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Ask HN: How to get out of Tech and still make a decent living?

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21–30 of 107 posts

Re: Ask HN: How to get out of Tech and still make a decent living?

#21
I am a very young developer (about a year and half out of college) so this might be a naïve thought. Isn't 15 years quite a long tenure for software development? I thought after 5-10 years you move into product/project management or something higher.

I mean I realize everyone is different but still. Being the inexperienced programmer I am right now I imagine myself happily coding until I am 50 (lol ask me in 15 years if I feel the same way)

Re: Ask HN: How to get out of Tech and still make a decent living?

#23

I am a very young developer (about a year and half out of college) so this might be a naïve thought. Isn't 15 years quite a long tenure for software development? I thought after 5-10 years you move into product/project management or something higher. I mean I realize everyone is different but still. Being the inexperienced programmer I am right now I imagine myself happily coding until I am 50 (lol ask me in 15 years…

No. Many of the best engineers have no interest and/or no aptitude for management positions. And the best tech companies compensate those engineers on a scale comparative to management.

Re: Ask HN: How to get out of Tech and still make a decent living?

#24
post #4

maybe become a commercial airline pilot? won't make you a living wage in the valley but you can live well virtually anywhere else plus you get to fly planes which is cool

Miserable job today. Start at $28K a year.[1] That's for experienced pilots with 1500 hours. Start by being on reserve, which means you're on 2-hour call for when they need someone.

An SF Muni bus driver is better paid.

It's one of those jobs which, like "game developer" or "actor", attracts people who really want to be in the business, even though the job sucks.

[1] http://www.skywest.com/skywest-airline-jobs/career-guides/fl...

Re: Ask HN: How to get out of Tech and still make a decent living?

#25

I am a very young developer (about a year and half out of college) so this might be a naïve thought. Isn't 15 years quite a long tenure for software development? I thought after 5-10 years you move into product/project management or something higher. I mean I realize everyone is different but still. Being the inexperienced programmer I am right now I imagine myself happily coding until I am 50 (lol ask me in 15 years…

I'm 6 years in or so and I think the only chance I'm getting into management is by necessity when starting my own company. There is plenty of room in the org chart for a 15 year veteran software developer.

Re: Ask HN: How to get out of Tech and still make a decent living?

#26
post #14

Have you considered moving to a better area of tech? Some of the new things being done with AI, Learning and Automation are pretty cool and might provide more excitement that your current job (since you didnt specify I assumed that you're in general product/solution development field)

Q the b

Re: Ask HN: How to get out of Tech and still make a decent living?

#27
post #4

maybe become a commercial airline pilot? won't make you a living wage in the valley but you can live well virtually anywhere else plus you get to fly planes which is cool

Funny you should recommend flying - I think we all know someone who's done that already?

http://blogs.harvard.edu/philg/category/flying/

Re: Ask HN: How to get out of Tech and still make a decent living?

#28
Getting out is possible but it's quite hard. Whatever you are going to do you won't be able to reach your current income level in the long-term. These opportunity costs and a general insecurity when doing new stuff will pull you back to well paid and secure dev jobs very quickly.

Running your own business or getting into startups as a founder is an option but you need to learn toms of new stuff, so it wont be easy either. Most developers I know who went this path realized after few months that another life isn't much easier and reverted to cushy dev jobs with free lunch and all the perks you could imagine. That's the real problem, it is so easy and tempting to get a well paid dev job. Why try hard if you get free crack around the corner?

I still recommend to venture something new but make sure you have sufficient financial resources and strong willpower to stay on track and not fall back to your current profession. You will learn a lot and tremendously improve your people skills.

Re: Ask HN: How to get out of Tech and still make a decent living?

#29
Coincidentally 15 years ago a fellow engineer told me his plan was to keep the same job as long as possible, get to the point where it isn't demanding intellectually, clock in the minimum hours, and then find fulfillment through family, friends, and hobbies. He has built 3 homes in his spare time, is a millionaire, and has an amazing family.

It took me 15 years to realize he was right. I now work 4 hours a day as a .NET consultant and then spend the rest of day doing whatever I want. I am fulfilled, relaxed, healthy and respected.

Before abandoning what many believe to be a highly desirable profession, just cut back on your hours and revisit your feelings after a few months.

Lastly do not underestimate how smart and competitive people are in other industries. It can take many years before you build the skills and reputation where you can command $100k+. I'd argue it is 10X harder to for a small business owner to net $100k than it is to net $50k.

Re: Ask HN: How to get out of Tech and still make a decent living?

#30
post #26
post #14

Have you considered moving to a better area of tech? Some of the new things being done with AI, Learning and Automation are pretty cool and might provide more excitement that your current job (since you didnt specify I assumed that you're in general product/solution development field)

Q the b

Pardon my ignorance, but could you expand those abbreviations?
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