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Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#261

Post by throwanem »

gandolfinmyhead wrote: post #143

Sadly yes. It's been very frustrating at times. I thought of becoming an environment artist for videogames instead. Though OP hasn't asked for the following here goes, I feel the IT field has a lot of people wanting to change career paths, more than any other field because of the following: 1. Programming is an art, if not done right and assuming the product is in continuous development, will come back to bite you in…

Points 1 and 2 can be a good thing, if you have the mental fortitude and cast-iron gullet to specialize in cleaning up other people's messes. There's a lot of money to be made that way. It doesn't tickle the artistic urge the same way greenfield development often can, but that's what creative hobbies are for - I write - and you can derive considerable satisfaction from the knowledge that you're bringing order from chaos, and being quite well paid and appreciated for it besides.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#262

Post by dilemma »

sean_patel wrote: post #83

Programming is a creative art, and when I say that to my non-programmer friends, they laugh it off, but if you think about it, it is true. Just like artists, the programmers, coders, developers all design and create new things that didn't exist before, and no 2 programs or applications or completely functioning code will be identical for anything other than a fizzbuzz type test. So it is natural for the creatives to…

Regardless of industry and profession, you need agency to feel fulfilled. Most don't have that, like the photographer in your example. If you were in his situation today, you could have still published it but on your own Instagram account, and that way preserved your agency.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#263

Post by awkward_yeti »

cygned wrote: post #140

Call me crazy but I have always had this exit plan. If my business completely fails, I'd give away my stuff and live in buddhist temples, would visit Tibet, travel around and spend my days meditating and helping people. Sounds like an insane idea, but as a Buddhist that would be a fulfilled life for me.

Me too, although I don't know how to go about doing this if need be, any tips ?

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#264

Post by dilemma »

JDiculous wrote: post #109
sean_patel wrote: post #83

Programming is a creative art, and when I say that to my non-programmer friends, they laugh it off, but if you think about it, it is true. Just like artists, the programmers, coders, developers all design and create new things that didn't exist before, and no 2 programs or applications or completely functioning code will be identical for anything other than a fizzbuzz type test. So it is natural for the creatives to…

Programming involves very little creativity compared to actual art, so to call it a "creative art" is a gross exaggeration. A programmer is given a very specific set of tasks (eg. send data from A to B, fix bug, implement X), and his problems are mostly technical. This doesn't even compare to the creativity involved in a real artistic endeavor like designing your own videogame, writing your own screenplay, or composi…

Most artists lack creative freedom because they're locked in to expectations from their previous work and feel pressed by dealers media, audience, etc. to continue in the same way. Meaning that they too face a lack of agency that kills their passion for their work and thereby also reduces its quality.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#265

Post by sokoloff »

JDiculous wrote: post #120

Yes, I want to do something more meaningful than build and maintain web CRUD apps. Despite the media perpetuating this notion that there's a shortage of engineers, I actually feel that this field, particularly the web space (where most of the actual jobs are), is starting to get really saturated. And from a job security perspective, the barriers to entry are fairly low. These days I'm most interested in economics and…

Oh man, 1000x this. This election season in particular has made me consider how we could get more smart, rational, self-less people into positions where they could influence the overall outcome positively for the vast majority of the population. I don't think our current political system achieves that outcome.

I'm smart. I think I'm rational. I'm not self-less enough to give up my and my family's financial security to leave the field to tilt at these particular windmills. (I'm unconvinced that any single politician, even the President, could change the systemic problems our system is facing, to say nothing of the likelihood that any individual would be cast aside at some point during the election tournament ladder.)

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#266

Post by clarry »

I've had programming as a lifelong hobby, and in my teens I thought it'd be my profession. But then I realized I don't really care for what the industry is doing, figured I'd have a very hard time finding a software job I'd like.. so I went on to pick up a new skill. I became a machinist. In hindsight, I regret it, because most machining jobs are too simplistic and repetitive to satisfy my intellectual curiosity (simply doing the same thing over and over again fast and making few mistakes matters more) and the good ones are hard to get into. So now I'm looking to get into software, where even the average job will probably suck less for me.

Problem is it's hard to sell myself to an employer with no degree, no job experience, no portfolio of projects done using the fashionable tech that is in high demand (and which I have no personal interest in). At this point I'm at a crossroads, but the best way forward seems to be to start building my own business. Of course, there are plenty of unknown intersections ahead in going that route, and I have no prior experience from running a business, so where I end up is one big question mark.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#269

Post by pinouchon »

Computational cognitive science.

I'm in the process of going back to studying. My employer knows this, as well as most my friends and peers. I plan to spend the next two scholar years (starting in 2017) to take a master in cognitive science. I have worked for 3 years in web development since graduating and have enough money stashed to make the transition.

I'll likely write a lot less code, and more maths and english.

My primary motivation is that I believe that breakthroughs in AI and cognitive science at the computational Marr's level are going to have a huge impact, and I want to be a part of it.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#270

Post by cygned »

awkward_yeti wrote: post #263
cygned wrote: post #140

Call me crazy but I have always had this exit plan. If my business completely fails, I'd give away my stuff and live in buddhist temples, would visit Tibet, travel around and spend my days meditating and helping people. Sounds like an insane idea, but as a Buddhist that would be a fulfilled life for me.

Me too, although I don't know how to go about doing this if need be, any tips ?

I have a good five digit amount of cash prepared. That's enough to buy plane tickets and pay drivers to get where I want.

I live in Europe and not far away from me is one of the largest European pagodas - even the Dalai Lama has been here. I'd just go there to start my journey. I could stay there for some time.

Actually, I think it's like it is always with the Buddhism; the plan is not to have a plan.

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