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Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

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Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#151

Post by yutyut »

debt wrote: post #146
yutyut wrote: post #134

I was a mid-level developer at a large software company making a very competitive salary and quit to join the U.S. Marine Corps and train to become a Naval Aviator. I'm now a 'mid-level' AH-1Z pilot. I work longer hours and have generally a lower quality of life but there's something to be said for the immensely unique things I've gotten to do and how profoundly well-rounded the entire experience has made me. I will…

Don’t mean to sound like a dick but in an effort to keep the record straight: sounds like you fucked up. The military is the least meritocratic and most bureaucratic shitstorm in existence currently. Flying planes is great if you’re able to only ever want to do that until dead.

I won't say (nor do I care) whether you do or don't sound like a dick but you do sound like you didn't read my post or perhaps didn't appreciate the spirit in which I wrote it.

Point 1 on bureaucracy: Generally agree. Point 2 on the feasibility of changes in career: Wholeheartedly disagree.

Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#152

Post by yutyut »

jamestimmins wrote: post #138
yutyut wrote: post #134

I was a mid-level developer at a large software company making a very competitive salary and quit to join the U.S. Marine Corps and train to become a Naval Aviator. I'm now a 'mid-level' AH-1Z pilot. I work longer hours and have generally a lower quality of life but there's something to be said for the immensely unique things I've gotten to do and how profoundly well-rounded the entire experience has made me. I will…

Years long selection process? I'd love to hear what was involved and why it took so long. That's definitely a pretty drastic switch!

Long story short: Medical waivers; bureaucracy; initial screening and training as well as the peculiar program I was in and my place in it at the time.

Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#153

Post by yutyut »

debt wrote: post #146
yutyut wrote: post #134

I was a mid-level developer at a large software company making a very competitive salary and quit to join the U.S. Marine Corps and train to become a Naval Aviator. I'm now a 'mid-level' AH-1Z pilot. I work longer hours and have generally a lower quality of life but there's something to be said for the immensely unique things I've gotten to do and how profoundly well-rounded the entire experience has made me. I will…

Don’t mean to sound like a dick but in an effort to keep the record straight: sounds like you fucked up. The military is the least meritocratic and most bureaucratic shitstorm in existence currently. Flying planes is great if you’re able to only ever want to do that until dead.

*Point 3 on meritocracy: The Marine Corps aviation community's entire qualification basis revolves around merit: your ability to plan, brief, and execute complex missions is directly reflected in your placement in the squadron.

Even rank gets thrown out the window to a degree. Our little community in particular (the HMLA) is a meritocracy that is enforced on a tribal level.

Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#154

Post by jefffoster »

I quit my job as a "research scientist" and joined a startup building developer tools.

I got paid less and I had to work harder.

The pay-off? I learnt more in those two years than I would in ten years in another job.

Since then my general philosophy has been to find jobs based on maximising my rate of learning.

Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#155

Post by yutyut »

minkzilla wrote: post #141
yutyut wrote: post #134

I was a mid-level developer at a large software company making a very competitive salary and quit to join the U.S. Marine Corps and train to become a Naval Aviator. I'm now a 'mid-level' AH-1Z pilot. I work longer hours and have generally a lower quality of life but there's something to be said for the immensely unique things I've gotten to do and how profoundly well-rounded the entire experience has made me. I will…

Thanks for this response. I'm going to graduate college soon and I've been thinking of trying to join cal fire. I know I want to be in tech, but I don't know if I am ready for it yet. I think I need something more exciting/meaningful while I am still young.

Live life to the fullest, while you still can. Find something that's meaningful to you and do it. There's time for fluff later on.

Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#157

Post by hef19898 »

Joining the aerospace sector after graduation and leaving it some 6 six after that. I learned ao much about complexity in general and complex systems during this time that it was possible to basically build my entire career on it. I've been lucky as well I guess to have the opportunity from day one to take on responsibility and learn.

Leaving aerospace because I was able to retain flexibility, career-wise, personally and more importantly intellectual. Aerospace is great sector to work in but also very, very special. Not having any experience in other sectors carries the risk to end up limited to that sole industry.

Now I ended up again in aerospace, and so far it most of the tome feels like coming home, just with a lot more skills and experience most people don't have.

I have to add, so, that all of the above might seem like a great plan in retrospect. Reality is it was mostly unconscious, except for the part of quiting aerospace. The underlying goal, unconscious as it has been, was to seek out new opportunities to learn and develop new skills. This process got more and more conscious as I got older.

Yes, and maybe one last piece of advice. It is not, under any circumstances what so ever, worth it to sacrifice your private life of your health for a simple job. Most of the time we are not literally saving lives, and even if you cannot do that when you burn out and get a heart attack or something like that. Know when it is necessary to give all you have for the cause/mission/task and when not. And never ever do that just because.

Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#158

Post by aryamaan »

dustingetz wrote: post #30

Did Recurse Center in 2012. It started a snowball of growth that hasn't showed signs of stopping. The Recurse Center is a self-directed, community-driven educational retreat for programmers. https://www.recurse.com/

I wish it was easier for international people to join.

Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#159

Post by misabon »

Top line optimization instead of everything else. I pay for a gym trainer, have someone dry clean my clothes, have a rideshare pass and a Muni/BART pass. The spending gets rapidly wiped out just in my growth each year post-tax.

My greatest worry now is that I can’t spend myself into more time any more and need to make personal improvements instead (like not reading so much social media like HN)

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