Senior developer who enjoys human connection more than coding – what should I do next?
I have a lot on my mind lately, but if I had to sum it up, I’m just tired.
I’m a senior developer, but I don’t feel like programming really adds value to who I am. What I genuinely enjoy is connecting with people—listening, supporting, communicating, organizing. I know I’m strong in those areas. The problem is that my day-to-day work is mostly programming.
As I’ve gained more experience, and especially with the rise of AI, expectations have only increased. There’s constant pressure to be more productive, more proactive, to do more and more. I try to keep up and force myself to fit into that mold, but deep down, I feel like I don’t really belong in this world of programming. It doesn’t come naturally to me.
On top of that, I struggle with impostor syndrome. Being a senior developer means I’m “supposed” to know a lot, but I often feel like I don’t know enough.
I’m not sure what to do next. I’ve thought about applying for a leadership role within my company—something focused more on people, like supporting their growth and development. But even in that path, I’d still be expected to code and stay heavily involved in technical work, and honestly, I feel drained by that. It doesn’t excite me.
What does energize me is working with people— for example, onboarding someone new, being there for them, having 1:1 conversations, helping with team dynamics or interpersonal challenges rather than technical problems. That’s where I feel most engaged.
At the same time, programming gives me structure and is my comfort zone, so stepping away from it feels scary.
I’ve always been interested in psychology, but I’m not sure I see myself as a therapist. I also have a life coaching certification, but I’m not fully convinced by that world either (there are a few people in the space who aren’t very credible) or imagine myself living by having coaching sessions.
I’ve also done a program focused on exploring my vocation within IT. Through that, I considered moving into a people care role. The psychologist running the program suggested that it could be a good idea to leverage my technical background and gradually move into an engineering leadership path, becoming less hands-on over time.
The problem is that, in my current company, that kind of transition doesn’t feel very realistic in the short term
So overall, I feel pretty lost. I can’t just quit my job—I have bills to pay—and I don’t want to leave without a clearer idea of what I want to do or at least something to try next. I also feel kind of lonely, like this whole situation just happens to me. Would like to know if other people are experiencing or have experienced something similar