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Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

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Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#291

Post by superkimchi »

I gave carpentry a shot but I only lasted a week on the job. I was super fortunate to meet a crew of guys that were willing to show me the ropes. I was able to learn quickly and it challenged me. I really enjoyed stepping outside of tech, but the reality of working for $20/hr hit home pretty quick. To the best of my knowledge there aren't many places in the United States where you can realistically support yourself on an income like that. At least not long term. I also nearly lost my marriage (not joking).

I'm back in an office now working in a contract tech role that involves a little bit of coding on the side and it's alright for now I suppose. It isn't glamorous, but I'm happy to be working to be honest. I wanted to respond to your post because I found that cold calling and networking was the way to go for opening doors. I needed to talk to real people and build personal relationships. It took time and some surprisingly interesting opportunities opened up here and there. No one gave me a hard time about looking for work. I met a lot of people who were more than willing to take time out of their day to talk to me. It took a long time to get back into a full time role - about 6 months.

I also applied to a couple hundred jobs online but that approach didn't lead to much. The couple of interviews that I did get weren't even genuine. I deleted my LinkedIn account and never looked back.

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#292

Post by g939763 »

bilsbie wrote: post #283
g939763 wrote: post #157

I breed, train and sell horses. So I do construction, which started as a need to build structures for horses, and then turned into side gigs. It's easy as an engineer with a maxint salary and -tism to enter the construction field, because you have the discipline and the skill to read and retain manufacturer's manuals and code. I mean I have one of those autistic recalls for multimillion line codebases, I can probably…

Is the horse side not profitable enough on its own?

I've literally written a dozen of answers, that I then removed, because that question that you asked goes in the direction of life planning and life goals, it turned into a kind of personal exploration, but also I can talk horse for hours. because this place is trolled by ais and dimwitted copy cats, whenever I hit some deep truth in the many answers that I've written, I'm reluctant to just post them to public like that, so I'll be brief and somewhat superficial: horse business is very volatile, as is it can provide me with a modest living, as I get better I get better control of volatility, but then I encounter some global effects, that I didn't think about. For example horse business was booming during covid for obvious reasons, but then we had an economic downturn, and last year on top of that we had drought, so everyone I know is hurting. but a lot of volatility is inherent: you can buy someone's field puppy at discount, who is otherwise papered, well broke and sound, put him through few months of tuning, and then hit jackpot because two people got into a bidding war, going way above the value. on the other hand there's all kinds of events that can eat away at horse's value, vet visits, freak accidents, and the longer you hold him the higher the probability. in the most catastrophic cases the value goes to zero. getting good margins takes a lot of experience. there comes I believe a point of certainty, where you've been doing it long enough, you've settled in your niche, you have a global view of risk profile, you have mitigations in place, you're no longer faking inner stability in front your heard, you are living it, when things just work, I'm not quite there yet, but I'm sure I will be.

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#293

Post by wallflower »

_benj wrote: post #280
wallflower wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Congrats on your trading venture! Not sure you will see this but one of my all-time favorite HN comments is by a trader named fiaz about trading and failing. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=121413 fiaz on Feb 22, 2008 | parent | context | favorite | on: Ask News.YC: How to re-motivate yourself? APOLOGIES for making this post so annoyingly long, but I really hope you find value in the words below. ---------------…

Wow, thanks for sharing this!! I have experience a bit of the same, although I don't have a group of traders making fun of me, the challenge sometimes comes from having to believe in myself, and also from how family sees it, i.e. going from a high salary "secure" tech job to attempting to accomplish something by myself... I also find curious the human part of wishing to be believed . The numbers in trading are comple…

I’m glad you read it! Maybe print it out and post it somewhere you see regularly. Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#294

Post by bilsbie »

g939763 wrote: post #292
bilsbie wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the horse side not profitable enough on its own?

I've literally written a dozen of answers, that I then removed, because that question that you asked goes in the direction of life planning and life goals, it turned into a kind of personal exploration, but also I can talk horse for hours. because this place is trolled by ais and dimwitted copy cats, whenever I hit some deep truth in the many answers that I've written, I'm reluctant to just post them to public like t…

Thanks for the details!

What would the economics look like for selling unpapered horses just randomly bred? Is that even possible?

Also what are the economics of selling mules or other animals at the same time?

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#295

Post by Johanx64 »

robomartin wrote: post #281
Johanx64 wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If I am 60 and you are 30, I can do the job and do it well, I should not be excluded because of my age. On paper, yes, you shouldn't be excluded because of age. In practice, it doesn't work like it. 60 is basically retirement age for a reason, and it's been stretched to ever higher numbers due to demographics and strain on social spending pyramid schemes. 60 year olds do do not perform like 20-30 year olds unless t…

> 60 year olds do do not perform like 20-30 year olds unless they have some extraordinary secondary characteristics that make up for it. Wow. Well, that, right there, is the root of the evil of age discrimination. This exclusionary thinking is no different from such horrible things as "blacks can't perform as well as whites" or "the disabled can't do what the fully abled can", etc. It is wrong and disgusting. And, if…

It's of no coincidence that your anecdote, anecdotally is completely outside of software development field.

While I agree that 20 year old kid highly unlikely to be a good replacement for an experienced 55yo machinist or a 55yo electrical engineer. The same is absolutely not true in software.

John Carmack shipped Doom when he was 23, and had shipped multiple games by then (Wolfenstein, Keen, etc). Many pivotal software projects are made and created by young guys (Ken Silverman, etc), and not set in their ways 60yo Fortran devs or enterprise java devs with baggage and old habits who will use any excuse not to write any code, learn anything new or better themselves - because they simply don't have that energy and drive anymore. Now this quality is useful ... sometimes, but more often than not it is not if you're doing anything new.

I'd have a Carmack at any age, but given the option I'd always rather have him at 20 than 55.

Back in those days it was rare and unusual if a person started programming when they were 7, 10, or 13. Nowadays it is extremely common that kids start programming when they are 6 or 7. By the age of 20-30, most competent software developers have been programming for solid 7-17 or more years.

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#296

Post by darcwader »

srdesigner wrote: post #231
xyst wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I am in my mid-70s now It says something about society that asks people to work well beyond their retirement age. I hope you are only looking because it gives you purpose rather than doing it because it’s necessary (ie, medical bills, rent). If it’s the latter, very dystopian and on par for this neoliberal economic hellhole we live in. Personally, if I get to that age. I am cashing in my chips. No way I am working…

I am 61 and still working at a tech startup. I love startups. I do not have to work any more (not wealthy due to an exit, but I have enough with normal savings and investments to stop now.) In my line of work (not an engineer, but engineer adjacent, lol) it is unusual for someone my age to be employed- it's a young person's game. But I am fortunate because I have attributes that many lack, including extreme tolerance…

i am 40 and am worried about retirement. what sort of retirement planning did you do? how much do you think is a good plan. i love startups, i see similar aspiration to continue to work for startups till 60. i am not interested in creating any sort of generational weath or such as i am already doing what i would like to do, large sum of money won't change anything. but i am asking so i can be a bit peaceful to know some advise from my senior.

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#297

Post by drumdance »

Fruitmaniac wrote: post #26
popularrecluse wrote: post #16

I never stopped developing. After getting laid off in April 2023 after 13 years as first a full stack then mobile dev, I just started working on things that interested me. I did apply and interview a few times, but I started to realize that pushing 50 and being as cynical as I now am, I'm pretty much unemployable as an IC. So I released my application to the App Store this month, and while savings are dwindling, thin…

I dunno. I'm 56 and got hired last year as an Android dev. But then, I'm not very cynical.

I'm 56. Please teach me your ways. I took a break from dev work from 2017 to 2023 and want to get back into it. I learned more recent stuff like React and have built a couple of open source projects and a mobile app using React Native, but I can't even get an interview.

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#299

Post by trod1234 »

jstrebel wrote: post #213
ATMLOTTOBEER wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What even is this comment? Some weird combination of doomer x shaving ad

This is an AI-generated post where the first part is the hook for the second part, the ad.

If you believe that, then you have shown objectively that you have lost your touch on reality and can't recognize other people at all, least of all when it matters.

What is done in small things that don't matter is inevitably done in important things where everything is on the line. It goes to the character of a person.

I had hoped moderation would remove your post for breaking the rules, so I held off responding until now in following eschewing flamebait.

It seems they chose to not enforce the rules here.

I'm a person, and no AI would generate a response like mine, nor could it following so closely to rational principles and supporting what is said sequentially, contextually and while maintaining with consistency. Any person with a bare minimum level of reading comprehension should be able to see this.

These properties as well are important to determine falseness, like your statement, where it fails completely.

You call it an AI generated ad, but name one other other immediate and significant action OP can take that will provide a significant reduction of cost savings that is not well known. You don't provide this, or your reasoning instead choosing nullification without basis which is reputational based on your credibility which isn't good here.

False statements and accusations are worthless, and when you believe in those same statements despite them being false that borders on definitions of delusion which is strongly associated with mental illness.

Intention towards false statements and accusations that would deprive others would classify this response of yours as malice, if its not delusional.

Perhaps you can explain a bit more of your reasoning, maybe you mispoke?, just so there is no miscommunication.

This is not intended to harass, unlike the many downvotes I received for offering value to OP, and those actions have a knock-on effects of preventing any kind of responses for a time, which many are aware of. Its quite a convenient system for malevolent and collectivist groups to stalk and be able to squelch others.

If there is no response, or the response is not appropriate I may not answer but I'll leave this with you:

You should be more careful in your day to day interactions with other people, and follow the rules, and if you actually have a problem, seek help. Ignorance is a sin.

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#300

Post by john2095 »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #122

I am in my mid-70s now and for the first time in my life I can’t find part time work. I have had three really good leads in the last four or five months but in each case there was no job unless I accepted a full time position. Sadly at my age, I don’t have the energy for full time work, so it is what it is. My wife is happy I am not working, and she literally would not accept it if I tried a full time gig, even just…

Mid-70's! Well done. What degradation in ability should I plan for? Any?

I envisage myself coding for another 45 years (I'm in my 50s now), but I worry about my ability to concentrate on a single task for long spells, think creatively yet realistically enough to find solutions; to learn the latest fads and tools, and maintain my enthusiasm to keep up with the latest fads and tools. Will my hands get too unsteady to type, my eyes too weak to focus; how long will I be able to sit (or stand) up and work in a session. No-one knows I'm a dog, but they will if I have to turn on the camera or go to the office, so, will I necessarily be transitioned to more results-driven work assignments via tasking sites?

(I guess these are the typical prejudices that a hiring team will make when considering an older candidate.)

Prepare me. Share your wisdom. What challenges has aging presented to your ability to code?

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