Ask HN: What tech job would let me get away with the least real work possible?

> you are only on this planet for so long and waisting these hours making it look like you are doing work pails in comparison to actually making any impact on the people

At least you acknowledge the finite nature of life, but it seems like a grand assumption that environmental incentives currently optimize for spending that finite life in a way that is ultimately meaningful to yourself or others. What if all this tech bullshit we’ve seen for the last two decades really is just bullshit, and the toxic by-product of exponential-growth-crazed tech economy that netted a few billionaires and a few tens or hundreds of thousands of highly paid tech workers has been the hollowing out of our culture and destruction of shared institutions. So what if op wants to take an easy job beneath their abilities and lap up some easy ad tech money to divert it into something unprofitable but meaningful? What’s the counter argument? That we should all take jobs at the very peak of our abilities and fully devote our energies to maximizing economic output? What about people that have kids and want to focus on being a parent?

Op was very candid about wanting a low-expectation position, not deceiving anyone about whether or not they are working at all. Find your sinecure and produce something you or someone else cares about, op!

> If you don't care about the particular ethics/concerns for humanity, what OP wants is definitely possible.

Or actually the opposite. The reason I've lost interest in the businesses that I code for is that their products and missions are reprehensible. I feel bad when I do a good job.

I have, fully remote consulting is beautiful. They hand you over into a giant and one gets lost forever.

I'm also aware some of my college friends have similar engagements. It gets to a point where you feel a bit bad for not doing much as time goes on.

>I know someone who had to show up 8 hours a day for 20 years without anything to do

Well, now don't keep us in suspense! What was his job? How did he get it? That's kinda the point of this whole thread ;-)

Also, yes to your part about people being dead inside because of their job (these exist as well and there life basically ends when they retire... can be equally sad).

As for the ancient Greeks, well, that's a bit like saying "Bill Gates is free from menial work". Yes, true in theory but with little to no relevance for our daily lives because his (and equally the ancient Greeks') circumstances are just so different. In case of the Greeks, their system was heavily based on slave labor. A comparable level of freedom nowadays (10+ full-time domestic staff plus people who dress you and carry you around in a litter) requires you to be a multi-millionaire and at least slightly deranged ;-)

Also, it's not like they did nothing all day. Studying, philosophy, military and political careers were incredibly important in ancient Rome and Greece, and I am certain that many an aristocratic young man would rather have spent time in the bath houses or on the forum than practising Greek declensions with his "Paedagogi" (teacher slaves) ;-)

The next time we (all) might have a chance to get close to ancient levels of "dolce far niente" for a majority of people, is probably in a post-scarcity society with fully autonomous robot assistants (if they don't murder us first). Sure would be nice to focus on wine and philosophy all day, no doubt about it.

Consider: you may become depressed, unfulfilled, and unhappy in this life. I had a position that was around halfway to what you want, government database coding, and I was miserable. I think becoming fully "chilled out" is ideal, because being "half chilled" and half "in-the-hotseat" gave me whiplash a few times. I developed lazy habits over time, my work output suffered, and all that free-time on my hobby wasn't as great as I envisioned.

You know the story, it's Christmas, you're the only one in the office this week because you're new and your PTO is garbage, you're young and have no family to go back to anyway. You stroll in an hour late through the side door, check emails briefly, okay no one is here, then you fire up the YT clips or the novel reading or whatever it is. By 3pm, after 5 hours of pure faffing around, you surely deserve the christmas cookies left in the break room. By 315, you're pooped, time to head home, sneak back through the side door, and you're off to use the screen at the apartment.

Is there some nagging feeling in your stomach? That you could've explored the database, you could've dived into that long-term project you've thought of. You could've been writing up a research proposal, searching for new grants, or helping someone at a volunteer organization. Instead, you're "half on" so you're half-assing your life, not fully relaxing, not working at all.

Honestly, it wasn't for me. I want to feel fully into what I'm doing, and having to half-ass my way through a boring job was causing serious depression. I'd only recommend this if you can use less of your ass, preferably remotely, and if you're sure you won't have a crisis of meaning in life.