[sfpotter]

Why are you asking HN? Do you have anyone you know in your personal life you can talk to? Family or friends? Hopefully someone you know well can give you some honest feedback and help you figure out what would be a better fit for you. I don't see how a bunch of strangers on HN could possibly help seeing as they know nothing about you and totally lack context.

[jmalicki]

Sometimes anonymous strangers in similar situations help more than either:

1) close colleagues you might not want to be vulnerable towards, or

2) people you are close to and feel vulnerable to you, but do not have similar career trajectories or experiences.

There is a reason why "communities of practice" have always existed, and HN kind-of-sort-of happens to be one.

[adrianmonk]

Maybe they are looking for people who've experienced transitioning from tech to something else. Even if they know lots of supportive people in real life, it's possible none of those people may have gone through this process.

[c4pt0r]

IMHO, sometimes strangers can offer advice without bias, whereas those closest to you cannot.

[manuelmoreale]

It’s 2026, why bother asking people when AI exists. /s

On a more serious note, there’s nothing wrong in asking strangers something like this. Plus asking here doesn’t preclude the possibility of also asking to friends and family.