need the rudeness and aggravation.

Constantly. However, my experience and options are technical roles outside of tech, and it's pretty much just a less-equipped version of the same thing. At least I have all the resources I need to not do my job in tech vs no resources and less technical coworkers.

Yes, for over 25 years because little stability. However, tech is fascinating and makes the days fly by.

I was told by a wise career transition expert in 2003 if I choose to stay in tech, then save lots of money when times are good and be prepared for jobs to end in a few years with gaps between. It was 100% true. Lost track of layoffs.

Except now with ageism in the USA, workers in tech over 40 or with disabilities are more likely to be stalked, harassed, and fired for cause by a for-profit tech company than laid off. Or not be interviewed at all. Or go through 10-12 hours of interviews and tests as the “diversity” candidate in the panel, being asked to produce work samples that solve the company’s real business problems for free.

Why the firing instead of layoff for older and disabled workers? HR facts leading to ageism. Now as employees age in the USA, their medical insurance premiums go up for the company plus their salaries are higher. If a company does a layoff or they fire without cause, a company's unemployment rate goes up because the state often requires the person be paid unemployment. Companies must also justify layoffs for people in protected classes (age, disability, race). So, there is an ugly money game being played in for-profit tech companies often.

In that case, tech contract work may actually be easier in some ways. Easy to get the job. Often more defined and structured. If it doesn't work out, either of you just end the contract. Some people start their own consulting business for these reasons.

There are more stable places with lower wages to use tech skills. Examples: government agencies, non-profits, orgs with unions, and rare for-profit tech companies whose owners value and retain their experience. Look at the company's website and their LinkedIn, using the People function plus use the reviews here. Does the job description value “experience” or does it say the opposite?

Sometimes I didn't work in tech. But honestly, I got bored and missed it.

I was laid off last February (I’ve been marketing software and tech my entire career) and took a month off everything. Looking for work, just decompressing. .Finding a marketing job is almost impossible. Ghosting, applications that are never viewed, too many applicants to begin with, and so on and so on. I was lucky - I have a side hustle. It never made $, but I turned my attention to it, and it is slowly growing. It will never pay me what tech did, but…I am the happiest I’ve ever been. And because I was laid off during the dot com days of the early 2000s - I was prepared for this one. So I’m hoping someday (sooner vs. Later) it’ll turn around and pay my month,y expenses. Fingers crossed.