Ask HN: What are the biggest problems in your life? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What are the biggest problems in your life?

#51

Post by culopatin » Tue, Oct 05, 2021, 6:16 PM UTC

mastrsushi wrote: post #50

culopatin wrote: post #38

I’m almost 30 and I’m still chasing the career I want. I’m in IT, but I want to be in software dev. I want to build things, not just fix them. When I was 17 a company poached my from my technical high school and put me in the field to learn by doing. It went great, but it’s not the career I want. I need to find the same opportunity but in a software developer role. I’m confident that I’ll be a sponge and I’ll produce…

I don’t want to discourage you, but A LOT of software engineering is fixing things. Coming from someone who also said “I want to build things not fix them” when I picked CS when I was 18. To be fair, I went to ODU though and didn’t have the best grades.

I understand that and I’m ready to do that. But I see it as being part of the group that is building something. In IT, unless you are an architect, things are pretty much set. I understand that I romanticize it a bit, but I won’t settle until I try for myself.

I think this is what I want my career to be so I’m trying to go for it. If it’s not, then I’ll go for mechanical engineering and I’ll start all over. Mech eng would line up with my hobby of racing cars in part.

Re: Ask HN: What are the biggest problems in your life?

#52

Post by bickeringyokel » Wed, Oct 06, 2021, 4:28 PM UTC

100011_100001 wrote: post #26

bickeringyokel wrote: post #4

A todo list that will never be completed, and only gets longer.

I have a rule. If something stays in my list for longer than a month, it's not that important. I would suggest you just remove it, but fear of missing out is a thing. So instead you can have a low priority todo list and move it there.

I do throw things into various priority lists and categories, but it still makes me sad that I won't get around to some of them for months or years

Re: Ask HN: What are the biggest problems in your life?

#53

Post by bickeringyokel » Wed, Oct 06, 2021, 4:29 PM UTC

rhn_mk1 wrote: post #21

bickeringyokel wrote: post #4

A todo list that will never be completed, and only gets longer.

That problem can be turned into a boon. You have a better chance that there's something interesting on the list you actually want to do. Or important ones, or whatever you care about. What about the ones you don't care about as much? Well, you don't care about them, so not doing them is not a problem. An overlong todo list is a nice tool to help prioritize the valuable things.

I try to pick 10 or so things a day I can actually get done. That does help me feel like I accomplished at least a little bit.