Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: How Do I Get over My Existential Crisis?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 96 posts

Re: Ask HN: How Do I Get over My Existential Crisis?

#31

Post by fsloth »

bitbasher wrote: post #14

What qualifies as "good income" where you live? How feasible is it to make your own business? It doesn't have to be a contract/service based role, you can simply sell a product. Depending on your income needs it may be enough to keep you afloat while you figure out a long term strategy.

"you can simply sell a product."

Are you personally making a living by selling a product or service you created - and if so could you share something of your experience? Making a product is not trivial - it's double hard.

First you need to come up with a product. Then you need to sell it and the latter is possibly much harder than the technology in all except the most complex of products. There are success stories, sure, but so many people in the internet are hustling so success looks like driven by chance rather than a deterministic outcome by following a given process. (If you get to medical school, then becoming a doctor is a deterministic outcome. If you get unemployed, coming up with a product and sales to make a living does not seem deterministic to me in the same sense).

Re: Ask HN: How Do I Get over My Existential Crisis?

#32

Post by waterbadger »

waterbadger wrote: post #29
brcmthrowaway wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whats the best intro to Catholicism?

The official Catholic church catechism that was published in the 90s is good. Its older but Baltimore catechism “4” (it is the most adult oriented version) is also really good.

(I would also recommend going to your local mass and introducing yourself to the priest! they are usually very nice. this is actually a good time of year I think that lots of places have “ocia” classes starting in the fall for people who are curious about the church)

Re: Ask HN: How Do I Get over My Existential Crisis?

#33

Post by hnfong »

It looks like you're in Iraq.

The first thing that comes to mind is, if I wanted to hire you remotely, how would I pay you?

I don't know whether it's a common question you have from prospective employers, but if I'm running a business (FWIW, I'm not), I'd be worried that regularly sending money to Iraq might trigger some alarms (anti-money laundering, sanctions, etc.), and this probably trumps any other consideration unless somehow you're able to show that you're so good at doing the work that it's worth the (perceived) risk.

So I'm speculating that maybe you'd have better chances if you focus on crypto-friendly companies and figure out a way to receive money using crypto, and mention this upfront or at least at the same time you reveal where you are currently.

Re: Ask HN: How Do I Get over My Existential Crisis?

#35

Post by rayiner »

rootusrootus wrote: post #4

Living in Iraq, and unable to move somewhere that has the jobs you're looking for? That's a tough one. If you can't get a remote-only gig to work out, I'd be trying to start my own thing that I could do entirely over the Internet. The biggest problem, of course, is the coding is one job, and running a business is entirely different. Maybe you don't want that.

Who has sanctions on Iraq?

Re: Ask HN: How Do I Get over My Existential Crisis?

#37

Post by selimthegrim »

waterbadger wrote: post #32
waterbadger wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The official Catholic church catechism that was published in the 90s is good. Its older but Baltimore catechism “4” (it is the most adult oriented version) is also really good.

(I would also recommend going to your local mass and introducing yourself to the priest! they are usually very nice. this is actually a good time of year I think that lots of places have “ocia” classes starting in the fall for people who are curious about the church)

He’s in Iraq.

Re: Ask HN: How Do I Get over My Existential Crisis?

#38

Post by brokencode »

AfterHIA wrote: post #21

[flagged]

Could you please explain how a "neoliberal assault on occidental values" could be causing a deficit of programming jobs in Iraq?

I feel like you're just coming in with an ax to grind that has no relevance to the question being asked here.

Re: Ask HN: How Do I Get over My Existential Crisis?

#40

Post by SoftTalker »

rootusrootus wrote: post #4

Living in Iraq, and unable to move somewhere that has the jobs you're looking for? That's a tough one. If you can't get a remote-only gig to work out, I'd be trying to start my own thing that I could do entirely over the Internet. The biggest problem, of course, is the coding is one job, and running a business is entirely different. Maybe you don't want that.

If one had a trustworthy business-minded friend who was willing to work with you at starting something that might be the way to go.

However, as OP directly experienced (as have I) most startups will fail. That's the normal result. Employment is almost always safer, even if ultimately less rewarding. So try to do an honest assessment of your risk tolerance. If you only have yourself to worry about, you can live on beans and rice for a long time. If you have children or other dependents, it can be more complicated.

Post reply on HN