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Ask HN: Have you started a business because nobody wanted to hire you?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you started a business because nobody wanted to hire you?

#21

Post by Aromasin »

ryanjmo wrote: post #10

I’m trying to find a job right now and it isn’t going well. I have my PhD in computer science and I’ve run my own bootstraped company before and took it to over a million in profit for a couple years. I want to find a job as a engineering manager or something similar, but the feedback I’m getting is I don’t have enough corporate experience for that type of job, because I’ve just been doing my own thing for so long. I…

I've been incredibly tempted to do an electricians apprenticeship, so it's cool to hear someone from an academic background that's actually done something similar and gone into a trade. My study was Electrical and Electronic Engineering so I imagine the career swap would be trivial, but it's a large time investment.

How did you find the time to do it? To become a licensed electrician in the UK apparently takes about 4 years, and I'd earn pittance until qualifying so that's the only thing stopping me currently. I assume plumber would be as similarly stringent.

Re: Ask HN: Have you started a business because nobody wanted to hire you?

#22

Post by JSeymourATL »

ryanjmo wrote: post #20
galfarragem wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nowadays trades are lucrative everywhere. The existent low competition is mind boggling but the career change is not that easy for people coming from intelectual challenging careers. It feels like a 'downgrade'. For the typical HNer selling is the only challenge there.

It's funny it feels like a 'downgrade' as it is more lucrative. It is also really fun. You feel like a superhero when you show up at peoples house and rescue them from their problem (which if you are a plumber is often serious). I also noticed that we did a fair bit of almost counseling when we showed up at peoples houses, which also felt great. It got me out of the house and meeting people. To me it seems like a goo…

Upvote for Einstein quote.

BTW, Ryan Conway @ Digital Tradesman might be able to help out with a website for your new Plumbing Venture. Good guy, worth talking to > https://digitaltradesman.net/

Re: Ask HN: Have you started a business because nobody wanted to hire you?

#23

Post by hluska »

charlie0 wrote: post #15

I'm starting my own software consulting business. I only have about 1.5 years of experience (full time), mainly self taught. I just recently started to go look for clients and realizing that after learning programming, now I have to learn sales, lol.

If cold calling scares you, but you feel like you have to do it, feel free to reach out. My email is in my profile and I’d be glad to help you work on a script. You can even practice on me if you want.

Good luck! Sales can be a lot of fun and your programming mind will help you figure out a good sales system.

Re: Ask HN: Have you started a business because nobody wanted to hire you?

#24

Post by blcArmadillo »

jobapplsk wrote: post #7
superflit wrote: post #5

I did. It was 2012. I was kind of 33.000 USD in debt, wife pregnant with the first baby. Trying to interview at significant companies (Dell, HP, Atlassian, etc.) none was given me nothing. One friend of mine who had access to the HR feedback said I was too confident and I should try to appear less skilled as the manager was kind of afraid. The situation was so bad I had a google spreadsheet with places I sent resume,…

> One friend of mine who had access to the HR feedback said I was too confident and I should try to appear less skilled as the manager was kind of afraid. I just got reject from an interview even though I passed multiple technical interviews. I was more annoyed because they found people more junior to interview me (the job was to be their team lead). The third interviewer was asking such a simple question, I didn’t e…

I don't think it's unreasonable to have people who will have to report to you interview you. If you're going to be managing people it's important to be able to tease out the root of poorly formulated questions. But yeah, it's annoying that the interviewer took joy in "stumping" you.

Re: Ask HN: Have you started a business because nobody wanted to hire you?

#25

Post by LastManStanding »

Aromasin wrote: post #21
ryanjmo wrote: post #10

I’m trying to find a job right now and it isn’t going well. I have my PhD in computer science and I’ve run my own bootstraped company before and took it to over a million in profit for a couple years. I want to find a job as a engineering manager or something similar, but the feedback I’m getting is I don’t have enough corporate experience for that type of job, because I’ve just been doing my own thing for so long. I…

I've been incredibly tempted to do an electricians apprenticeship, so it's cool to hear someone from an academic background that's actually done something similar and gone into a trade. My study was Electrical and Electronic Engineering so I imagine the career swap would be trivial, but it's a large time investment. How did you find the time to do it? To become a licensed electrician in the UK apparently takes about…

I had a roommate who had both and EE degree and was a licensed electrician. He could get a high paying job with just a phone interview. All the more amazing because he was a felon who served five years for drug smuggling and would reveal that in the interview right off the bat.

Re: Ask HN: Have you started a business because nobody wanted to hire you?

#26

Post by ryanjmo »

Aromasin wrote: post #21
ryanjmo wrote: post #10

I’m trying to find a job right now and it isn’t going well. I have my PhD in computer science and I’ve run my own bootstraped company before and took it to over a million in profit for a couple years. I want to find a job as a engineering manager or something similar, but the feedback I’m getting is I don’t have enough corporate experience for that type of job, because I’ve just been doing my own thing for so long. I…

I've been incredibly tempted to do an electricians apprenticeship, so it's cool to hear someone from an academic background that's actually done something similar and gone into a trade. My study was Electrical and Electronic Engineering so I imagine the career swap would be trivial, but it's a large time investment. How did you find the time to do it? To become a licensed electrician in the UK apparently takes about…

In the US you can do "plumbing service" without a license. So that is any repair basically. You just can't do installation, so no new construction. However, there is plenty of business in service and I like the work better than installations.

Re: Ask HN: Have you started a business because nobody wanted to hire you?

#27

Post by anitil »

chrisbennet wrote: post #19
anitil wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What sort of customers? That's a similar set of skills to me, but I am struggling to see a path to consulting.

Small companies and a couple of big ones. The golf ball vision project was a small company, like 6 people. Another vision one is for a tiny medical startup. The laser product was for a large company. I’d worked for the director like 10 years earlier. The radar graphics is for a medium (50?) sized company. 3drocketsurgery.com I get the gigs mostly through friends.

Interesting, thanks
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