I left STEM (non-CS/software) and became a firefighter-paramedic in 2006. I spent 14 years and left in 2020 when Covid was the rage. From 2010-2015 I got a masters in CS as a back up plan in case I got hurt or sick and couldn't do FF/PM. After I graduated in 2015 I worked a couple of remote part time jobs and then went full time developer in 2020 when I left the fire department.
Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
41–50 of 67 posts
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#42I am a linux administrator/software developer. I left IT in 2016, went back to school nearly got a PhD in History before returning to IT in 2022. I enjoy being a Linux admin and missed that, but I also missed the income that I can get in IT. If I started right out of High School I could have probably made History work over the long haul, but starting later in life I just couldn't afford the deep cuts it entails.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#43I 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.
So you kept your job along with your Middle East studies?
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#44I did it the other way for whatever it's worth. I have a degree in film and 3 Emmy awards before I switched to tech. Got burnt out on the film industry, tech is way more chill by comparison.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#45I worked for a few years as a SWE and really enjoyed it. But the opportunity to do a paid masters in urban studies while traveling Europe came so I hopped on it. I miss software a bit and still do open source stuff but I'm not sure what's next for me. Right now I think I'd like to be more on the policy side of technology and write code in my free time but who knows.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#46Not me but a friend. PhD in Physics and programming, he did a ton of modeling with R. He had/has chronic health issues, so used that to get a teaching job in a country with socialized medicine.
Once he got citizenship he'd had enough of the academia and coding... dude changed to cheese making. Like, he is a full-time cheese consultant now, and travels around the world to assist in cheese making efforts, setting up cheese caves, etc. Does a bit of other culinary stuff too, occasional pop-up restaurants, etc.
I think about that a lot, especially when I have to sit through change control meetings that go nowhere...
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#47I went to law school after 8 years as a developer. Now I am a plaintiff attorney and sue companies (sometimes tech companies) for fraud. YMMV.
I considered that. My BA is in Poli-Sci but minored in IT and had some background in it from the military.
I know a few lawyers, including my roommate from undergrad, and they strongly advised me no, with the caveat that you'd better go in and treat it like the priesthood -- whole-soul into it.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#48Not 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.
What do you mean by "FIRE-like activities"?
FIRE is retiring early and cashing out. Often achievable for a lot of STEM types, esp. those with access to FAANG tier salaries.
Hit the $1.4 million mark, which has a safe draw of like 35-40k a year without lowering principle, and then chill.
Chill doesn't imply not working, just working on your terms, and a part-time job as a mechanic might be unsustainable normally, but with a FIRE background you could make it work.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#49I bought a farm and quit tech, but I was management scum, not a SWE (though I did have some under me a couple jobs ago). There's a lot to learn. I'm not really doing this for the money, rather as my contribution to the community and environment, but it would be chill to make some anyway as a further validation of my process.
Farm? Are you rich?
doesn't require a lot of land or money, esp. if you're just doing a hobby farm.
depending on how rural you're willing to go, and how much labor you've got to throw in, you can get a lot of land on the cheap. tractors, air seeders, watering -- that can get expensive, but may not be needed.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone left software to study non-STEM subjects?
#50Not me but a friend. PhD in Physics and programming, he did a ton of modeling with R. He had/has chronic health issues, so used that to get a teaching job in a country with socialized medicine. Once he got citizenship he'd had enough of the academia and coding... dude changed to cheese making. Like, he is a full-time cheese consultant now, and travels around the world to assist in cheese making efforts, setting up ch…
Guys like him get to do that, because he has the sort of brain that allows him to get a PhD in physics
The world is a whole lot more dangerous and confusing for everyone else