Is the software industry inherently low in job satisfaction? [closed]

Question

• Working all day in the same place
• With the same people
• Doing the same tasks
• With no tangible output
• And no physical activity

Does this bother you at all?

I'm nearly through a year-long software engineering internship at an oil services company and I'm thinking about dropping software and doing my masters in Petroleum Engineering with a view to moving on to a job as a Field Engineer, travelling regularly and servicing oil wells. Working here has given me an insight into the industry but perhaps the most imporant lesson learned has been that work is not just about getting money: its about your lifestyle and so many other things.

I like programming but I don't think I could be happy with the 9-5 lifestyle forever, and especially not while I'm still young -

• I want a job that allows me to travel,
• to meet people, to do something physical
• and with an actual tangible output -

all the things that a software job just doesn't seem to give.

I have so much energy and I feel like working in an office all day just sucks it all away, like I'm wasted in this environment.

So has anyone been through this? Are you happy with your job or do you miss certain things?

Considering the bullet points, do you think the software industry is inherently low in job satisfaction?

Answer 1

I think your bullet points could describe almost any office job.

Personally I think job satisfaction has a great deal to do with the company you work for, what you do in the IT field, and who you are. For example, I like the company I work for, the people I work with, the work I do is different almost daily, the lack of physical activity doesn't bother me, and I actually do see some output of the items I work on (sometimes not daily, but fairly frequently).

Programming isn't for everyone, so if you think you would be happier elsewhere, I'd say go for it. But understand that your experience with one company does not represent the whole industry.

Answer 2

Working all day in the same place

If the place is nice, why not?

With the same people

If the people are nice, why not?

Doing the same tasks

If it's clearning sugar factory silos (containing beet chunks, not candies), that may be disturbing, but if you are passionated with software development, why not?

With no tangible output

The tangible output is what your company does. You contributed to that. It's your output.

And no physical activity

That's why it's necessary to take regular pauses and do at least 3h of sports per week.

Conclusion

It's more the way you view your situation that makes it painful.

Change the way you look at your current situation, or change something.

Answer 3

I'm not sure you could ever make a flat statement like "software development is inherently unsatisfying", mainly because different people find satisfaction in different things.

I love puzzles, always have. I find software engineering a great exercise in puzzle solving. The mental engagement of it is enormously stimulating to me. The fact that I do it sitting in the same place mostly on my own doesn't particularly bother me.

From what you've said, I think you're dead on to ask yourself whether a career as a developer is right for you. There are people who are perfectly suited for more physical, more outdoor, more sociable positions. What's going to be best for them is to find such a position.

Answer 4

• I want a job that allows me to travel,
• to meet people, to do something physical
• and with an actual tangible output -

Well being a contractor/freelance software developer would allow you to travel and meet people - not all software development jobs are the same and you only stay in the same office if you work for the same company (and perhaps not even then). Also taking a more customer facing role (support engineer, project work rather than product work) would allow you to meet more people.

Unfortunately for you software development is not a physical activity and the output is only tangible if you look at what your software does.

So if these are the requirements you must have from any job then software development is not for you.

Answer 5

"Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life."

--Attributed to Confucius, Gandhi, and any number of other people

Extremely corny, very simplified, primarily true...

Answer 6

I'm still young -

• I want a job that allows me to travel

As long as you can choose when and where your travel, all well and good. But the day you have partner and family, having to jet away to the other side of the world for weeks at a time won't seem so sexy.

That doesn't mean don't go through with your plan, just bear in mind that you won't always be young, free and single :).

Answer 7

The task that you are hired to do is only one of many factors that lend to job satisfaction.

I used to be a system and security type programmer; I switched to web development because I like the lifestyle better. I don't love PHP, but I love work again, so I'll suck it up on the programming language. One of my former cow-orkers accused me of going soft: I asked him to describe his cubicle, then pointed out that I was poolside watching my kid play and working from my laptop. Maybe I have gone soft, but I'm happy. :P

Figure out what talents you have to make you valuable to a company. Then figure out what kind of company you want to work for, and find a position where the two intersect. Some things to think about:

• What kind of work/life balance are you looking for?
• Where and how much do you wish to travel?
• What kind of corporate culture do you thrive in?
  Are you all business, or do you do better in a more casual atmosphere? Competitive, cooperative, or some point midway between the two? Do you prefer a geek-oriented workplace, or can you thrive with business school grads dominating the scene? Do you work better in small, closely knit teams, or in bigger departments? etc.
• Do you prefer to be always learning, or do you want a job where you are asked to adapt less?
• Do you want the responsibility (and are you obsessive enough) for founding a start-up and making it successful, or are you more comfortable working your way up the ladder at a larger more established company? Or are you willing to trade stability for variety and work as a consultant?
• Are you okay with most of your family and friends having absolutely no idea what you do for a living? (This used to really bother me, it doesn't any more, but not everyone gets over it so easily.)

Answer 8

I don't think the job satisfaction is low in this industry. I repeatedly cuss at my computer on a daily basis, but in between these valleys lie many peaks.

If I want to meet new people, I go to a bar. Unlike this fantasy job you describe, the requirement of meeting new people means you have to deal with people you don't like. You don't like a customer? Tough, they're paying your salary. Yes, you will get to go and enjoy the great outdoors, but not on your terms. You're going to get old and tired and have to stand out in the middle of nowhere (Which has never been on the Travel Channel.) freezing you tail off.

No job is perfect; stop expecting it to be. Get a life. Get a hobby(s). Take a vacation. Call your parents if you can. Find someone to share your life, but don't expect to find 100% of this in a job.

Some days you don't get to get up when you want, do whatever you want, with whoever you want, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drinking Cognac.

Answer 9

I don't know about software development being inherently especially low in job satisfaction, but dare I say it mostly does have the same issues as any other office "knowledge work" job. ie Pretty much what your bullet points describe.

I think this comes from evolution. I read an interesting take on this on a forum a while back: humans evolved for millions of years living in small, tribal groups as hunter gatherers. We are evolved for hunting, gathering, and directly working outdoors for our immediate food and shelter. And for living closely and intimately with family groups and friends. The office environment (and "work" and "money" in general even) abstracts this away and alienates us. We are no longer directly hunting and gathering and socialising for our food and shelter, but doing arbitrary things for pieces of paper, which we then exchange other things.

The issue is: the modern living environment, paid work, and money itself - are actually quite a poor model for how we evolved. It's extremely alienating. Few people actually truly thrive in your typical factory environment or cubicle farm. The only saving grace is if you truly love what you do, and/or love the people you work with. But this is where the angst over "work" comes from - it is simply an unnatural way to be - to do arbitrary tasks for some symbolic value tokens for some faceless entity. It goes against the very fibre of our being, of how humans evolved. - I think this is why a lot of us are attracted to the idea of doing something "hands-on", and "out in the world", rather than being cooped up in offices or factories doing relatively more arbitrary, non-directly-hands-on, tasks.

All that philosophy aside - it really comes down to the old cliche of finding something you love to do. Though I think "love" is a strong term. Even just "finding something you can tolerate" can be sufficient.

Personally, I'm quite burned out at the moment with it all too (see: this). So I'm quitting next month and taking some time off to decompress, travel, and possibly even work some casual labouring jobs to get my perspective back. I gotta agree with Joel Spolsky on this one: sabbaticals are a great idea. After 3-4 years of sitting in the same cubicle, working on relatively the same thing, I start to feel "funny", no matter how good the job is. Taking 6-12 months completely away from that environment will do wonders to reset my brain. I'm sure of that. :)

Answer 10

Not at all. I've been working in the field of warehouse management systems for many years, and this job included many travels, different people, different countries etc. "Doing the same task" is, to some extend, true for every job in the world. If you want tangible output, learn Mandarin and move to china. Because that's the place where tangible output is made in these times.

Answer 11

As far as physical activity is concerned... you build that into your routine.

I, for example, get depressed very quickly if I do not work out almost every day. My body needs it, so I do it every single day. Being a Software Engineer does not stop me from being healthy and in good shape.

Answer 12

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Traveling gets old. Staying in hotels, even really nice ones, gets old. Not being able to forge deep relationships because you're never in the same place for more than a week or two at a time gets really old. Taking off your shoes every time you want to board a plane isn't even fun when you're traveling for pleasure; the annoyance factor is significantly higher when you have to do it as part of your job. Constantly flying around the country but never having time to stop and look around at your destinations makes the whole world seem like one giant cubicle farm.

You can list the negative aspects of any job, any part of life. If you can't see the positive side, then you may indeed be in the wrong line of work (no matter what kind of work you do). Here are some potentially rewarding aspects of software development:

• talking to people who use your software and hearing about the impact it has on their lives
• solving problems
• the magical feeling of seeing something that you created work for the first time (and the second, and the third...)
• working a relatively normal schedule that lets you spend part of your life doing other things

Answer 13

I love my job as a programmer/software engineer! And according to US News and World Report, I am apparently in good company! - Software Developer is ranked number 7 in their list of the 100 best jobs for 2012