burnout vs ai

people burn out.

i thought I wouldn’t, considering I’m doing what I love. i was wrong.

we burn out when we do something we don’t feel like doing. could be something like building a project or just working out.

eg. im currently taking a language modelling class, i was super pumped up for it but soon that excitement faded out. at the same time, last week i decided to fine-tune language model from scratch.

i used ai to learn about it. asked it super dumb questions. made mistakes. learnt from them.

it felt good. felt liberating.

i realised i am not a hardcore coder. i like to genuinely build stuff i want.

this thought was validated further when i started interviewing for internships.

if you are in tech, you probably love leetcode or you hate it. im not a super geek to love it, i try my best to do it to get through interviews but it’s not my strength. not even close to being my strength.

i performed much better when the interviews consisted more of applied problem solving involving realistic scenarios rather than mere pattern recognition and reversing a linked list.

i am that guy who wouldn’t do something i hate even if i was held at a gunpoint (im not sure if i should add an article before ‘gunpoint’ or not, i don’t care, i am not going to check for grammatical errors). i still try because well I need a job.

the anxiety induced by working in tech is real.

you wake up, see some new innovations but instead of being excited to learn about it, you start thinking on how you can upskill.

why should everything result in upskilling. why can’t we learn something out of pure fun and passion.

there are mixed opinions about being a generalist v/s a specialist.

i am a generalist.

i don’t see myself becoming a data analyst, but if the time comes i will get into a flow state to analyze my workout data and visualize it.

i don’t see myself becoming a carpenter, but if i wanted to build myself a custom headphone stand, i would grab that opportunity at first sight.

technology is supposed to be liberating but in the current scenario it is doing the exact opposite.

some of the smartest people on this planet are also generalists.

they wake up, do whatever they love, go to sleep (sometimes don’t).

but only two factors allows this freedom.

money and privilege.

and for that, you need a job.

the vicious cycle continues.

i am writing all of this 2 hrs before an interview. why? because i want to.