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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?

#31

Not reading Hacked News… that’s what they’re doing now.

I know that’s not true. I live in a remotish town of ~50,000. With ag and retirement as the primary backbone. A couple months ago, someone on HN’er responded to one of my comments, and we’ve hung out a few times. I actually came here to see if he’s posted since he pivoted to real estate. I’m still in tech.

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

#33
I'm not sure if you're looking for stories of moving away from tech, software, or just development, but I did the latter.

I started as a web developer, but I realized that my favorite part of the job wasn't building new pages/apps but helping my colleagues when they ran into roadblocks. I got a reputation as a problem-solver and people would come to me with their thorniest bugs or browser compatibility issues and I loved it - the detective work of investigating and diagnosing the issues, the creative solutions to work around browser limitations, and the satisfaction of helping people achieve their goals.

Then I met a product support engineer at my friend's startup and heard about that role, and realized it was an entire job made of what I loved most about my previous jobs. I joined the team and was on it for years, and have been working in technical support for software products ever since (about twelve years now). I still build websites as a hobby, but I wouldn't want to do it for a job anymore. I'm very happy in product support.

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

#34
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wasn't sure so I googled it. You are talking about some kind of cattle ranching? https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/beev... Regardless, congratulations on taking the plunge! I hope it goes well for you!

You got it-- running a fold of Scottish Highland beasts. Thank you!

My first guess would have been beaver farming.

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

#35
post #6

Switched to remodeling houses and landscaping. I switched because this is better. Healthier. Saner. Happier. More in line with my long-term goals and general growth.

How did you get into remodeling? I like design and making things, it sounds interesting. Is it like those HGTV shows?

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

#36
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.

One of the few interviews I accepted was for a renewable management company. It does change the motivation a bit.

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

#37
post #29
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It can be. It's physically taxing work but that's not a bad thing. Living where you're remodeling at the same time is stressful.

I have no doubt that it is very fulfilling, but was thinking more of the dust, solvents, VOC, ie. the tiny things that are out to make you sick.

All those absolutely exist and you absolutely have to pay attention to them. And that is why your good friend Keen makes comfy ceramic-toed boots and your other good friend, the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, makes respirators with high-flow P100 filters and WorkTunes Bluetooth headphones/ear protection.

I'm thankfully mostly done my last (for a while) remodel, but I spend a bunch of time in my wood shop, and I'm always struck by how much longer I can do stuff when I'm even just wearing an RZ mask even when I have the dust extraction on and the overhead filters going. Dead trees just make a lot of crap, let alone gypsum boards and the like.

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

#38
post #25

Not a switch per se, because I still work on IT related stuff, but I started a bakery and a retail store (two separate businesses). I hired a chef and a manager to do the work professionally, and I pay for wages, rent, material, etc. But I get to learn the immense efforts it takes for a brownie to be on a table, for a cake to bring a smile to face, and a cheesecake to melt in the mouth. It was a fresh experience, and…

How is the cashflow?

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

#39
post #7

Not sure if this is what you mean, but I 'switched' from an ML consultancy to entrepreneurship. I now build and market my own projects ([1], [2]) and try to gain enough ad revenue to replace my former salary. Started 1.5 months ago, and enjoying every minute of it! No longer occupying my mind with corporate power dynamics saves a lot of cognitive bandwidth, but to my surprise it has been replaced. I thought I'd feel…

nslookup.io is great — bookmarked it, I’m sure I’ll be using it in future!

Side note, curious how the domain name autocomplete works when searching? My domain wasn’t suggested, but all the other services I tried in my sector all came up. What’s the source for that data?

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