Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

201–210 of 881 posts

Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#201

Post by rev_bird »

anabisengrin wrote: post #115

When 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.

I'm in the same boat, currently frustrated by the high cost of entry for a lot of projects. There's always "just one" tool that's missing. (Plus, I have the habit of starting projects with a lot of confidence, then they turn out ruined. This hurts worse when I just spent a bunch of money on supplies.) In any case, your blog looks like it's going to be a lot of help, thanks for sharing it.

Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#202

Post by s_kilk »

magic_beans wrote: post #96
kyoob wrote: post #77

I'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?

> much of the content is online

Hmm, no. many of the classics of compsci are not available to read online, and there are even some which are practically impossible to find even as shitty scanned pdfs

Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#205

Post by Ascetik »

osullivj wrote: post #127
Heraclite wrote: post #121

Philosopher

Well I did a BA in Philosophy in the late 80s, and it's served me well as a developer. Software development is just applied ontology really...

I studied Philosophy as well, with a heavy scholastic leaning, Thomism, and object oriented programming makes the most sense to me. Although not a programming language, that's probably why Powershell makes a lot of sense to me because it is all very focused on concretes.

Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#206

Post by _Wintermute »

thasaleni wrote: post #140

I'm currently a software developer, if I'd change I would go into genetics, more like what CRISPR is doing, from programming computers to programming living beings :D

Be prepared for 10+ years of training to get paid the same as a call center worker.

Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#207

Post by tjic »

Woodworker.

From running two small ecommerce companies I think I've learned enough about MVP, shipping, inventory management, etc.

From 25 years as a software engineer I've learned about building tools to automate steps.

I'd pick some "hard to find / expensive niche (e.g. Greene and Greene, Art Nouveau, etc.), but offer repeatable designs, not do custom work. That would allow for lots of jigs, fixtures, using cheap machines in duplicate to eliminate setup times, etc.

...and then after growing sales and shaking the bugs out of the production, I'd hire assistants to keep cranking stuff out.

Eventually I'd allow customers to start turbing a few "knobs" on products, via a website tool (this isn't too much falling back into software, is it?), which results in customized cut lists being kicked out for my assistants. Mass customization.

Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#208

Post by seltzered_ »

kyoob wrote: post #77

I'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.

If you're ever in Seattle you should check out Ada's technical books. It's highly similar to what you're describing.

Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?

#210

Post by [deleted] »

67726e wrote: post #85

I'm tired of busting my ass for a bunch of corrupt businessmen. I'd either be a bartender and do music in my free time, or join the military[0] as I'd rather let someone else make the decisions. Being "smart" is starting to feel more and more like a burden on my well being. [0] I realize the irony given the "corrupt businessmen" comment.

[deleted]
Post reply on HN