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Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#471

Post by Grishnakh »

d0lph wrote: post #448
meddlepal wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Push back and you'll just be replaced by someone younger or more naive or willing. At the end of the day programmers are mostly just factory workers of the 21st century. The best ones are perhaps closer to the mechanics of the industrial revolution.

Except with amazing pay, serious benefits, and better working conditions.

Compared to factory workers of 50+ years ago? Certainly.

Compared to programmers 25 years ago? Absolutely not. The pay is worse (inflation-adjusted), and the working conditions are far, far worse (see: open-plan offices).

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#472

Post by nogbit »

rmdashrfroot wrote: post #418
bsenftner wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look for older development companies, where the developer staff is all over 40. The work tends to be in C/C++, you'll find none of the modern programming fashions (Agile, whatnot...) and they expect you to be a mature adult capable of self managing. They don't care how one works, as long as you own your work, can fix if issues or bugs are found, and can generally operate as a respectful peer to the other developers.…

Do you have any examples of this type of company? I'm a sophomore CS student looking to work in Aerospace, and this type of company, where the work is done in a self driven manner and where the work matters, that I'd love to work for.

Academia has some of these qualities (and more). Depending on the school and or department you could be doing anything from basic full stack web dev on down to lower level comp sci work. Deliver good results and move around (big university) every now and then and your pay will go up pretty quick.

Just don't expect the big software firms to be knocking on your door if you need those bullets on your resume (unless you have a PHD).

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#473

Post by digler999 »

Grishnakh wrote: post #459
digler999 wrote: post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and made a fool of myself. Good. you got out there and made mistakes. Now you can learn from them and you wont ever be that bad henceforth, hereunto. I made a total ass out of my self the first few programming interviews I went to. First one, recruiter called me (woke me up at ~10am) and I thought I'd show "initiative", I said "sure Ill be there in 2 hours". Went totally unprepared, didn't even bring a copy of my r…

>I learned quickly, eventually got good at interviews, and ultimately got a job at bloomberg, which is fairly difficult to get past their interiew process. Bloomberg, where it's just one giant open noisy room? Doesn't sound like much of a reward to me. Personally, I wish I had never gone into programming. I wanted a profession where I could sit in peace and quiet and work on interesting intellectual problems on my ow…

The point of my comment was not that bloomberg was an awesome reward. I only stayed a year, and yes it was noisy as hell. The floor sounded like a drum when people walked on it. My point was that I went from a blundering buffoon in an interview to passing a notoriously difficult software engineering interview in 8 years (with a few jobs in between).

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#474

Post by Grishnakh »

truth_sentinell wrote: post #259
gcatalfamo wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry but dancing is definitely not one of those professions where "if you believe you can do it". Depending on the specific dancing style there are strict body types and features that you need to have, and not all of them can be acquired by training. So yeah, nature is not fair but feel-good comedies don't always apply to real life.

Unless you're severely handicapped, I don't understand why wouldn't you be able to dance whatever type of dance you want. If you have all your limbs and can walk, you can perfectly dance whatever is that you want. If you're fat and can't dance no more that one minute without getting out of breath, get in shape and train endurance. As simple as that. If you're 5.4" or less and feel intimidated dancing with a taller wo…

This is silly. This is like claiming that just because you have arms and legs and can run, you can play football. Yes, almost anyone can toss a ball around, and lots of people can play amateur football (choose whichever definition of "football" you want here) on the weekend with friends. But very, very few people can make a real living playing football.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#475

Post by nogbit »

Chris2048 wrote: post #379
barbs wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in an eerily similar situation. Been doing software development for about 5 years (though at different places, doing primarily Android development), am just over 6 weeks at a new job and I'm beginning to feel that software development's just not for me anymore. I don't feel passionate about most aspects of it - constantly playing catchup with the latest frameworks, the development/management methodologies/process…

I stay away from web and mobile. They change too much, have too many layers of technology to potentially fail. Also, web tech isn't nice to work with...

I agree that the layers are insane and change frequently. Bigger companies go with stacks that don't change as much (C# or Java) vs. JavaScript but that's all relative and that may be too much change still.

Going the graphics programmer route (OpenGL, DirectX, Vulkan) would make for some fun work in a stack that changes in a different way and not as fast.

Bottom line though, technology is the business of change and we enable change for those that we work for.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#476

Post by nogbit »

cygned wrote: post #140

Call me crazy but I have always had this exit plan. If my business completely fails, I'd give away my stuff and live in buddhist temples, would visit Tibet, travel around and spend my days meditating and helping people. Sounds like an insane idea, but as a Buddhist that would be a fulfilled life for me.

Create career and life goals in reverse from your exit plan. You start focusing more on things that matter in life.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#477

Post by Synroc »

Tiktaalik wrote: post #465

I definitely have. I enjoy programming and I think I'm pretty good at my job, but I can't help but think that maybe there's something out there. A lot of my most compelling business ideas I've ever come up with haven't been apps or anything I could start programming right away, but rather have been totally different brick and mortar retail businesses. Opening a retail business is something I've thought about doing fo…

I feel the same pull towards cities and urban planning. I've been thinking about how best to combine programming, data analysis and urban planning, but apart from data visualization of city data, it's quite difficult without being actually involved with the local government.

I've thought about potentially starting a consultancy for cities, in which I could work with cities, by analyzing their data for insights and future projects.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#478

Post by digler999 »

terminalcommand wrote: post #457
digler999 wrote: post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and made a fool of myself. Good. you got out there and made mistakes. Now you can learn from them and you wont ever be that bad henceforth, hereunto. I made a total ass out of my self the first few programming interviews I went to. First one, recruiter called me (woke me up at ~10am) and I thought I'd show "initiative", I said "sure Ill be there in 2 hours". Went totally unprepared, didn't even bring a copy of my r…

Thanks for the support. It's been an embarrasing experience, but I've learnt a lot. First, I shouldn't mention my passion for computers. They're looking for a lawyer, not an engineer. They already employ engineers, who are active in legal research. Second, I should pick a career outside of IT-Law. Solely working on technology feels too close to the heart. Third, I shouldn't speak a lot and reveal details about my lif…

If you know HN, you've probably heard of above-the-law, but if you haven't, definitely brush up on their how-to-get-a-job articles. Network with other lawyers/3L's (or whatever rank you are), go to practice interviews, rehearse. I've heard its difficult to get a job as a lawyer so if you aren't putting in 110%, do it.

I dont know much about law, but to ignore your passion doesn't seem wise. I think you'd just have to spin it. Come up with a narrative that says tech has always been a part of your life, "but not as much as law", or "but it was missing something", or some other bullshittery that makes sense in that field. People want an impassioned person. And I also disagree that you should ignore IT law, it's in very heavy demand right now, isn't it ? The lawyers who can write amazing briefs struggle to understand technical protocols. Dont pass up on a dynamic field that will drive you. Also, shout out to https://www.reddit.com/r/LawFirm and other subreddits that might be of assistance to you. Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#479

Post by SyneRyder »

driverdan wrote: post #432
SyneRyder wrote: post #68

I'm mostly happy with programming, but I often think I'd like to try working in a coffee shop, especially a Starbucks. I spend so much time in cafes as a customer, and I really appreciate the difference that a barista's smile or greeting can make to my day. I'm curious to experience that from the other side for a while. I also read books about retail businesses & brands & Starbucks & customer experience for enjoyment…

Why Starbucks? It's the McDonald's of coffee. Pick a local cafe you like and see if they'll hire you part time for weekend shifts. A place that takes pride in their work.

I'm a big fan of Starbucks as a customer. It isn't about the coffee for me (clearly!) so much as the whole experience, the "Third Place" concept. The design of the stores, the comfy chairs, the handfeel of the mugs, the quality of the free WiFi & power points, the opening hours, the lighting, the light jazz music that doesn't interfere with conversation.

If I found a local cafe that paid that much attention to the experience, I'd certainly apply there. But I find many small cafes focus only on the coffee product, but not how the customer feels about the product.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#480

Post by nogbit »

clarry wrote: post #266

I've had programming as a lifelong hobby, and in my teens I thought it'd be my profession. But then I realized I don't really care for what the industry is doing, figured I'd have a very hard time finding a software job I'd like.. so I went on to pick up a new skill. I became a machinist. In hindsight, I regret it, because most machining jobs are too simplistic and repetitive to satisfy my intellectual curiosity (sim…

What exactly are you programming then? There must be something somewhere using the domain and language that you know.
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