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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?

#291

Post by sanbor »

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…

With respect I'd like to ask if you don't have ethical issues. The military forces of USA has been doing pretty bad stuff in the last 50 years, so I have the feeling that you're not saving lifes but rather ruining them. War became such a common thing and nonsense in the US that at this point thatnpeople is not sure if they're at war or not.

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

#292

Post by gadders »

uxcolumbo wrote: post #266
gadders wrote: post #223

1) Working in Investment Banking - the salaries are significantly higher than you can get anywhere else, at least for the UK 2) Starting contracting - Higher salary, greater variety of roles/projects etc etc.

Are you worried about Brexit - IBs potentially leaving the UK if passporting rights are lost?

Not particularly. From the inside here and knowing people working on Brexit projects, there doesn't seem to be any plans to move people and businesses out of London. Certainly in the short term at least.

I'm more worried about the government and their IR35 reforms in the private sector to be honest.

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

#293

Post by rakoo »

rsrx wrote: post #265

Buying one way ticket to Thailand, leaving Eastern Europe and becoming a digital nomad when I was 24. I'm 29 now and looking to make a home base somewhere in Europe after 5 years of traveling, but the personal growth, people I've met and experiences during this time were invaluable.

Honest question: what makes you want to come back? Why not settle there for the long-term?

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

#294

Post by ellius »

laingc wrote: post #268

I wrote a doctorate in Applied Mathematics. The process totally transformed how I think about problems, helped me develop a lot more mathematical maturity, and got me my first job in a then obscure field called "machine learning". It's certainly not the right choice for many people, but it was for me.

Nott that this was your situation, but do you have any recommendations for learning advanced math as an adult hobbyist? I sort of missed the boat on doing advanced math in college, and while I likely won't be able to go back to school for it, I'd like to invest a lot of my free time in learning to better think about problems.

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

#295

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

m_fayer wrote: post #289
expathacker wrote: post #235

Emotionally detaching. I was a workaholic from age 16 until 33 and this was my primary identity. I used to always be proud of the work I did, no matter how lame the company or how many times I was screwed over. Then one day my father died, and I was fired from a company who I truly believed in and for whom I had sacrificed. This sounds cynical, but it's really peaceful. With the emotional energy and sheer time saved…

It seems intuitive to me that the thing you pour your intellect, attention, and care into for 7-9 hours a day 5 days a week should be meaningful and fulfilling. On the other hand, hanging meaning and mission over one's head seems like a great way to manipulate and underpay them, and being susceptible to this seems like a great way to become a useful idiot. Squaring these two views is something I struggle with.

Not everybody can have a job doing something they find meaningful and fulfilling, best not to delude yourself into thinking yours is if it isn't.

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

#296

Post by ollerac »

m_fayer wrote: post #289
expathacker wrote: post #235

Emotionally detaching. I was a workaholic from age 16 until 33 and this was my primary identity. I used to always be proud of the work I did, no matter how lame the company or how many times I was screwed over. Then one day my father died, and I was fired from a company who I truly believed in and for whom I had sacrificed. This sounds cynical, but it's really peaceful. With the emotional energy and sheer time saved…

It seems intuitive to me that the thing you pour your intellect, attention, and care into for 7-9 hours a day 5 days a week should be meaningful and fulfilling. On the other hand, hanging meaning and mission over one's head seems like a great way to manipulate and underpay them, and being susceptible to this seems like a great way to become a useful idiot. Squaring these two views is something I struggle with.

I think it's easier to cope with this tension if you embrace the other parts of your life that are meaningful, as OP is alluding to.

It's a lot harder for a company to manipulate someone if they have alternate ways to derive meaning and emotional support. For me, this involves always having a side project that's fulfilling.

I think this sincere desire for unexploitable meaning is why a lot of engineers try to start startups.

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

#297

Post by anonu »

sanbor wrote: post #291
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…

With respect I'd like to ask if you don't have ethical issues. The military forces of USA has been doing pretty bad stuff in the last 50 years, so I have the feeling that you're not saving lifes but rather ruining them. War became such a common thing and nonsense in the US that at this point thatnpeople is not sure if they're at war or not.

The US Military is a huge employer and there are a variety of jobs and roles in the organization. Your comment is like telling employees of a company they should feel ashamed because management cooked the books.

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

#298

Post by Tistel »

expathacker wrote: post #235

Emotionally detaching. I was a workaholic from age 16 until 33 and this was my primary identity. I used to always be proud of the work I did, no matter how lame the company or how many times I was screwed over. Then one day my father died, and I was fired from a company who I truly believed in and for whom I had sacrificed. This sounds cynical, but it's really peaceful. With the emotional energy and sheer time saved…

I am trying to learn how to do this! Teach me!

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

#299

Post by ellius »

I decided to be honest with myself about what I do and do not like, to work my ass off at the things I do like, and to be vigilant about checking my feelings and following my gut. It's paid enormous dividends. I taught myself to program and have gotten good jobs because of it, and I've also avoided going down a lot of blind alleys. I quit academia after completing a Master's rather than chase a PhD I didn't really want and saved myself enormous heartache there. Several times I've started developing skills only to realize, "I hate doing this." So I just stopped. I left numerous jobs where I was unhappy for various reasons and have stayed at one where so far I've been happy. And overall this attitude has kept me growing and pretty happy in my career and life generally.

EDIT: As a part of this: I was honest with myself that I cared about money (to a point). For a while I stayed in a job I liked that didn't pay me well, trying to convince myself that "quality of life" was more important than money. The reality for me is that money is part of the quality of life equation, and I'm glad I admitted that to myself. It was also sort of a canary that I wasn't being challenged and could do tougher work that paid better.

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

#300

Post by acct1771 »

anonu wrote: post #297
sanbor wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With respect I'd like to ask if you don't have ethical issues. The military forces of USA has been doing pretty bad stuff in the last 50 years, so I have the feeling that you're not saving lifes but rather ruining them. War became such a common thing and nonsense in the US that at this point thatnpeople is not sure if they're at war or not.

The US Military is a huge employer and there are a variety of jobs and roles in the organization. Your comment is like telling employees of a company they should feel ashamed because management cooked the books.

Really depends how blatantly obvious it us the company's cooking the books.

Also, if that bad accounting is leading to the death and torture of humans.

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