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I feel this way too. I have a colleague who graduated a semester or two after I did. He currently makes a bit more money than I do, and every so often, I wonder if I'm doing it right.

Then I consider the conversations that we have. He's always having to learn something new (not exploratory learn, but forced to learn due to someone with clout shoehorning some ill-fitting tech into the project) or rewrite a steaming pile of crap left by someone who thought they had all the answers. He works with greener tools and tech stacks, and sometimes he gets to write kick ass proofs-of-concept. Yet he always feels like it's time to look for another job after about a year.

I have a stable job where I'm appreciated. It's not perfect. I absolutely have my complaints, but I know that a fair share of those complaints are shallow gripes. My tech stack is a bit more mature, but it's modern enough that I can keep pace in discussion. I put in my 40 hours, and I'm done. I put in time for vacation, and management just says, "Alright, have fun."

When I stop to think about our ever diverging career paths, I always realize that his career is not the type that I want.




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