Trains.
Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
531–540 of 881 posts
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#532Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've always whittled as a fun side hobby. My desire to do anything bigger is limited by a fear of the table saw. As a lefty, nothing in the shop plays nice with me. I'm too worried about losing a finger which would impact my income stream as well as my other hobby, piano. But, I still spend more time looking at joinery than I do on HN.
Most of the time when someone loses a finger on a table saw, it is because they were doing something that they know better than to do, or because they didn't know that a particular action is high risk. What really helps is to initially work with someone who knows what and what not to do, so they can correct any bad techniques that you have. Common errors are things like trying to cut a piece that is too large / awkwa…
That you have an opinion on this and know the circumstances seems to suggest you know multiple people who have lost their fingers, which would suggest the risk is actually quite high.
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#533Football(Soccer) Journalist.
Have been doing it as a hobby but would love to spend more time immersing myself into the beautiful game.
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#534Landscaping designer, worker/Handyman. I get such joy from it and the creating/design aspect stems from my programming ability. Also, anything weather/meteorology related, as it's a side passion.
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#535I 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,…
Re:2, I've know people who work for the police in the Uk, and from the stories I've heard, the police have absolutely no respect for any civilian's opinion.
Statistician telling cops they're spending all their resources on the wrong thing? Got facts and figures to show that throwing more uniforms at a problem won't help?
They won't listen and then will tell you that you don't understand policing.
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#536Run a dog sanctuary.
The more I read about how people in the US treat each other, the more I want to work with innocents.
Screw the money. I've got enough saved to live simply but well. And yes, I'm married.
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#537Woodworker. 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…
I love this. My single regret about doing programming for a living is that I rarely have anything physical to show for my work at the end of the day. I've been looking at hobbies to pick up that involve making things with my hands. This is an innovative way to do both.
Same here. My undergrad & grad degree was Computer Engineering (Hardware focus) and Electrical Engineering. I made things (circuit boards), and programmed things that moved (robotics). But lots of money in web apps...
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#538Earlier quoted context omitted.
Houses. Well houses++ really. Working at an old estate preserving and restoring. There's a little of everything including the old farm equipment etc. I'm a strange mix of restorer, labourer and extremely junior apprentice (seems like every trade these days needs a vocational course and piece of paper before you're "allowed", even when clearly able). They try and use my project and IT abilities when they can too, thou…
This somehow raises more questions than answers, for me at least: You work full-time restoring a single property? Do you work for the owner, or is it maintained by a nonprofit/government? I'm guessing you work for a company, or are some kind of subcontractor? This sounds amazing.
It's one of the countless historic houses in the UK and Europe. Similar age as and nearer Downton Abbey than mere house! Elizabethan (late 1500s) and numerous alterations since, so plenty is in need of care and restoration.
There's gardens, stables, barns, and a number of outbuildings and estate houses for staff in older times. They still have some tenants and lettings, managed by the estate. The lettings are maintained by local firms usually. Then there's all the amenities associated with being open to the public, putting on various events. There's a charitable trust, but I work for the estate company.
I like the informality of it compared to the large company feel of say the National Trust (national preservation charity) who are more defined with roles. Of course they have hundreds of properties, thousands of staff along with countless volunteers.
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#539Tennis coach. I am decent (rated as high as 4.5 in my prime) and I love to teach. I have a 5 month old daughter, so I'll be able to do that within a few years :)
Re: Ask HN: If you were to switch career, what would you do?
#540Physicist