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I feel like the golden age of being a programmer is gone. With constant learning, AI, and competing in a global market because of remote work, it’s super volatile.
Yet my neighbor is an electrician and he has endless clients. He can work 80-90 hours a week if he wants to. He has stable work. He just became a manager and is now making more than me.
You can be part of a 1-5 man shop that makes a million (USD) a year per person.
You could do both of these things.
The only thing that limits you as a programer are your own ideas and your own ambitions.
You could be sitting on a beach at the ocean doing your job. You can be part of a 1-5 man shop that makes a million (USD) a year per person. You could do both of these things. The only thing that limits you as a programer are your own ideas and your own ambitions.
Your tech career counts for nothing in the trades, you start from zero.
Could you shadow your neighbor (or someone else in the trade you be interested in) for a few days to get a better idea of the realities of the job and if you’d enjoy it? Also, pay attention to their frustrations and issues and ask if they have similar feelings, wishing they had a job like yours (the grass is always greener…). I think no matter that the job, if it’s a break from the norm, it will feel nice at first.
Much like Office Space, I spent a few months doing demo work in addition to my normal IT job. I was working 90 hour weeks, was having a great time, and look back on that time fondly. However, I’m not sure I’d have the same view of it after 10 years, if it was my main job. I was a tourist, I didn’t live there, and I could stop whenever I wanted.
You could be sitting on a beach at the ocean doing your job. You can be part of a 1-5 man shop that makes a million (USD) a year per person. You could do both of these things. The only thing that limits you as a programer are your own ideas and your own ambitions.
and luck.
I think about this a lot, but my thoughts always go to aging. As long as my mind and fingers still work, I can work on a computer until I’m old and gray. The physical requirements are minimal. Could you shadow your neighbor (or someone else in the trade you be interested in) for a few days to get a better idea of the realities of the job and if you’d enjoy it? Also, pay attention to their frustrations and issues and…