Goodebye Forever Probably: Why I’m leaving developer relations
6 hours ago
- #Mental Health
- #Developer Relations
- #Career Change
- The author retired from live streaming and has been reflecting on their 5.5-year career in Developer Relations (DevRel).
- DevRel's positive aspects include helping others, building projects, learning, and forming global friendships through teaching and conferences.
- Difficulties in DevRel stem from pressure to show short-term success via arbitrary metrics like sign-ups or views, which often misrepresent true impact.
- The industry's shift towards AI and changing learning habits has made developer education harder, with communities fragmenting and courses becoming less sustainable.
- As a public company representative in DevRel, the author felt constant burnout from maintaining a positive online persona while dealing with job insecurity and anxiety.
- Physical health issues, including wrist pain and nerve problems, emerged from overwork and stress related to proving their value in DevRel roles.
- The author is leaving DevRel for a Staff Engineer role, seeking to disconnect from online presence, protect mental health, and focus on building websites and personal life.
- Future plans include possibly continuing a blog or newsletter but with reduced online activity, emphasizing a desire for freedom, nature, and creativity away from corporate metrics.