12/1    Anyone tired of coding?  How long till you burnt out?
        Any other alternative fields for you?
        \_ Why are you sick of coding?  Maybe you should try to get a tech
           lead type job so you do more management than coding?  Maybe
           it is the job, do you think you'd enjoy coding more if you were
           working for yourself/something you believe in?  Other ideas are
           try to get a producer/manager/marketing job in the software
           industry.  There is a serious shortage of good technical people
           in those jobs and if you have to people skills to do a decent job
           you will be in high demand.  But if you just want out of tech, well
           you can always go back to school and get a masters or PhD.
           \_ as a grad student i can tell you right now that going back
              to school just because you don't know what to do with your
              life is a bad idea.  as it happens, i *do* know why i'm here,
              but those who don't tend to end up just as unhappy as they
              were before, only with less money.  grad school is for those
              who *really* know what they like, not for those trying to
              figure it out.
              \_ True.  I'm not advocating going back to school just because.
                 Although if you aren't sure a Masters program might be a
                 good way to tell.
                 \_ I dissagree.  As a graduate student your mentors are
                    all people who think an academic career is a great idea
                    and who will try to convince you of this even if it's
                    not right for you.   Even on full scholarship, the cost
                    in lost wages for a two years masters program would buy you
                    an awful lot in the real world if there's something
                    else more fulfilling you're missing out on.
                    Unless you already have pretty much made up your mind,
                    it's a bad idea to even fill out the goddamn application.
                     \_ Look, if there is something you've wanted to study
                        but didn't grad school is an option.  It isn't for
                        everyone and you always have the option to drop
                        out if it is going badly.  I'm just saying that
                        sometimes poeple don't even think about going
                        back to school to do something other than what they
                        decided on in their early twenties.  People here
                        graduated from Cal and are smart and can go back
                        and learn something new and it will be obscenely
                        easy this time around.  So you won't make that much
                        money for a few years, so what?  Obviously money isn't
                        buying this guy much happiness as it is.
                        \_  I'm not claiming that money buys happiness, but
                            I will claim that fulfilling jobs tend to
                            pay well.  An abrupt career change for a
                            successful but unhappy software guy is likely
                            to lead to something that pays enough to
                            own a home and start a family...unless he
                            decides to go to grad school.  Obviously
                            the benefit of grad school exceeds the cost
                            for some people, but I am claiming that many
                            people underestimate the true cost.
                            \_ While some things (married/have kid/have house)
                               may make it harder to go back to school, they
                               can be worked around.  However worrying about
                               the cost of being out of the workplace for
                               a few years seems counterproductive.  A lot
                               of people find themselves hating coding because
                               they worried more about what paied well than
                               what they enjoyed.  If you are youngish, have
                               been paied well for years (and should have some
                               savings) it really isn't an issue.  Does a year
                               here or there really matter?
                               \_ fine. you've convinced me.  i guess being
                                  in a 5-6 year grad program distorts one's
                                  perspective a bit.
                                  \_ Well a phd is a lot more commitment than
                                     a masters.
           \_ Master's or PhD in *what*? History?
            \_ Do you love history?  Do you think you have what it takes to
               get a job as a history prof/lecturer?  Go for it.  There are
               of options outside of the tech field, they all have tradeoffs.
               \_ The point here is that the typical tech guy is only going to
                  be able to get a PhD in a tech field without a *lot* of
                  additional schooling. Not so law school or MBA.
                  \_ Are you FUCKING NUTS?  Are you saying a CS PhD requires
                     less schooling than an MBA?  What color is the sky on
                     the planet you are from?
                     \_ I had to read it a couple times to parse, but I think
                        he was comparing a) PhD tech b) PhD nontech and c) MBA,
                        and saying  a < b, and c < b. Or something.
                     \_ A CS PhD for a CS major is less additional schooling
                        than a history PhD for a CS major. JD and MBA are less
                        than both and probably as satisfying.
        \_ Grad school pays more than unemployment.