391–400 of 881 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is more similar than it first sounds... you're proposing a variant of ecommerce that includes production of the goods. You'd still start by identifying a product niche with strong demand. You'd begin with flexible but expensive production options, then automate incrementally as you figure out which products can scale. You'd invest in technology to help you maintain an advantage over other vendors. This is actual…
yep!
I would love to get into structural engineering. I just can't justify the cost of school, and the end salaries are not even going to be better than a software developer's. Or maybe be an auto mechanic. Or a woodworker/metal worker/welder. Or a farmer (seriously). Part of me wants to embrace the city and "book" knowledge to further my career, and part of me wants to abandon it and go back to a rural life and just make…
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 m…
Most recently I have enjoyed doing physical therapy with my dog -- so that'd be another option.
No pesky real world to mingle with your results, if a cent is missing it is because somebody took it. Also, when 0 = 0, you know when you're done!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> it's not necessary to make $100k+ a year to have a solid middle class life Depends on your circumstances. 100k with one salary?
"Obviously kids make this harder..." If you didn't have kids you would feel incredibly rich. You could pay off your house in five years and feel even richer.
Relief bush pilot on the Amazon jungle... Today, there is so much need for transportation of Doctors/Teachers/Helpers within villages in the Jungle. Unfortunately most of the obstacles to achieving this are purely political/Bureaucratic.
I'd love to get more information on this. Is it largely a lack of willing pilots? What are the political obstacles you've encountered?
Some examples: It is illegal to transport or sell aviation grade fuel without an (impossible to get ) permit.
The bureaucratic (permits/certifications/plain corruption) obstacles to operate an aircraft makes it to expensive to operate. To certify a pilot or an aircraft takes at least a year.. including flying an inspector to the US to inspect the aircraft before it can fly into the country.
I could go on for hours on this topic...
Painter (of canvasses, not of fences). It does occur to me sometimes that I could sink everything into a small cottage somewhere and live very simply, trying to make it as a small-time, local artist. It usually occurs to me shortly afterwards how quickly I'd (probably) get bored.
Interesting timing. I'm quitting my development job at the end of the month and going back to school full-time to become a furniture maker. I have a lot of reasons for wanting to do this. The most straightforward ones are that I want to create something tangible and enduring with my time.
Maybe not tangible, but a lot of the backend code in financial organizations etc. is pretty enduring ;)