I read from “How To Know When It's Time To Go”:
> I retired in 2021 at 63.5 after about four decades as a programmer. What made me do this was not failing ability in any way, but after a year of consideration, I realized I didn't care to do it anymore.
I think many programmers can feel like this and at a much younger age. They just don’t care to do it anymore, but they have to because they have families to support.
Yes, you could climb the corporate ladder and become a team lead or a CTO but this might not be the solution because maybe you don’t care to manage people either.
Alternatively, you could make a complete career change, like becoming a musician or a writer. The problem with this is that when you’re used to a programmer’s salary then it’s hard to make a switch to something that pays tens times less. Especially when your family is used to a certain level of quality of life.
But one other option is to start a side project. To build your own little product you enjoy working on and eventually make enough money to cover your expenses, maintain your quality of life and even increase it.
Like Herman describes in ”My product is my garden”
> I want to putter about, feel connected to the process, and have fun doing so. I want to make things that don’t scale. To see people tuck into them and enjoy them as people, not as stats. /../ Being able to talk to, and interact with the people using my tools is fulfilling. Spending time meticulously improving subtle aspects of the product is enjoyable.
Because maybe you just don’t care about writing code for other products but you just might enjoy “spending time meticulously improving subtle aspects of” your own product.
It may take time to make enough money to pay yourself a salary and you’ll keep working at your day job to cover your bills. This is easier when you know that in the future you'll be able to focus solely on your own thing. You have a goal.
It also makes it easier to go through your daily work responsibilities when you know that very soon, in the evening perhaps, you can spend a few hours working on your own product again.
Also, running your own little startup has many benefits, like making your income not dependent on exactly how much time you put in. Then, you can use your time to do other things, probably outside of computers. House improvement. Going out into nature. Long walks in the forest. Sitting in a coffee shop and reading for the entire afternoon.
So, when you feel like you don’t care to write code anymore, it might be that you just don’t care to write it for others. You might very much enjoy it for your own products.
This is what Andrew, author of the quote in the beginning of this post, is also now doing after retiring, still writing code every day in support of his generative art practice.