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I have had experiences in 2 programming environments so far and both have had really stressful environments. I am unhappy currently, but unsure whether the third experience could be worse than the second. I am stuck between staying and leaving. Is stress normal in programming environments? Have you ever been in such a situation and how was the next job environment? |
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From my experience, you are always going to run into stressful situations - no matter how well managed and well documented something may be, there can be emergencies, crunch times, deadlines, etc. That said, there are several factors here you need to consider: How well managed are your projects? A poorly managed project with few or no milestones can easily go sour fast. If this is the case, both your previous jobs may have been unnecessarily stressful, but another company with another approach may be a better fit. Is this typical of the industries you are working? Some jobs are easy - low pressure with low expectations because you aren't doing mission critical work. Others are in many ways have a lot riding on the quality of work you are producing, which can impact how much pressure is involved with the tasks. Have you considered that you are the reason for the stress? Being self critical and over analyzing problems leads to stress to the exceptionally detail oriented. Having a lack of passion (which you seem to indicate) can make complex tasks feel even more insurmountable. Your perceptions may be causing the problems at hand. If you answer yes to 1 or 2, this is completely environmental and you can solve this problem yourself, you just need to very upfront with potential employers that you are interested in their working environment. If the answer is 3, that is something that will follow you as long as you are unhappy or disinterested in your work. |
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Most of my jobs have been low-to-no stress (and I've been a professional programmer since the 80's), so I know it's possible to have a stress-free career in programming. It depends a lot on you -- you need to seek out technologies, products and companies that promote the kind of environment you want. For example, if you want no stress, don't try to get a job as a game programmer for a large company such as EA. Also, when searching for a job, don't misrepresent yourself. If you claim you have experience in something but really don't, working with that technology will be stressful because you won't be able to meet expectations. Do your job well, and be smart about where you work and you can have an entire career that is largely stress-free. I know it's possible because I've done it. |
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There is always going to be some stress at work no matter what the job (programming included). No job is stress free all the time. But one needs to find a comfort level. Some things that can cause stress
If the boss is causing stress, another job (or another boss) may help as it will be a different boss. But some things cannot be helped. If it's a fast pace environment and your not a fast paced worker then expect a high amount of stress. If there are deadlines and your not used to deadlines, expect a high amount of stress. Examine what causes your stress and then take steps to make it less stressful. This could be new job or adapting to your current job. |
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This might depend on how long you are at the job. To me for example first 3-6 months are stressful always. It usually takes me a year or even more to figure whether the job is comfortable to me or not. Can't say how long it should take to know for sure but I think that if you feel more stress than fun after 1.5-2 years at the job, it is quite a bad sign. |
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I would start looking for another job now. In interviews for your next job, explain your experience with other programming environments, and ask what your potential next employer does to keep stress low. Take note of how organized their shop is--a lot of stress can from a clusterf*ck. Also, maybe it's you. I've found that a little self-confidence and not being afraid to ask questions has gone a long way towards reducing my stress at work. |
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Yes, because tech companies are under intense competition regardless of the business cycle, and R&D is considered in some corporations to be an overhead expense. However, the degree of stress depends directly on management (it may be a different team has different management style so changing teams is an option, or perhaps the CEO heavily dictates the management style in which case changing companies is the only option). If a company culture talks about "work/life balance" then it is a hint that they are attempting to focus on managing stress. |
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I'm guessing you've been working as a web programmer doing front-end work. Let me know if I'm right or wrong before I elaborate. |
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