I dabbled with the idea. that's how I created/chose this username - for that specific topic ad asked here. I realised pretty much nothing else pays, at least not in my corner of the world and I could not afford to take a gigantic loan to go elsewhere to study after working and being financially independent for few years. Even the tuition was not free anywhere, exorbitant fees and no scholarship of course (and it was obvious). Also, if I had to keep a day or night job to support whatever else I worked or studied full time I figured that whatever wasn't really worth it. Some kind folks offered to guide but over the time it was drilled down into me that in the end it's about the money. I made peace with it.
Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
31–40 of 67 posts
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#32I left to study for a masters in philosophy. Found it incredibly meaningful and enjoyable. I am however back in tech now as a product manager; I haven't yet been able to chart/imagine a reasonably stable career related to or within philosophy.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#33If I ever win the lottery I'm dropping software engineering to do music somehow. I play guitar and learn music theory as a hobby, but only at a beginner/intermediate level with not enough time to practice and get to the next level.
You only have time if you make time.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#34I went and did a masters on Middle East studies, focusing on Shia rituals in Iraq. I moved to Baghdad (and south Iraq) for a year, wrote up my research here: http://malloc.dog/karbala/ , http://malloc.dog/field/iraq/ My day job was writing cpp and elixir, although I kept my job and returned to it. I've been thinking about leaving software completely though.
you could then consult world government on those subjects? does that path work?
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#35Not yet, but I can't see my life behind a computer forever so I'm leaning into car maintenance or agriculture. But those are all FIRE-like activities, I don't see any realistic way to maintain my income in another field unless I go into extremes.
>so I'm leaning into car maintenance...I don't see any realistic way to maintain my income
Plenty of money to be made there, even as a hobbyist out of your garage. Unfortunately, most of the real-world work is also tedious, that part is hard to escape in any job.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#36Still a coder but studied (BA equivalent) philosophy at university.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#37I wish I could do something similar. I'll probably pursue Cosmology and Occult study -- they look pretty similar :) But the money in software is pretty good and I need it. So maybe when I'm 50 years old after 10 years.
Cosmology and Occult study - sounds pretty useful for software estimations
Or maybe similar to some obscure system programming such as analyzing the undocumented instruction sets of the co-processor.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#38When I decide to quit software engineering (after I've made enough money I guess), I'm interested to look into microbiology, because mushrooms and fungi are really cool.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#39Yeah; I went to law school. Big mistake. Luckily, I was able to switch back, and I now work at a legal tech startup as a software engineer :D
Can you explain why it was a big mistake for you ?
I look at law as software engineering, in an esoteric language, on non-deterministic hardware (people), who are adversarial by the way. How your code runs changes based on the person reading it and what their goals are.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#40I went and did a masters on Middle East studies, focusing on Shia rituals in Iraq. I moved to Baghdad (and south Iraq) for a year, wrote up my research here: http://malloc.dog/karbala/ , http://malloc.dog/field/iraq/ My day job was writing cpp and elixir, although I kept my job and returned to it. I've been thinking about leaving software completely though.
you could then consult world government on those subjects? does that path work?
I have consulted for UNDP and DPPA during my time in Iraq, although that left me with complicated feelings about that industry.