Story

Has anyone transitioned out of software engineering and regretted it?

I'm a new graduate software engineer and am not sure I want to do this career long-term. I currently live in one of (NYC/SF/Seattle) and don't really like it. People seem very career focused which I do not think describes me very well. I have visited the other two cities and they seem much the same so I don't feel like looking for a new job (and given the market probably cannot) as people will likely still be as career focused.

I have tried to look for remote roles but those largely seem non-existent given my current stage. I've thought that I could try and stay at my current role till I qualify as a Senior Engineer as most remote jobs seem to want that, but I think I'll be pretty disappointed if I get there and can't get a remote job. I've generally thought before that the goal should be to enjoy the journey and not the destination but I'm not really enjoying the journey.

Lastly, I have considered startups as the work seems more interesting but I am not very interested in working 6 to 7 days a week. I'd be fine with long-hours Monday through Friday but even weekends (regularly) starts to feel like I am property of the company.

I am thinking of going back to school for a different profession since I do have decent savings at least.

Sorry for the wall of text.