I've been a programmer for a little over a decade and I'm exhausted. Today I'm quitting the second job I've had in two years in response to the constant pressure to develop products at a breakneck pace. I've worked at tech companies large and small and they are all affected by the same issues stemming from the insidious culture of constant exponential growth.
While the pay and benefits in my industry are admittedly great the business environment is often relentless and toxic. Consistently pressured to work overtime to get something across the finish line, frequently burdened with tasks unrelated to job responsibilities yet expected to develop at same pace, no time given to improve infrastructure & testing (as it doesn't increase bottom line / metrics), and all while having to swallow constant corporate propaganda about how much my company cares and how our products are “changing the world” when in reality our company is just greedy and our products at best are just a slight improvement over existing tech.
Sorry for the run on sentences and winging, just needed to vent.