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Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

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Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#251

Post by PyWoody »

pogopaule wrote: post #42
jwitchel wrote: post #2

Moved to renewables. Wanted to try and help with climate change and needed new challenges. Solar is a fantastic industry. Lots of room for improvement feels like internet did in thr mid 90s. Just a ton of enthusiasm and a sense you're part of something big and important.

Did the same but as a dev. Created this list for my fellow devs who want to do the same https://github.com/pogopaule/awesome-sustainability-jobs

This is exactly what I've been looking to find. Thank you for putting it together.

You should make a standalone post of it.

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#252

Post by [deleted] »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #77
cellis wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Au contraire. “faang” ( with the exception of the “n” ) engineers aren’t on average smarter than gen pop devs. They are simply willing to grind leetcode and put up with a lot more behavioral stressors ( large companies are incredibly difficult to prove impact and all the low hanging fruit is done, so the fights are more bitter because the stakes are lower )

Being willing to do the interview process is part of it, yes, but this idea that they’re all just average is completely wrong. Highly paid big company engineers are some of the most talented developers out there. The companies invest great resources into making it that way. The idea that they’re all just average devs who did LeetCode for a month and now they’re paid twice as much is a comforting fiction for non-FAANG…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#253

Post by thegypsyking »

p10jkle wrote: post #232

I left SRE four months ago to become a VC investing in developer tools. I wanted to see if I can contribute to tech in other ways than writing code/getting paged. Liking it so far!

How did you make the change? I’m an ml engineer at a faang company that would love to do something similar

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#254

Post by 55555 »

amerkhalid wrote: post #205

Not me but my friend quit his job to design jewelry based on ancient artifacts[1]. He sometimes work with some museums to get artifacts 3d scanned/photographed. Seems very Indiana Jones to me. [1]: https://bonene.com/

I’ve been getting into jewelry lately and WOW! This is so cool. Thanks for sharing.

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#255

Post by 55555 »

micromacrofoot wrote: post #241
marcrosoft wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? They are the ones that end up paying the most.

because regardless of paying most taxes, they’re still making most money

He’s saying his tax rate is dropping to 12%. So at his level it is possibly easier to make more money by switching to a job/business with a lower tax rate, even if income is somewhat lower. (I’m not sure how he’s getting 12%… LTCG with deductions?)

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#256

Post by angrygoat »

omginternets wrote: post #235
angrygoat wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Awesome question. I don't have a hugely strong mathematical background (second year university in some areas, like calculus, some stats, linear algebra, but a long time ago), but I think I know what you're getting at. My answer is yes – I had a particular experience on a silent retreat which I think falls into this category. There's a 15th century text by Nicholas of Cusa that I think you might enjoy and which I thin…

Thank you so much for this. I can already tell we're on the same wavelength, and I'm looking forward to a lazy Sunday afternoon of reading. >One interesting thing studying theology/philosophy/... is that my working set of metaphors has somewhat switched. Believe it or not, I come from a literary background (my B.A. was in literature and I switched to a STEM field afterwards) so I know exactly what you mean. There's a…

Cheers :)

I haven't, but it sounds fascinating – thanks for the Sunday afternoon read in return!

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#257

Post by [deleted] »

ryandrake wrote: post #142
djstein wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like what I want to do. Do you believe this transition was worth it? Did you see a pay increase or cut? What do you see in the career trajectory?

I did this. SWE before, got MBA, came back to tech and eventually settled on project management. Pros: - You get a bigger picture of the business and product. As a SWE you generally work on a tiny morsel of a huge product. Product managers and project managers often get to work across the broad product (or even a portfolio of projects if you're overworked), interact with leadership more, if your lucky, even have a vo…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#258

Post by city41 »

matsemann wrote: post #80
robodale wrote: post #71

Walked away from 20 years of software development last year. I've been day and swing trading stocks for last 2 years. I'm now trading full time and doing great. I don't miss the daily stand-ups, scrum meetings, planning meetings, "quick chats", one-on-ones with management, weekly department meetings, monthly company meetings, and late night critical support calls one bit!

Sorry for the blunt question, but how does it feel to go from something where you make something valuable to ...that? (At least I feel what I do give me meaning)

In my twenty year dev career I can count the meaningful projects on just a few fingers.

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#259

Post by dbjacobs »

Had a 20 year career in artificial intelligence and security, then in 2003 started my own financial planning business working from home. While I continue my tech habit as a hobby, the greater home involvement and greater connection to people has never had me second guessing the change.

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#260

Post by mauvehaus »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #168
mauvehaus wrote: post #32

I build furniture now[0], but I occasionally hack up code for myself[1]. [0] https://longwalkwoodworking.com [1] https://github.com/longwalkwoodworking

Very cool. I assume you are able to make a living selling your pieces? They seem pricey to me but then again you're not in the business to outsell IKEA. Is shipping a problem or do your customers generally arrange to pick up the pieces themselves?

Thanks! Let's say I'm (actually, not Silicon Valley) profitable, growing, and making a meaningful contribution to our household income. Not quite "making a living" on my own, but I feel good about this year and going forward.

I'm definitely targeting people in the post-IKEA parts of their lives, but sometimes the value prop is as simple as "you can't get a decent book shelf for a kid's room". I built some for a customer whose daughter destroyed a set of cheap ones. That's a very different bookshelf than if a lawyer wants a set for their office, obviously, but not everything I do is high-end either.

Shipping is interesting. After a bad experience with a carrier whose trucks are a familiar sight in the US, I no longer ship anything I can't box the hell out of via non-specialist carrier. Some stuff I deliver, some stuff goes by carriers that specialize in art-type stuff. LTL would likely be an option for some stuff as well. Pickup is an option as well, of course.

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