What Happened?
In 2016, I joined Dealer Inspire (later acquired by Cars.com). The first 18 months were a blast. I worked with a lot of tools in different languages. It was my first time at a larger company, and everything moved fast.
In 2018, I leveled up to team lead. Writing code was still my main focus, but I was starting to stretch. Looking back, I wasn’t promoted because I was a leader. I was promoted because others believed I could become one.
One of my biggest fears about moving up was eventually moving away from programming.
In 2021, I became a Sr. Manager. I was all in. I wanted to make a bigger impact, especially around reducing technical debt and improving delivery. But I went from Individual Contributor to Director without any formal training. Suddenly, I was responsible for multiple projects, direct reports, and a calendar full of meetings. I stopped writing code.
How Do I Feel?
Honestly, I’m a little lost. I’ve hit burnout a few times in the last six months. Right now, I’m taking a week off to step back and figure out what I want next. I’ve been spending time reading, tinkering, and building small projects with Laravel, Livewire, and Tailwind.
What’s Next?
I don’t know yet. For now, I’m taking a break.