this is really insightful, i am nearing ten years as SWE - i've always loved passion projects and learning outside of work. This has historically got me really far in my career. However I just started a new role as a team lead on k8s platform. I rushed out got a few NICs and started setting up a homelab to learn but havn't spent more than a few hours working on it in weeks.

for the first time in my life i'm starting to think that my hobbies outside work (and the majority of my identity) has very little to do with software.

i had never thought about how much my work was tied to my identity and it's extremely jarring.