Hello!

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I've been a programmer for 15 years. I graduated with a philosophy degree and taught myself to program. I landed a job and have been working as a programmer ever since.

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Lately though, it feels like it requires so much undesirable effort. I really don't mind working hard and putting in the effort to build the right product. I love programming, and I'm good at it, but I've grown to hate the environments in which I have to work. It's not the amount of effort, but the type of effort that frustrates me these days. Figuring out the right code as a solution is enjoyable, but figuring out how to work with an awful codebase is miserable. I know this is pretty standard for programmers, but I've had enough of it at this point. It's been this way for years now across multiple jobs, and I'm just completely over it.

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So I wonder - is it time to change careers? What can I do as a programmer that doesn't want to program anymore? I've considered trying to land an engineering manager job, but my attempts have been blown off so far because I don't really have that HR side of the experience required. I've done some team lead stuff but it's always just been very tech heavy. Is there something else I'm not thinking off that might be a good fit for someone like me?