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Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

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Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#541

Post by komali2 »

CIPHERSTONE wrote: post #314

Would like to be a back country forest ranger. Someone who does work out in the remote woods. Not one of the rangers that has to deep with the public. The problem like most of us have is that our position and tenure in IT has lead to salaries that make such a change (and reduction in pay) almost impossible. Add kids, etc. and it gets set permanently in the dream category. I know the logical response to this statement…

Oh man there's some sort of volcanic park north of Berkely, CA that we visited once, and up on some mountain was a firewatch tower with a dude just chilling in there looking for smoke. He worked up there in 2 week shifts, just up on a mountain reading books and watching for smoke. Seemed like an awesome job, especially if you could get a data tether (he did) and do some programming on the side.

Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#543

Post by randomdata »

eel wrote: post #264

I would love to get into structural engineering. I just can't justify the cost of school, and the end salaries are not even going to be better than a software developer's. Or maybe be an auto mechanic. Or a woodworker/metal worker/welder. Or a farmer (seriously). Part of me wants to embrace the city and "book" knowledge to further my career, and part of me wants to abandon it and go back to a rural life and just make…

Regarding your last point, don't discount the happy medium. I both farm and develop "big city" software, and I know I'm not the only one on here in the same position. I find they go quite well together.

In fact, I expect you will find that most farmers have "book" careers in addition to their farming business. Outside of large multigenerational operations, it's pretty difficult to pull off farming without other sources of (high paying) income. I know farmers who are also dentists, lawyers, and chartered accountants, to name a few.

Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#544

Post by Ocerge »

NumberCruncher wrote: post #517

I would never leave the tech world entirely. I would shift focus from coding and solving bullshit issues generated by business people to dealing more with real people solving real problems. I have ideas how to do that in a fun way but I am not there yet. I think coding is really fun and creative occupation if you can decide what you code and when you code. I know if I would make my dream come true and would teach tee…

This is where I am as well. In the end I think I would enjoy my profession more if I stopped working on bullshit invented problems. I then remind myself that pretty much everybody hates that their jobs are ultimately not contributing to the greater good. Get in line, essentially. I think a good compromise may be finding something in bio tech, not sure. One of my goals this year is to do some market and tech research to see where I could feasibly become employed to do something worth a damn.

Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#545

Post by taway_1212 »

stevekemp wrote: post #234

Plumber. Locksmith. Similar. Jobs that you can do at your own pace, and with the kind of SEO skills I have I'm sure I'd do well. Plus these kind of jobs cannot be out-sourced.

Witnessing a plumber literally taking a flow of shit falling on his face from a pipe, I think I'll pass.

Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#546

Post by pkamb »

- Picker/Seller of antiques and vintage items. Fun hobby and comes easily if you're already sourcing for your own home and collection.

- Historic building salvage crew and/or restoration of historic buildings.

- Bed and Breakfast / AirBnB / wedding venue proprietor with healthy dose of the above history/restoration work on the side.

Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#547

Post by cprayingmantis »

Well a couple years ago my answer to this would've been very different, but now I have a wife and I have to give her some consideration. I'd probably just go back to the family business of farming. I would probably only make 60-80% of what I do now but it'd be debt free and I'd be on my own terms. I'd have to become a morning person all over again but I know how to do the work and I find it particularly enjoyable. Plus maybe I could tinker with my dream of a self driving electric tractor a little more.

Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#548

Post by thenomad »

smprk wrote: post #529
thenomad wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There has never, ever been a better time to be an amateur film director. And the best way to learn the skills is by making films. I was a professional filmmaker for almost 20 years before my move into VR, and I can assure you I didn't have a lot of cinematic skill when I started :) You can cheerfully shoot a festival-worthy film on a modern smartphone. If you want to go a bit higher-end you can rent all the kit neede…

Very helpful words from someone who has been there and done it. I am not sure if distribution woes are as bad as I hear they are. With transparent platforms like https://studios.amazon.com/ it seems to me (from far) that ease of distribution is at its best too. I don't think it is still easy, but is it not easier than it was say 10-20 years ago?

It's trivial to make your content available to purchase. It's very, very, VERY hard to get anyone to purchase it.

One of the main issues is simple: there are over 10,000 feature films made a year. How many feature films do you watch a year?

Generally it is considered a remarkable achievement - considerably beyond "noteworthy" - in the indie world (and I get this from various communities of indie filmmakers) if your independent films manage to make you minimum wage, never mind any more.

Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#550

Post by overcyn »

mattmanser wrote: post #535
ipince wrote: post #513

I have a few options/dreams. 1. Become a musician. I love all kinds of music and drums/percussion in particular. On the side, I'm working my way to being able to play drums+timbales for Cuban timba music. I've only been doing this for about a year and think I have a talent for it. 2. Go into criminology and/or politics. Crime is one of the biggest problems in Venezuela, with murder and kidnappings at all time highs,…

Re:2, I've know people who work for the police in the Uk, and from the stories I've heard, the police have absolutely no respect for any civilian's opinion. Statistician telling cops they're spending all their resources on the wrong thing? Got facts and figures to show that throwing more uniforms at a problem won't help? They won't listen and then will tell you that you don't understand policing.

Thats not surprising. I think most developers don't care what non-developers think about how to improve programming.
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