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Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

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Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#51

Post by pandapower2 »

I'm actually unsure if I've ever made any particularly good career decisions aside from switching into computer science. Aside from that I have largely been reliant on the combination of being reasonably competent and the generally high demand for developers to make up for lack of good career decisions.

On multiple occasions I have resigned from jobs after 2-3 years with no clear plan for the future, let alone another job lined up, simply because I didn't like my current job anymore.

On multiple occasions I have poured hundreds, maybe thousands, of hours into projects and start-up ideas that never had a realistic chance of working out. I did this safe in the knowledge that I could run down my finances working on some fun speculative project and someone out there would give me a job to let me pay the bills when I needed it.

So I certainly haven't maximized within my career but I chose a career well.

Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#52

Post by programmarchy »

reedx8 wrote: post #11
aprdm wrote: post #4

Dropping embedded systems / switching to services backend dev

Why didn't programming for embedded systems work for you?

My two cents, having done some of both...

Embedded systems don't really scale the same way backend systems do. In embedded, you write the firmware, and it gets loaded into thousands or millions of devices. There may be a few updates, but firmware kind of gets frozen in time.

With backend, you write code that can be used to expand a business. You're adding features to grow marketshare or scaling up to meet user demand, so it has a more direct correlation with the health of a business. It's less of a cost center, and more of an investment.

Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#53

Post by iopuy »

throooowaway wrote: post #31

Changing jobs! Seems like it's so much easier to make more money by getting a new gig than by negotiating with your current employer. I've changed jobs every year since I graduated college; each jump has added 20k or 30k to my salary. I didn't have the best grades, didn't go to a good uni, but I've gone from 45k to 170k in 6 years.

Are you in a high cost of living area and what industry do you work in, if you don't mind sharing?

Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#54

Post by pragone »

lintroller wrote: post #47
eragone wrote: post #39

Changing careers. Left software to become a doctor. I'll graduate in 7 months.

Since this is mostly a place where those in the software industry spend time, your story is generally going to veer off the path most people here took in their career. Can I ask for more detail about why it was that software was not the proper path for you?

Absolutely!

I found that I was spending an inordinate amount of time in front of a computer and not interacting with anyone. I also was extremely disappointed with a general lack of self-improvement; I think part of that was that I just graduated, where I was used to everyone constantly studying and working to improve themselves. These experiences may have also been in the minority in the industry, but they were my experiences.

I also had EMS experience in college, so I knew what it was like to treat patients, and I missed that very greatly. I've loved every day I've gotten to talk with patients here in medical school, and can't wait to start truly practicing medicine.

I do still do some web development work, including incorporating my current predicament - traveling the country interviewing for residency. I worked with two current residents to build Swap&Snooze (www.swapandsnooze.com)

Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#55

Post by pandapower2 »

mikekchar wrote: post #46

I enrolled in the JET Programme [1], got accepted, quit my job at 39 and taught English for 5 years in Japan. Oddly, I think I'm less effective as a programmer now. Before I left I was definitely an "alpha dog" programmer and pushed my way towards success. Teaching changed my perceptions and I think I am more effective as a person . It's been a hard transition and often frustrating because I now back down in situatio…

interesting that you did the JET program at 39. I figured it was all 22 year olds.

Out of curiosity, were you a single person? Wondering if they accommodate adults with a spouse and one or more children.

Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#56

Post by snorkel »

Getting off of the people management track and focusing on individual contributor roles. I quickly learned that I do not enjoy being responsible for the productivity, pay, morale, HR processes, deliverables, disputes, and career progressions of other people. I’d much rather just be a helpful coworker than a boss.

Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#58

Post by iopuy »

hackanewz wrote: post #40

Teaching myself to program. Nothing caused such a hockey stick in opportuinities. I was able to make way more money in a very short time period and work in much more interesting companies. I never took anything so seriously in my life as when I decided to become a programmer. I bought dozens of used textbooks, read and meticulously underlined them, relentlessly wrote code and read all the programming interview books,…

Wow 360k is insane. Are you still hands on keyboard or strictly a manager? Mind sharing what industry this is that can afford that salary? Thanks.

Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?

#59

Post by throooowaway »

iopuy wrote: post #53
throooowaway wrote: post #31

Changing jobs! Seems like it's so much easier to make more money by getting a new gig than by negotiating with your current employer. I've changed jobs every year since I graduated college; each jump has added 20k or 30k to my salary. I didn't have the best grades, didn't go to a good uni, but I've gone from 45k to 170k in 6 years.

Are you in a high cost of living area and what industry do you work in, if you don't mind sharing?

I do live in a high cost of living area, but I work remotely. I'm a software developer.
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