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

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

#521

Post by gist »

ipince wrote: post #513

I have a few options/dreams. 1. Become a musician. I love all kinds of music and drums/percussion in particular. On the side, I'm working my way to being able to play drums+timbales for Cuban timba music. I've only been doing this for about a year and think I have a talent for it. 2. Go into criminology and/or politics. Crime is one of the biggest problems in Venezuela, with murder and kidnappings at all time highs,…

> Become a musician. I love all kinds of music and drums/percussion in particular.

Back in the day this was a common theme. "I love boating so..." or "I like golf so..."

Doing something part time is much different from doing it full time or as a career. Waking up every morning and having to be creative or perform or boat or golf. The intermittent part of certain activities is what makes it fun. Not always but many times. Plus you have to be good enough to earn a living and/or accolades to keep you going.

I am reminded of the time when I sold my first company and was able to boat anytime I wanted. Honestly got tired of it almost immediately when able to do it without the pressure of actual work 'to get away from'.

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

#522

Post by patryn20 »

Focused, neighborhood context-sensitive and environmentally conscious real estate development. The goal would be to replace the typical boring stick-built midrise, minimal setback, blank sided commercial and residential you see being built in most cities. With a stated goal of providing space for existing businesses being displaced by the new development as well as public spaces when possible.

Yeah, my returns wouldn't necessarily be as high, but at least it would improve the neighborhood without unduly displacing the things that made the neighborhood desirable in the first place. Or being a generic, overpriced pile of blank like most modern pop-up construction.

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

#523

Post by Chris2048 »

Shoop wrote: post #493
Chris2048 wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why do you think its the lowest tier? I'd assume because it's easier to make. Any fruity-loops beat artist might be convinced their tune is as good as any club topper.

I'm not sure why you'd judge a genre by its worst music.

most common. There is bad electronic all over.

Also, like a certain other genre (which I won't name in order to avoid more down-votes from offended fans), it has a habit of being mixed into other genres like a low quality spirit mixer...

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

#524

Post by junto »

HockeyPlayer wrote: post #439
sailfast wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Save the money and deliver sailboats. Large market for trained crew to take yachts from Point A to Point B. :) No people except those you bring. Free yacht.

Can you tell us more about the training and experience required to be delivery crew?

You can get started fairly easily. Take a sailing course that gives you a recognized certificate. For example, the RYA "Competent Crew" or "Day skipper". Different countries have different certifications that are recognized worldwide. The UK Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is definitely one of them, and you can do these courses in lots of sail training facilities across Europe.

From there you can jump on almost any boat delivery crew with a bit of luck.

Most rich boat owners don't want to sail their yachts across large bodies of water, so they employ delivery crews. Normally they employ an experienced captain and the captain hires his/her own crew.

Boats are normally moved during the spring months from Europe to the Caribbean, specifically for the start of the season for Antigua Race Week, which I believe takes place in April/May. They normally head out from the Mediterranean via the Canary Islands to cross the Atlantic.

Common places to jump on board are where yachts have been kept or serviced over the winter. Common ports include places like Palma de Mallorca, which is full of "boaties" looking to get a place on a yacht crossing. You hang out in the "boaty bars" and see if you can hook yourself a ride by chatting to people. There are also a number of internet forums, but you'll get better luck face to face, and you'll spend a number of weeks with these people in close confinement, so you'll want to know what they are like beforehand.

As you get more experienced and depending on the boat you could try to get taken on permanently by the owner. The pay on the super yachts of the super rich can be insanely high, especially for experienced captains, chefs and engineers - monthly 5 figures if you are really good. That being said the super rich can be complete assholes, who can start throwing the carefully presented lobster dish back in your face because it wasn't the right colour, or you forgot to make sure the wine fridge was stocked with enough Dom Perignon P3 Plenitude Brut.

I've heard some wonderful stories of the super rich from boaties. It's a crazy life.

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

#525

Post by whiskers »

homarp wrote: post #431
mkaziz wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of children's books, out of curiosity? I have some interest there myself.

the ones you can't find right now with the message you want. e.g. the pleasure of being a maker. the pleasure of finding things out.

Have you seen the Andrea Beaty books? http://www.andreabeaty.com/

I have them for my daughter and the messages are very positive for exploring ideas and experimenting.

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

#526

Post by Chris2048 »

tazjin wrote: post #466
Chris2048 wrote: post #109

> decent electronic music And square circles too?

You're throwing an extremely large class of music under the bus here. I'd classify anything from New Order to Black Sun Empire as electronic and they couldn't be more different. Decent electronic music doesn't mean that the same sort of repetitive beats are played at all times (though an occasional minimal techno day would definitely be a thing), rather that different genres are played on different occasions while ex…

Not really, it was a joke. But I commented as such, then that comment started getting down-votes, so I assume the people who down-voted the above comment weren't yet satisfied I'd been down-voted enough...

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

#527

Post by cafard »

tehwalrus wrote: post #337

Politics. The only way to fix the broken stuff in the world. I have stood in a bunch of elections and lost them all. I'm not dissuaded yet.

Interesting. At what level? And are you involved at all in your local party, on the precinct or county level?

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

#528

Post by coldpie »

lloyd-christmas wrote: post #509
coldpie wrote: post #402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consider hand tools. It's a bit more labor, but if you're not building for profit anyway, you may enjoy it more. I have some thoughts on this on my blog, see my profile.

Thanks, that's a bunch of great info. I'll be looking forward to an update on your bench.

Won't be till April at the earliest. Minnesota winters...

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

#529

Post by smprk »

thenomad wrote: post #44
jdmoreira wrote: post #35

- Film director or screenwriter - Electronic musician (Just hardware, no software involved) - Cartoonist / Illustrator I lack the skills for all of them but at least I'm allowed to fantasise :) I don't regret being a programmer though, computers are probably my favourite thing.

There has never, ever been a better time to be an amateur film director. And the best way to learn the skills is by making films. I was a professional filmmaker for almost 20 years before my move into VR, and I can assure you I didn't have a lot of cinematic skill when I started :) You can cheerfully shoot a festival-worthy film on a modern smartphone. If you want to go a bit higher-end you can rent all the kit neede…

Very helpful words from someone who has been there and done it. I am not sure if distribution woes are as bad as I hear they are. With transparent platforms like https://studios.amazon.com/ it seems to me (from far) that ease of distribution is at its best too. I don't think it is still easy, but is it not easier than it was say 10-20 years ago?

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

#530

Post by raindev »

I'd be a fashion designer. Oftentimes I feel like software engineering doesn't give me an opportunity to fully realize my creative self. Mostly because of people, not because of technology. Creativity is not valued for its own sake in software development and you cannot just say "that's the way I see". I feel it narrows down my life perspective too much.
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