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Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

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Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#351

Post by jjav »

nostrebored wrote: post #250
adamsmith143 wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if you know but things in the US are outrageously expensive. Childcare might cost 4k per month, a private tutor is ~50-100/hr, the best schools are generally either public schools in the richest suburbs or private schools that cost 50k/year. College even at a State University is going to cost $10,000 per year and at least as much for living costs so you are looking at ~$80,000 for a 4 year degree. >- A luxur…

I’ve lived in some of the most expensive cities in the U.S. Childcare at 4,000 is upper quartile of expensive cities. You’ll find many places where it’s half or less of that price. Private schools at $50k a year are either going to be boarding or some of the more expensive country day schools. Even Sidwell, where Obama sent his kids, is cheaper than this. And finally we get to university education. There are many sch…

> I’ve lived in some of the most expensive cities in the U.S.

> Childcare at 4,000 is upper quartile of expensive cities. You’ll find many places where it’s half or less of that price. Private schools at $50k a year are either going to be boarding or some of the more expensive country day schools.

You either have not lived in expensive cities in the US or at least didn't have kids while there!

For example in this list nearly all schools are over 50K:

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-private-high-schools/m...

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#352

Post by gabereiser »

zander312 wrote: post #302
gabereiser wrote: post #253

Not exactly. I'm still in tech but I sold everything and bought a sailboat to sail the world after I got sick and tired of sitting at a desk. I have starlink now which makes it possible (before it was hunting for 4G/5G signals like I was the crocodile hunter) and sailboats can be pretty affordable if you want to sharpen your trade skills. I've "re-kindled" my love for woodworking, fiberglass, diesel engines, electric…

This is my dream. I love to sail / fish. But do you have a family? wife? I fear that this kind of thing will be impossible if I settle down, have kids etc.

Not since 2020… I wouldn’t have this lifestyle with kids. Not unless you have a really large vessel. I’m used to small confined spaces so it doesn’t bother me to sleep in what some would consider their closet.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#353

Post by gabereiser »

cmaury wrote: post #315
gabereiser wrote: post #253

Not exactly. I'm still in tech but I sold everything and bought a sailboat to sail the world after I got sick and tired of sitting at a desk. I have starlink now which makes it possible (before it was hunting for 4G/5G signals like I was the crocodile hunter) and sailboats can be pretty affordable if you want to sharpen your trade skills. I've "re-kindled" my love for woodworking, fiberglass, diesel engines, electric…

But do you have a YouTube channel? (jk) Are you working remotely with this set up?

I don’t have a YT channel, seems like I should right? I work remotely and use starlink for internet access. It’s mounted between my solar panels.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#354

Post by jjav »

GoToRO wrote: post #56
fwlr wrote: post #43

Dropped out of tech, arguably more by force than choice. My lifestyle, finances, social life, even country of residence (and by extension my love life) were all balanced on top of that little MacBook Pro. Used it for work, used it to socialize, eventually my brain refused to let me mediate my entire life through a computer any longer and I burned out. Now I work at a hotel! Receptionist, barista, waiter, even some ma…

I would guess the one big difference is respect. For some reason, there is no respect for tech workers.

> I would guess the one big difference is respect. For some reason, there is no respect for tech workers.

Perhaps OP meant as a trend over time? That has truth to it if you compare going back to the early 90s (my frame of reference).

In the 90s programming was not that well-paid, but was a very respected role in the companies I and my circle of programmer friends inhabited. A programmer/sysadmin was a wizard and treated as such. It was a vastly more fun industry to be in even if salaries were just regular white-collar professional level.

Slowly in the 00s after the dot com crash that seems to have vanished even as salaries started to climb. An in the 2010s programming became a low-level job where all the decision making power was removed from programmers and handed over to PMs. Now programmers are seens as replaceable worker units to be micromanaged to death via agile and daily status reports. In other words, not respected professionals anymore. The insane salaries kind of make up for the loss of respect, but not fully.

For the first couple decades of my career I always felt this was the best field of work ever, and it was. These days though, as I look at my high school peers who went into medicine, law, accounting I have to wonder. They all get ever more respected in their fields as they gain more experience, very much not the case in software anymore.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#356

Post by SamWhited »

ProllyInfamous wrote: post #323
SamWhited wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yah, I have the tinniest cheapest house pretty far outside of the city but the mortgage is just too much without roommates (which is how all my coworkers afford apartments), but it's small enough that I really don't want to do that I've tried to do some consulting work, but never could figure out how to get any clients. Apparently this is a thing people do somehow, but everyone I asked just knew somebody to get their…

Same thing (on the housing situation)... except I'm currently in fear of losing my home to an active landslide that just recently took out my septic. Currently been using a portable toilet, for weeks, with no end in sight. Perfect metaphor for the mid-life crisis that's fortunately been co-happening during this same shit period =P Currently seeking land with less of a view, and more solid foundations.

"shit period", pun intended?

Jokes aside, good luck, so far I've been really lucky and haven't had any major house issues, that's super tough.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#357

Post by freedomben »

mauvehaus wrote: post #171
mabbo wrote: post #47

The greatest such story I've ever read is this one from a GitHub issue comment: https://github.com/docker/cli/issues/267#issuecomment-695149... > Sorry I missed your comment of many months ago. I no longer build software; I now make furniture out of wood. The hours are long, the pay sucks, and there's always the opportunity to remove my finger with a table saw, but nobody asks me if I can add an RSS feed to a DBMS, s…

That's me! It also generated a rather large discussion here and if you want to read how things were going up to that point, I posted a lengthy comment there: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24541964 How am I doing now? Still good, still grateful to be married to somebody who gets good health insurance through their job. Still need to update my website a bit (is that work ever really done?). Still working on the…

I haven't seen your comment before, but I've literally considered this exact thing a few times over the last several years. I built a few pieces (a table, a bench, a fireplace mantle) and found it was super rewarding in the same ways that building software is, but despite being physically harder was ultimately a stress reducing activity. I've got a handful of young kids and a mortgage so it's stayed in the back of my mind.

If you don't mind, can you share a little about what the pay really is like? And how do you go about finding gigs? What are typical gigs like? i.e. do you build stuff and then try to find buyers, or do you find the buyer first and do heavy customizations? Do you use your own plans/designs or do you use others? How high was your skill level when you went full time? What would you recommend for someone who is largely self-taught and therefore has blind spots with some things?

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#358

Post by seattle_spring »

globular-toast wrote: post #23
endymi0n wrote: post #2

If you want a cautionary tale, here it is: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3134322 The coffeeshop fallacy (2011) It‘s easy to get blinded by how incredibly privileged the tech bubble is and have had a better experience so far just trying to find a great non-toxic spot in there. YMMV, good luck!

This is why it's so important to mix with people from outside of your bubble. HN has some of the worst examples of people who don't know what they have. The discussions around salary are particularly amusing. I'm lucky because my partner is a nurse so I never forget how easy my job is. I also grew up in a poor family and I haven't forgotten what that was like. Honestly, if people would go and spend a long time in a c…

There's a prolific poster on HN who I've noticed pops into COL discussions to insist that $300k a year is near poverty. Tim something, like clockwork. It's hilarious.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#360

Post by kjreact »

siva7 wrote: post #22
boosting6889 wrote: post #7

I would actually like to be a doctor but it’s not really feasible starting down that route in my 30s

It is feasible, but it's not something i would recommend doing because it won't solve the underlying issues that causes your unhappiness. Also most people severely underestimate the stress in this job. I've met quite a few doctors who would be equally happy having a cushy job in tech instead of night shifts.

A doctor’s job is definitely much more stressful than a tech job. You are dealing with people’s lives every day and a misdiagnosis could possibly lead to someone’s death. Seldom do you have that level of responsibility in a tech job.
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