When I got laid off back in June of 2025, I knew I was burnt out, but I didn’t realize how much until recently. Between my 15 years at Xerox and my 11 years at Constellation Brands, my entire professional career has been tied to technology in some way.
Prior to that, I was amazed by computers and the internet as it was all hitting the public back in the early to mid-1990s. I would spend hours in the library on the computers they had, connecting to bulletin board systems, Internet Relay Chat, and America Online. I learned everything I could by searching and reading everything I could find.
Even during my extensive time working with computers in a professional capacity, I developed a fascination with tinkering with alternative operating systems, mostly LTinux. I installed multiple distributions and applications. Plenty of times I built websites with different frameworks like Ghost, Hugo, and Concrete. I even did some simple HTML-only web pages.
Something has changed in the past 6 months. After years of tethering myself to technology because I really enjoyed it, I no longer feel the same way about any of it. The longer I am away from all the technology, the more I am rediscovering interests I left behind.
Writing is the main one. However, I also enjoy reading non-technical books. This includes fiction and non-fiction. Then there is my rekindled interest in woodworking. And what about that guitar playing I used to do? I quit doing that when I was always busy with work.
I am not deluded enough to believe that I could make a career of any of these interests, with the exception of writing. My point is that I am finally exploring things I used to love because I now have time to. It feels really good, and I don’t miss being connected to tech as much as I was. I am coming to appreciate my time away from tech more and more.
At this stage of my life, I am ready to try something completely different for my next career move. I have not worked out what that is, but I know that my run as a tech-only professional is done. It’s time to move on to something else. Tech will certainly be involved, but going forward, tech will not be the primary aspect of what’s next.
—Daniel