Writer.
Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
111–120 of 881 posts
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#112I would do good. I would build homes for veterans or work for my local non-profit that supplies dogs to support veterans having a tough transition back to civilian life. Or I would work with the diabetes type 1 JDRF so that my wife would no longer have to worry about her glucose levels. I would support teachers the right way, supplying them with proper training for 21st century skills so that kids are inspired to learn, learn, learn. Because I believe that doing good is very much needed right now in our world.
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#113I would write books except I hate working alone, I prefer being around people. Maybe some kind of writer's workshop?
I overheard a guy on a plane once - old guy telling is life story.
He'd done various things, been a pianist, engineer, parent etc.
Now he writes, he says it's the most fulfilling career he's ever had; Though I expect he's already financially stable.
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#114I would like to be an astronaut. It has the physical and mental aspects I'm looking for. The skills learnt during training are also super interesting.
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#115When I leave my current job I'm going to apply for an adult course on wood working.
I love to build things, and wood is the most available and easy to work with material (compared to plastic, rock or metal).
And seriously, I bought a saw, a hammer, a screwdriver last year, it got me crazy. Same as having a unix terminal and an Internet connexion.
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#116I'd open a bookstore/cafe that sells tech and engineering books. We'd run tech classes in a space in the back, with a discount for vets and artists looking to change careers. I'd live in the apartment above the store, with a garden on the roof. The wifi would be phenomenal.
Computer Literacy Books was lovely while it lasted. They used to offer lectures too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Literacy_Bookshops
Their website in 1998: https://web.archive.org/web/19961219170620/http://clbooks.co...
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#117Car mechanic / electronic
Yeah I second this. I could diagnose a PC problem, pull it apart, swap hardware out, put it back together again without a second thought. But something goes wrong with my car and I'm all like "car's broken, better call the mechanic". Can anyone recommend a beginner's guide to mechanics? I feel like even some basic knowledge would go a long way.
I would start with a cheap OBDII reader ($50 or less) that has a real-time feature that can show you what all the sensors (o2, intake temperature, etc) are saying.
That's a more fun start than a book, and it might lead you in a certain direction as to which book you might want to read.
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#118Teach martial arts.
Which discipline though?
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#119I'd open a bookstore/cafe that sells tech and engineering books. We'd run tech classes in a space in the back, with a discount for vets and artists looking to change careers. I'd live in the apartment above the store, with a garden on the roof. The wifi would be phenomenal.
What is the point of owning tech books when a) much of the content is online and b) there are new developments in languages/frameworks all the time?
There are quite a few great books on stable information. To name a couple: Knuth's Art of Programming, Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, Advanced Systems Programming in the Unix Environment, the dragon book.
Why should I own them physically? Well, I find physical books more comfortable to read than digital ones. They lack text search, but being able to have it open on my desk next to my computer is handy. Not to mention the sleep hygiene issues from using a screen before going to sleep.
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#120Curator at an art museum and publisher of unique writing about music, art, and humans.