user16308: I am a software engineer. Is it shameful if I became a monk throwing away all the knowledge that I have accumulated all these years(more than a decade). In my previous years, I was amused by programming. But now, I have become dispassioned with everything about my work. I see my accumulation of ideas / knowledge as useless.
I am extremely confused.

user17694: To answer your question: we dont need to work. We dont need to be monks. We dont need to be jobless. We dont need to need. But if we have a job we should be skillful and diligent, this is a responsibility you already undertook. To be dispassionate and useless is okay. I would argue that people accused the buddha of the same things! It is not shameful to be a monk. Lord Buddha became an ascetic “throwing away” or renouncing his right to the throne. My advice: become a monk for one year and then disrobe and come tell us what you have learned. 

user11009: If you are a software engineer, you can do wonders to propagate Dhamma. Please speak to Bhante Sujato who is the administrator of  Sutta Central. 
https://suttacentral.net/

user738: I am also a software engineer and went through this exact situation about 3-4 years ago. 
My personal experience (yours may differ) is that its not the nature of work or the outlook of accumulating knowledge (useful or not) that is causing this. 
Ask yourself a few questions open mindedly. Drop the assumption that it may be useful or useless to do something. 

Why is it a problem for you to do software (or X)? Go really deep here. What exactly is causing the problem? 
Do you wish to learn or do something else, does something else interest you? (monkhood is a lifestyle that doesn't come easy) 
What is your current personal/financial situation? Do you need to earn a living for yourself or family or someone else?

What happened with me was that once I started meditating, I started to do things more naturally. I did whatever needed to be done. Work stopped bothering me to be honest. I should stop here to say My mind stopped bothering me. 
What I think has happened is that, you were intellectually stimulated by software and the world etc., and all that has come to a standstill. The mind is rebelling and debating about the uselessness or usefulness of X, Y, Z tasks and life etc.,
Essentially, your mind should be taking instructions from you, not the other way round. Meditation helps with that. So I suggest you start off with 5-10 minutes of that and see where it goes. It really helps.
I feel it takes a little bit of inside adjustment to align ourselves with life, not mind. Meditation is required for that. Its like recalibrating yourself everyday. You will become more pleasant and aligned with everyday activity. Doesn't matter if it is software or watering the plants...
[Edit for clarification]
By big picture I meant thinking of the world and how it works as a whole and as a consequence, nihilistic thoughts arising.
Examples: 
Why is the world like this? 
Why do we have a market based economy? Why capitalist government? Why democracy? 
Why am I here? What are we doing here?
Another similar question, What's the use of doing X? -- this is the question OP is having.
These may sound like perfectly logical/valid questions at times. In our current state of mind and body that is lacking clear perception, we will not get sufficient answers to these type of questions. In fact, they may also come from a non-achieving mind that is looking for excuses i.e., one that wants to be lazy and do nothing.
So, what's the point of anything at all? What's the point of life? I think this is where you might logically move towards. But we can also ask, what if there's no point? And we're all here doing something, anything, i.e., whatever we want or whatever is restricted by situations we are faced with.    
So maybe also ask yourself, should there be a point at all? 

user2282: 
I am a software engineer. Is it shameful if I became a monk throwing away all the knowledge that I have accumulated all these years(more than a decade). In my previous years, I was amused by programming. But now, I have become dispassioned with everything about my work. I see my accumulation of ideas / knowledge as useless.

The good news is that you can become a monk without having to throw away all your SWE knowledge. You simply just switch the priority around a little bit, instead of using your skillset primarily to make money for yourself, now you can use it for more wholesome purposes for many others. 

user8157: If you can attain the real peace of meditation, it is like becoming a millionaire. 
Since you have so much knowledge, who can easily get a job and earn a living, you can consider taking a holiday for a year or more to explore meditation.  

16308: <p>I am a software engineer. Is it shameful if I became a monk throwing away all the knowledge that I have accumulated all these years(more than a decade). In my previous years, I was amused by programming. But now, I have become dispassioned with everything about my work. I see my accumulation of ideas / knowledge as useless.</p>

<p>I am extremely confused.</p>
 17694: <p>To answer your question: we dont need to work. We dont need to be monks. We dont need to be jobless. We dont need to need. But if we have a job we should be skillful and diligent, this is a responsibility you already undertook. To be dispassionate and useless is okay. I would argue that people accused the buddha of the same things! It is not shameful to be a monk. Lord Buddha became an ascetic “throwing away” or renouncing his right to the throne. My advice: become a monk for one year and then disrobe and come tell us what you have learned. </p>
 11009: <p>If you are a software engineer, you can do wonders to propagate Dhamma. Please speak to Bhante Sujato who is the administrator of  Sutta Central. </p>

<p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://suttacentral.net/</a></p>
 738: <p>I am also a software engineer and went through this exact situation about 3-4 years ago. </p>

<p>My personal experience (yours may differ) is that its not the nature of work or the outlook of accumulating knowledge (useful or not) that is causing this. </p>

<p>Ask yourself a few questions open mindedly. <strong>Drop the assumption that it may be useful or useless to do something.</strong> </p>

<ul>
<li>Why is it a problem for you to do software (or X)? Go really deep here. What exactly is causing the problem? </li>
<li>Do you wish to learn or do something else, does something else interest you? (monkhood is a lifestyle that doesn't come easy) </li>
<li>What is your current personal/financial situation? Do you need to earn a living for yourself or family or someone else?</li>
</ul>

<p>What happened with me was that once I started meditating, I started to do things more naturally. I did whatever needed to be done. Work stopped bothering me to be honest. I should stop here to say <strong>My mind</strong> stopped bothering me. </p>

<p>What I think has happened is that, you were intellectually stimulated by software and the world etc., and all that has come to a standstill. The mind is rebelling and debating about the uselessness or usefulness of X, Y, Z tasks and life etc.,
Essentially, your mind should be taking instructions from you, not the other way round. Meditation helps with that. So I suggest you start off with 5-10 minutes of that and see where it goes. It really helps.</p>

<p>I feel it takes a little bit of inside adjustment to align ourselves with life, not mind. Meditation is required for that. Its like recalibrating yourself everyday. You will become more pleasant and aligned with everyday activity. Doesn't matter if it is software or watering the plants...</p>

<p><strong>[Edit for clarification]</strong></p>

<p>By <strong>big picture</strong> I meant thinking of the world and how it works as a whole and as a consequence, nihilistic thoughts arising.</p>

<p>Examples: 
Why is the world like this? 
Why do we have a market based economy? Why capitalist government? Why democracy? 
Why am I here? What are we doing here?
Another similar question, What's the use of doing X? -- this is the question OP is having.</p>

<p>These may sound like perfectly logical/valid questions at times. In our current state of mind and body that is lacking clear perception, we will not get sufficient answers to these type of questions. In fact, they may also come from a non-achieving mind that is looking for excuses i.e., one that wants to be lazy and do nothing.</p>

<p>So, what's the point of anything at all? What's the point of life? I think this is where you might logically move towards. But we can also ask, what if there's no point? And we're all here doing something, anything, i.e., whatever we want or whatever is restricted by situations we are faced with.    </p>

<p>So maybe also ask yourself, should there be a point at all? </p>
 2282: <blockquote>
  <p>I am a software engineer. Is it shameful if I became a monk throwing away all the knowledge that I have accumulated all these years(more than a decade). In my previous years, I was amused by programming. But now, I have become dispassioned with everything about my work. I see my accumulation of ideas / knowledge as useless.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The good news is that you can become a monk without having to throw away all your SWE knowledge. You simply just switch the priority around a little bit, instead of using your skillset primarily to make money for yourself, now you can use it for more wholesome purposes for many others. </p>
 8157: <p>If you can attain the real peace of meditation, it is like becoming a millionaire. </p>

<p>Since you have so much knowledge, who can easily get a job and earn a living, you can consider taking a holiday for a year or more to explore meditation.  </p>
