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Ask HN: What are well-paying alternative jobs to being a software developer?

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Re: Ask HN: What are well-paying alternative jobs to being a software developer?

#71

This sounds a lot like where I was around year ten in my career... I made a move into a niche area of technology consulting. That led to a whole lot of variety - I did pre-sales engineering, sold services, did a whole lot of high-profile consulting work, etc. Point being - if you are still enjoying technology but not the specific work you are doing or the company in which you are doing it, find a horizontal move into…

What kind of role did you have when you switched to real estate? I have actually been thinking about becoming an agent since you can make decent money and the licensing process seems rather simple for what it is. I have been interested in software sales as well but that seems like it could be hard to break into as an engineer.

I've made personal contact with various people on HN over the years. I'd be glad to bounce ideas around about your current career or other options, just share your contact info in some way and we'll set up a call.

I was freelancing when I made the move to real estate, so in that regard I was already comfortable in a self-employed role. Many people in tech (myself included) are excessively introverted. If this describes you, you'll want to consider how you feel about a career move where lots of contact with the general public is necessary, and how you'll cope with that for yourself.

Yes, the licensing is straightforward - I'm licensed in two states and am considering getting my license in a third. That said, it's a lot like how we talk about the 10x engineer in software - there's a huge gap between having a license and actually being a skilled professional. The average US agent makes something like $60K a year, whereas the top earners (and of course market matters...) make many multiples of that. Real estate is not a monolith - there are many different directions you can take a career. If you aren't comfortable with being an entrepreneur / self-employed person, you'll have a harder time of it.

Again, happy to talk more about licensing, how to choose a brokerage, finding your niche, etc. Likewise, if you go down that path I'm happy to introduce you to mentors, contacts, etc where possible.

Re: Ask HN: What are well-paying alternative jobs to being a software developer?

#72

Technical/consultative sales. The kind where customers come to you and are looking for advice/solutions, not the kind where you’re cold calling or fighting for leads. Sales professions get a bad rap and rightfully so in some cases. However, if you find the right role, it’s incredibly rewarding to help customers solve problems, beat out competition, and have a measurable metric (money) to determine your level of succe…

Where do you find these jobs? Everything I see seems to require sales experience, which being a dev I do not have.

I looked back through your comments and noted you posted a similar Ask HN a couple months back... look if you are a CTO and have a reasonable network (or can quickly build a network) there are plenty of companies that would take you in a sales / pre-sales engineering type capacity on the basis that you:

a) presumably understand tech / can learn quickly b) will have street cred from your past experiences c) will presumably bring some kind of network / rolodex with you

So, don't stress - if you can put a confident foot forward, you probably have more going than you realize. It's just a matter of how you sell it to a future employer.

Re: Ask HN: What are well-paying alternative jobs to being a software developer?

#73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you live in a particularly expensive area?

Yes, the San Francisco Bay Area... which is not only expensive to live in, but software engineers are in high demand and well paid. But pretty much anywhere in the USA, $30 is not high pay for a software engineer.

$30/hour for software devs in Scandinavia divides how much people earn up to if their education is short, and from if their education is long.

Re: Ask HN: What are well-paying alternative jobs to being a software developer?

#74

If you're good with people, mid-level healthcare provider positions pay well and are extremely in demand. Nurse Practitioners is likely the easiest route to attain. Physician Assistant master's degrees is more prestigious and pays better, but is universally competitive vs some NP programs that are pretty lax with who they will take on as students. Pay for these positions easily starts in the 6 figures, with some PA s…

The nurse practitioner market is saturated. New grads are often facing months of job search in most parts of the country. The colleges voluntarily shifted to doctorate degrees to slow down new entrants.

Re: Ask HN: What are well-paying alternative jobs to being a software developer?

#75
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any insights into barriers to entry? Seems like the work might get boring, right?

Other commenter is right that a Bachelors and passing the exams are required. The work certainly does get boring, but is extremely stable with, usually, excellent work life balance. It's very possible (in the US) to spend ~7 years working/studying to pass the exams and now you can make 150-200k USD/year while averaging 35 hours week for the remainder of your career. One major difference in comparison to software is t…

Wow, thanks for the info, $150k-200k sounds nice

Re: Ask HN: What are well-paying alternative jobs to being a software developer?

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pays well, about $30 an hour on average, for as many hours as I want What country are you in? Around here, interns still in college can earn more than that.

I travel serially :) After covid settles a bit, I'll continue trawling south america, until then new zealand, who knows. There are often jobs that pay more, but they're either the fixed-price ones, or have fewer hours.

So you're in NZ now?

Re: Ask HN: What are well-paying alternative jobs to being a software developer?

#77

Technical/consultative sales. The kind where customers come to you and are looking for advice/solutions, not the kind where you’re cold calling or fighting for leads. Sales professions get a bad rap and rightfully so in some cases. However, if you find the right role, it’s incredibly rewarding to help customers solve problems, beat out competition, and have a measurable metric (money) to determine your level of succe…

Where do you find these jobs? Everything I see seems to require sales experience, which being a dev I do not have.

Look for companies on the smaller to mid size businesses that do IT services consulting. Companies and the expectations of sales on the product side are much different from what I have seen (or enjoy).

Re: Ask HN: What are well-paying alternative jobs to being a software developer?

#78
Why not find a software engineer job within a vertical that resonated with you. Ed tech, Medtech, web3, lawyertech. Whatever that will Leverage your experience and apply it into a field that will drive your objectives forward. I am a HW engineer with 10+ years exp who is actively preparing for leetcoding interview. Software engineering is a evergreen career but burnout is inevitable but as long as you can keep updating and have a good focus on life outside work

Re: Ask HN: What are well-paying alternative jobs to being a software developer?

#79

Technical/consultative sales. The kind where customers come to you and are looking for advice/solutions, not the kind where you’re cold calling or fighting for leads. Sales professions get a bad rap and rightfully so in some cases. However, if you find the right role, it’s incredibly rewarding to help customers solve problems, beat out competition, and have a measurable metric (money) to determine your level of succe…

Where do you find these jobs? Everything I see seems to require sales experience, which being a dev I do not have.

The first job I was offered was a sales engineer role. The interviewer said sales was easy. Understanding the product (oscilloscopes) was not and required at least a degree. The target market didn't care if you were charismatic, they just wanted the right to for the job.

There's plenty of highly technical things from databases to Jira that appreciate dev experience more than sales experience.

Re: Ask HN: What are well-paying alternative jobs to being a software developer?

#80
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, the San Francisco Bay Area... which is not only expensive to live in, but software engineers are in high demand and well paid. But pretty much anywhere in the USA, $30 is not high pay for a software engineer.

$30/hour for software devs in Scandinavia divides how much people earn up to if their education is short, and from if their education is long.

long education being, what, a PhD?
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