What do I do about my career?

Question

I aimed to be good engineer but was never able to score good marks during my engineering due my habit of being not in

touch with reality (I used to be in my own world). Inspite of this I managed a first class in one of the tough universities in my final year.

Due to market situation, my immature thinking I landed up in Quality Assurance Job in a software company. On the basis

of my hard work and out of box thinking I managed similar job in a top MNC. In this MNC I worked very hard and proved

myself so these people agreed to give me a chance in development in C++. I have waited for this oppurtunity for 2 years

now, in this 2 years my career has progressed little. Had I opted for any other job in QA outside this MNC I would have landed

up in better package and oppurtunity. Now that I have 4 years of experience in software QA and I have this oppurtunity

to work in software development there is no work here. For this switch I gave up on higher designation and higher package.

So I am just wasting my time. The situation looks like I will have to wait and fight to get good work here. There is

work but very relaxed and no coding in C++. Even if I stay here it will take another 1-2 years before I become

proficient in C++.

At the same time I am going down on other things in life, I am out of hometown with almost no social life. This city

sucks, all I do is earn and spend.

I can manage a good paying job in QA with 4 years on experince that I ahev now but I think that my skills do not get

utilized there properly or I what more fast paced career / challenging career. I feel that I am not learning anything

from the QA job. I feel that life will not be moving overall if I landup in QA job.

Basically I dont know how good abilities I have, I never gave tests like IIT, GATE, GRE. Since at that time I was not

mature enough to clear them.

I was like mad about coding in starting years of my career but I never got to work on it. I got work on a scripting

language PERL which is of limited use. So as long as I was coding for 2 years I was happy but then I realized that this

language is never used for making any products.

Although I love working on internals like data structures, coding I like them only when they are part of official work.

I never feel like working & sharpening on data structures, coding when I have free time in home, work ( since initally

I hardly had anytime left from work and office tensions, politics and now I dont feel like doing it).

What should I do?

I sometimes feel like trying on MBA. I feel like doing nothing, not even QA just getting married and continue working only for living.

I have lost all the passion in my work

Answer 1

It seems you need a change. Either take a break so that you can rejuvenate yourself or take up another job, the one you enjoy.

Only you can find out what kind of work you will enjoy...

You have worked for top MNCs. It seems you will get better opportunities in smaller companies.

How if you get a programmer's job in a small but decent company with a decent package?

Answer 2

"Boss"...you have enough experience in software industry, 4+ is a good time period, now changing the stream is a world class blunder. Let us say   you took c++ and after 4+ years you will again write a question in yahoo saying i have 8+ years expreince and all my frinds are Managers and i am here stucked up as a developer !!!!....So think atleast 3 years down the line when you decide. So try to become a manager in the same stream rather than switching the field and end up as a manager itslef. I am sure that you are talking about Bangalore that you say no social life. In bangalore there are lots of socil life happening ....:)

Answer 3

Hi there,

I can understand your situation. I believe, you need to change your attitude, instead of your career line or job. First, read some good books like Getting Things Done by David Allen. (This book will not help you with your motivation or frustration. But if you apply the techniques mentioned in this book, you will get more free time. Do the things YOU LIKE in the spare time you get.) You badly need to rejuvenate yourself. Pursue some courses of your choice. It need not be directly related to your present line of career. I believe: Do what you like. Money will come eventually.