21–30 of 185 posts
Maybe teach English in Asia or drive an Uber? Or go to trade school to become an electrician or mechanic? Those are the escape routes I daydream about when I'm unhappy at work, anyways :)
No Uber in Vancouver, unfortunately. It's one of the very few cities in North America without Uber and Lyft.
You can do front end developer contract gigs on one of the freelancer sites. You won't make a ton but you can make 2 or 3 times minimum wage (based on Vancouver minimum wage) without trying very hard. You can make a good bit more than that if you get good at contracting. Plus contracting lets you build skills you won't get working as an employee. Work 4 months out of the year full time, or 10-15 hours a week year rou…
I went back to school and got a doctorate in botany. Now I am a staff scientist at a large state university. Working in tech gave me a lot of financial success, but it wasn't something I was passionate about.
But then dot-bomb happened and it looked like the party was over. I looked down at the job opportunities after graduation. I didn't really want to spend the rest of my life wearing a tie, writing bank software and sitting in a cubicle every day, so I decided to try something different.
I became a seasonal park ranger. And it was awesome.
Like most jobs, I got it through knowing someone. My grandparents had volunteered for the NPS and were able to connect me with the right people. I became a seasonal park ranger at Yellowstone.
It's not for everyone. The pay is not great, but you do get lots of good benefits because it's a government job. And you're often living in remote areas (the nearest grocery store was an hour and a half drive from where I was stationed). It's also not conducive to family life if that's your thing (again, the closest school was 1.5 hours away and everyone around me was my coworkers). And the days are long, helping tourists, checking permits, etc. Permanent jobs are also incredibly hard to get - you usually have to do years of seasonal work to accrue enough seniority to get considered for a permanent position.
But the benefits? Being able to crack open a drink after a long day and look up at more stars than I ever thought existed - I spent many nights on the front porch of my cabin looking up at the Milky Way. Hiking, camping, boating on the weekends are easy because I was right there in the park. Clean air, clean water. A good group of coworkers (for me) who legit really care about protecting these astounding natural resources. And a feeling that you're really making a difference and reaching people.
I did this for a few years and they were among my happiest years prior to my marriage. Ultimately, I ended up going back into tech after things recovered. But there are days that I really miss the outdoors and wearing the uniform.
So I guess my advice would be to forget about skills and whatnot and ask yourself, outside of tech, what do you like to do? I mean really like to do? And can you turn that into a job? Can anyone you know network you into a job?
Even working half time you will make more than at McDonalds.
If you can crack the sales mystery and get good at it, there's nothing you can't have. Good sales folk make $$$$$$$$$$.
Later as a manager who was hiring, the biggest problem I had with hiring juniors was I couldn't easily tell one between another, and even with a degree from a decent University, I was unable to figure out if a) they could solve problems or b) if they could even code at all (surprisingly, many graduates cannot, and I don't have time or inclination to train them).
On the other side of the fence, candidates that put effort into portfolios like the one I described, even for a single project, made it very easy to decide if they were a worthwhile bet because they had already answered my questions with their portfolio piece: that they can solve a problem and that they can actually code.
Even interview phases, I've had seniors whom have aced the interviews and turned out completely rubbish. If only I was able to determine their aptitude from a real project before I've even called them...
Another angle is to find a company that need something built but are not a 'tech company'. Often these, assuming you can pull of the work they need, are less about the 'passing the tech interview' and more 'solving the problems' the small business is having. I started out doing this also (I worked in ad agencies making bespoke things as their only programmer).
There are avenues outside of 'tech companies' if you can do the work, if you love making stuff, don't give up on it yet!
Well... I hired a producer, wrote 10 songs, hired a director, filmed 3 music videos and worked harder than I had at any software startup in my life (platform/devops) trying to make it work. Serious long shot, but it's been a ton of fun! Edit: my last video won "Music Video of the Year" at the Oxford International Film Festival. So here's hoping!
Well... I hired a producer, wrote 10 songs, hired a director, filmed 3 music videos and worked harder than I had at any software startup in my life (platform/devops) trying to make it work. Serious long shot, but it's been a ton of fun! Edit: my last video won "Music Video of the Year" at the Oxford International Film Festival. So here's hoping!