How I Got Out of Tech and Still Make a Decent Living
I had been working as a software engineer for 10 years. I started out working as a contract front-end engineer with no benefits.
It was a work-from-home job so I was home nearly all the time.
One day, my Dad told me to get an “actual” job. At least talk to somebody.
Real Job
I joined an IT consultancy firm shortly after that. No bonus, no yearly benefits.
But hey, at least I get to talk to somebody.
I slowly work my way to the position of Team Lead. I picked up back-end development and did client-facing work along the way.
Work was fun.
Things were fast-moving and nimble. It had to be when you are in the cut-throat consultancy industry. I met a bunch of smart people and absorbed tons of values.
The firm was very flexible in terms of side projects. I built and ditched multiple projects. The only surviving ones are:
- My soon-to-pivot tech blog: colintoh.com
- An express invoicing app: TransferCrane
- Open-source projects: Skylo and Pivoton
Burn out
Towards the last few years at the consultancy firm, I started to burn out. My intrinsic motivation towards work was dropping like crazy.
I took sabbatical leave (roughly 1–2 months) to try to clear my head. Every year, I told myself I would find new-found strength after my sabbatical.
I never did.
So I quit.
Big Tech Firm
A few days, I handed in my resignation letter. A recruiter called me, asking me if I was interested in joining a tech firm — Zendesk.
A proper tech firm with a revenue-generating product with real customers.
The money was good and I got vested stocks from a company that is listed on NYSE.
Most importantly, this was a chance to validate my software development chops.
I grabbed the opportunity.
Burn out #2
The first year at Zendesk went past quickly. Technically, I improved leaps and bounds in a short period of time.
I wondered if I had the opportunity to join a fast-growing tech company at a younger age, things might have turned out differently.
But alas, the familiar feeling of burn out slowly crept back. My intrinsic motivation was dropping again.
A Simple Hypothesis
I had a revelation one day after getting off work.
I’m not burned out from working in tech. I’m burned out from working for someone else.
Tired of using my time and energy in exchange for finite rewards so that someone at the top can benefit infinitely.
I evaluated my options.
On My Own Now
While working at Zendesk, I was experimenting with side projects too. One particular project (let’s call it Project H) started to generate revenue.
And the revenue started to grow. The growth was picking some speed. (Hindsight 101: When your data points are few, every change is amplified)
At the point of evaluation, the revenue was around 25% of my salary (excluding the value of the stocks).
Based on my savings, I also had 1-year runway of expenses. (I was not a good saver for the majority of my adulthood)
Lastly, I did a stupidly simple revenue projection of Project H based on the current growth.
Naively, I decided I’m all set to strike out on my own and fully focus on Project H.
I tendered my resignation letter in April 2019.
What’s Next?
I’m writing this article one year after I officially left tech and started my journey of solo-preneurship.
Have I become more fulfilled? Yes and no. (That’s a story for another time)
Project H has grown to a point where it allows me to sustain my former lifestyle.
I made tons of mistakes while learning to be profitable. Read lots of books and also adapt my mindset and my own ego.
Not surprisingly, I also integrated tech into my Project H, combining my two passion.
I will be writing more often(either on Medium or my personal blog) to document my journey.
I will also be posting transient thoughts about my journey on Twitter. You can follow me there to find out how my weird brain works.
