Ask HN: Am I committing career suicide? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Am I committing career suicide?

#61

Post by skurry » Tue, May 28, 2013, 7:28 AM UTC

rwg wrote: post #58

After a decade at the same employer, I was completely burned out -- I had worked 60+ hour weeks for many years, with nothing resembling a "real" vacation since ~2004. I didn't enjoy the bulk of the work. I wasn't learning anything applicable outside of my employer's niche. I was being given projects that I was completely unqualified to work on (but I was the least unqualified person, so they fell to me). After one pa…

Thanks for sharing your story. I remember reading something similar a few weeks ago here on HN.

It may be the combination of 10+ years at one company, plus a gap. It could be something else. Have you asked those friends for an update what happened after you sent your CV?

In my (limited) experience, even though people say there's a shortage of qualified software engineers and it's a great market for them now, it's always hard to find a good job. Key word being "good". Unless you're a "rock star" that has written a book and is being hired to speak at tech conferences. Companies are still being picky, even if they can't afford to be.

Re: Ask HN: Am I committing career suicide?

#62

Post by richerd » Tue, May 28, 2013, 7:30 AM UTC

dualogy wrote: post #57

richerd wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I occasionally did some consulting jobs. Put it this way, some people make about $500 a month in Malaysia (which is more than enough to survive comfortably on). When you charge $100+ an hour you can make more in a day than the locals make in a month.

Having been in Malaysia on and off for the last few years: you can survive with $500 a month. But you don't wanna put a guy in his late 30s in the kind of accommodation you'd have to put up with for that budget. Let me put it this way. A 1000$ rental gets you much more luxury than the same amount would get you in the west. But a 500$ monthly budget is pretty poor lifestyle in the long run even in South-East Asia, tho…

I had some super interesting housing arrangements the whole time I was there.

One of the more interesting ones...

http://richerd.com/2011/09/03/sleeping-on-the-streets-of-kua...

Re: Ask HN: Am I committing career suicide?

#63

Post by ronyeh » Tue, May 28, 2013, 7:32 AM UTC

skurry wrote: post #56

ronyeh wrote: post #32

Here's a dude who took a year "off" with his family and cranked out an iPhone app. http://www.npr.org/2013/05/20/183910777/seeing-the-northern-...

Thanks for this link! I've been reading a lot of blogs lately, but haven't seen this article. I've seen the TED talk mentioned in the article, and it was an inspiration to my idea, along with the Four Hour Work Week of course. Quite a few people seem to be able to make a living as indie developers. But I wonder how many fail, without making their story public. People like to read about success stories, but not about…

I've also read Ferriss. Interesting ideas but I'm not sure how applicable it'd be. I like the idea of work hard for 10 yrs and take "off" a year or two better. :-)

If you ever want to meet up and chat, feel free to ping me. I've been doing indie development for ~3 yrs.

Re: Ask HN: Am I committing career suicide?

#64

Post by skurry » Tue, May 28, 2013, 7:35 AM UTC

sliverstorm wrote: post #50

I can't tell you where to go or what to do, but if you just hate what you do, might as well try to find something different. Many people in this world do not enjoy their jobs, but you appear to have the resources and the freedom to try to find the job you like. P.S. Here's an idea. Have you considered going back to school for a Master's, if you don't already have one? That could give you more personal time to explore…

I applied to SJSU, they have a Master's program with emphasis on mobile development. But after the budget cuts they seem to be really struggling, bureaucratically. I haven't heard anything from them other than "we received your documents, we'll process them within a week". That was two months ago. I haven't really followed up with them and asked what's going on, which I guess is a sign that I'm not really passionate about that idea...

Re: Ask HN: Am I committing career suicide?

#65

Post by hardwaresofton » Tue, May 28, 2013, 7:37 AM UTC

So just as everyone else has said in this thread -- sounds like you have enough of a cushion to do just about whatever you damn well please for at least 2 years (taking into the account the possibility that you decided to live as a rockstar at ~5x above your current means)

What I do want to say -- and I'm really unsure that I should be saying it at all (since I'm not your dad, but then again, this is the internet)

Maybe you should start at least considering settling down somewhere? I don't mean settle down somewhere and enter a company you hate for the rest of your life just for job security, but more like pick a place (or search for) a place you want to be in for a long time

With IT/software skills like yours, I doubt there are many people who won't see your value at a technical company, and that will enable you to get a job in most places, but being transient forever (even if you're writing awesome software) doesn't seem like a wholesome plan

I'm definitely assuming too much, and I don't know anything (outside of this post) about you or your goals, but just figured I should at least make the point

Also, your Honolulu-as-a-place-to-live idea sounds amazing

Re: Ask HN: Am I committing career suicide?

#66

Post by skurry » Tue, May 28, 2013, 7:44 AM UTC

hardwaresofton wrote: post #65

So just as everyone else has said in this thread -- sounds like you have enough of a cushion to do just about whatever you damn well please for at least 2 years (taking into the account the possibility that you decided to live as a rockstar at ~5x above your current means) What I do want to say -- and I'm really unsure that I should be saying it at all (since I'm not your dad, but then again, this is the internet) Ma…

Your assumptions go in the right direction. I think the Bay Area is an amazing place to live, not the worst place to raise a family. But somehow I don't have much luck with the dating scene here (living in the South Bay). San Francisco might be a bit better, but it's almost impossible to find an apartment at the moment. And even here it gets a bit too cold for my taste sometimes, which is weird to say for someone who grew up in central Europe. Maybe another move will make me a more interesting, well-rounded person. Maybe an environment that's not dominated by technology might be a good place to recharge my batteries. At the very least it's an adventure and a cool story to tell.

Re: Ask HN: Am I committing career suicide?

#67

Post by hardwaresofton » Tue, May 28, 2013, 7:52 AM UTC

skurry wrote: post #66

hardwaresofton wrote: post #65

So just as everyone else has said in this thread -- sounds like you have enough of a cushion to do just about whatever you damn well please for at least 2 years (taking into the account the possibility that you decided to live as a rockstar at ~5x above your current means) What I do want to say -- and I'm really unsure that I should be saying it at all (since I'm not your dad, but then again, this is the internet) Ma…

Your assumptions go in the right direction. I think the Bay Area is an amazing place to live, not the worst place to raise a family. But somehow I don't have much luck with the dating scene here (living in the South Bay). San Francisco might be a bit better, but it's almost impossible to find an apartment at the moment. And even here it gets a bit too cold for my taste sometimes, which is weird to say for someone who…

Yeah, I've only visited the Bay area & California in general, but definitely finding a place you want to be in is what I was going for -- it seems you're already thinking about that, which makes sense.

Maybe some places that recently had tech booms might be good idea? Though I don't know where you'll find better general weather than California -- Seattle? Austin? New York? Dallas? Chicago?

I live in Texas, but I do have to warn you, it gets cold here from time to time when the wind blows in the winter. sometimes

[EDIT] - Of course, outside America might be a good fit too, there are so many places, and it seems like you've got pretty much free reign -- you've got a pretty rare chance I don't think many people get (though we all decide our daily lives, I don't think many people get as clear a decision point as you have right now), enjoy it

Re: Ask HN: Am I committing career suicide?

#68

Post by raarky » Tue, May 28, 2013, 7:52 AM UTC

Oh wow, I'm actually trying to make that decision right now too. Thanks for posting this.

I've been building something in my spare time and between freelance gigs. It's at a good working prototype stage. I just want to spend a solid month polishing, plugging in minimally required data, release it and see what happens from there.

At the same time, I've just been offered a new contract which will put my project on the slow track for a good half year but it's money coming in.

Being able to focus on something that I'm interested in is amazing. My creativity flows and I see results occur at a pace that keeps motivated even more.

Yet, I don't know what decision to make - Financially sound status quo or happy pipe-dream.

but... I'm reading everyone's comments with great interest.

Re: Ask HN: Am I committing career suicide?

#69

Post by dualogy » Tue, May 28, 2013, 7:55 AM UTC

richerd wrote: post #62

dualogy wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having been in Malaysia on and off for the last few years: you can survive with $500 a month. But you don't wanna put a guy in his late 30s in the kind of accommodation you'd have to put up with for that budget. Let me put it this way. A 1000$ rental gets you much more luxury than the same amount would get you in the west. But a 500$ monthly budget is pretty poor lifestyle in the long run even in South-East Asia, tho…

I had some super interesting housing arrangements the whole time I was there. One of the more interesting ones... http://richerd.com/2011/09/03/sleeping-on-the-streets-of-kua...

Yeah I heard of your sleeping rough back in the day from bearwithclaws :D

So yeah we're definitely in agreement. You can survive for $500 easily -- if you find a 'bed' that costs $0 ;P

Re: Ask HN: Am I committing career suicide?

#70

Post by rdl » Tue, May 28, 2013, 8:15 AM UTC

I'd probably try to emphasize "left to go do a startup" on your resume, whether or not it works out, whether or not you approach it as an 80 (or even 40) hour/week thing, rather than "took time off".

But, otherwise, this is absolutely good for your resume, I think. Assuming there's no huge change in the market, you should be as employable if not more. Maybe try to stay involved in the .NET/J2EE developer community once a month or so, keep in touch with former coworkers, etc. in case you decide to go back to that instead of mobile, though.