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Ask HN: What did you do after quitting the IT industry and how have things been?

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Re: Ask HN: What did you do after quitting the IT industry and how have things been?

#161

Post by joatmon-snoo »

lylo wrote: post #92

It's a shame we won't hear from the people who left and never came back to IT. They're likely no longer here to answer your question! Nevertheless, it's interesting hearing people's stories. At 25 (4 years as an engineer, games, DTP) I felt pretty burned out so I took a year out to travel the world. I saw incredible places, had new experiences, met people from a wide variety of backgrounds who I'd never have encounte…

I'm a senior in uni right now, and also a member of a business frat so I know a ton of people in finance/consulting, the classic poster child professions for early burnout.

We had a guy come give a talk two years ago about his work, and it ended up being sort of a life/success story and it was absolutely fascinating: he had done a variant of exactly what you describe, on for a few years, off for one or two to reset and explore passions, rinse and repeat.

The applause he got from our graduating seniors was very telling.

Re: Ask HN: What did you do after quitting the IT industry and how have things been?

#162

Post by DeBraid »

iguanayou wrote: post #54
kickscondor wrote: post #19

I guess I should answer this one. I quit computer programming to teach public elementary school during the summer of 2015. I had been planning my exit for five to maybe ten years ago. The pay is nowhere near what one can make as a programmer - but I didn't really need all that money anyway. I teach a technology class - every kid in the school takes it for an hour - some of it involves programming, some of it is letti…

I left the tech world to teach high school. Two years in I felt the same as you do now. Five years in, not so much - and I returned to programming. I still like teaching and still do it part time, but would not want to be a full time public school teacher again.

Can you elaborate on why you "would not want to be a full time public school teacher again."? Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: What did you do after quitting the IT industry and how have things been?

#163

Post by kickscondor »

DeBraid wrote: post #162
iguanayou wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I left the tech world to teach high school. Two years in I felt the same as you do now. Five years in, not so much - and I returned to programming. I still like teaching and still do it part time, but would not want to be a full time public school teacher again.

Can you elaborate on why you "would not want to be a full time public school teacher again."? Thanks!

Here is a prior comment with an explanation: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8862793

I am fortunate to work at a public school that gives me autonomy, so the only issue I share is the salary issue. Which I genuinely could care less about - thanks in large part to the autonomy.

Re: Ask HN: What did you do after quitting the IT industry and how have things been?

#164

Post by joslin01 »

HFTGuru wrote: post #65
voidz wrote: post #16

I became a full time father and results have been stellar. My boy is now one year old and turns out to be very clever... And very strong. He could crawl at seven months and started to learn how to walk at 11 months. His first word was 'hunger' (in Dutch, it sounds virtually the same) at two months, maybe it was imaginative but he was happy to eat after we we heard him say it, haha. Now he can also say 'mama' and 'pap…

I've been developing in C, in the finance industry as a high frequency trader as well as being a father. My son is home schooled and is typing elementary level sentences at 3 years old, he can also strum the guitar playing notes C D E F G A B on request. The down side is I work 10-12 hour days, but I get a performance bonus between 400k and 800k every year. I'm hoping I can retire in my late 30's, but I do miss out o…

Which B is he playing? B7? Cause if he's barring his chords already... man you did a great job.

Re: Ask HN: What did you do after quitting the IT industry and how have things been?

#165

Post by mreider »

I quit high tech in 2001 and got my masters in education. I taught science in the East Bay - across from San Francisco.

I ended up going back to high tech. Teaching took too much out of me - emotionally. In no way do I regret the move to teach - it was a vital piece of my growth as a person. Plus, I am still in touch with some of my former students, including a young woman that my wife and I helped get through nursing school.

As I get older I tend to approach things differently - I dare say better? The passion I felt towards technology in my 20s has changed. What I bring to my career in my 40's is more personal and meaningful now. It's about doing good work that I can be proud of with people who treat one another with kindness and respect. It's still important for me to love the products I am are building, but my reasons for loving them are broader than they used to be.

Re: Ask HN: What did you do after quitting the IT industry and how have things been?

#166

Post by omegaworks »

xrd wrote: post #113
iamdave wrote: post #104

I quit and will be starting my first of a two year pre-law program in two weeks. I'm quitting for a reason I haven't seen represented in the thread: "It's not even what I wanted to do as a career when I finished college" I only ended up in IT when my first job at a law firm as a file clerk nearly ended due to workforce reductions at a mid-sized law firm-an attorney I had helped in a big way solve a rather mundane wor…

I'm disappointed you are leaving tech. I wish there were more opportunities in tech that fulfilled your desire to fight for better laws and access to public resources. I suppose I'm happy you aren't leaving because of discrimination (making the assumption your social group represents your heritage...)

Me too. I'm looking for ways I can apply my technology skills to further social progress.

Re: Ask HN: What did you do after quitting the IT industry and how have things been?

#167

Post by yourapostasy »

exwebtina wrote: post #135
HFTGuru wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been developing in C, in the finance industry as a high frequency trader as well as being a father. My son is home schooled and is typing elementary level sentences at 3 years old, he can also strum the guitar playing notes C D E F G A B on request. The down side is I work 10-12 hour days, but I get a performance bonus between 400k and 800k every year. I'm hoping I can retire in my late 30's, but I do miss out o…

I retired in my early 40s. It was surprisingly boring.

I'm not on the same wavelength as retired people who complain about boredom. If I retired today, I literally have a >5000-line list of ideas, topics and activities I want to pursue, most of them inexpensive or even free to pursue financially for developers, but time-consuming.

You could develop software to largely automate the municipal bureaucracy of a village in your nation. It takes a surprising amount of paperwork, and manual labor, to perform even the minimal amount of compliance work to maintain a village.

You could work with leaders in each tax levying jurisdiction to agree to publish tax data in a standard online format.

You could develop a backyard automated chicken coop, Creative Commons the plans and see what improvements everyone else comes up with.

You could develop a vanadium redox battery-powered lawn light, and save landfills from the garbage disposable lights the big box stores inflict upon us today.

There is simply an endless sea of opportunities to imbue life around you with increased cognitive density.

My head fills with an idea or two every day (usually about improving something I run across in daily life), that acts like an earworm, which I have to write down to "purge out of my mind". It got much "worse" with the advent of search engines; when I was "stuck" with school/university libraries, I would often run into dead ends researching ideas, and could quell the earworms with the thought that I gave an honest effort to run down a thread of an idea. I thought everyone thought like this, but was just better at focusing upon the task at hand and banishing these idle thoughts. I much prefer the situation today with search engines: I'm much faster at running down enough of an idea and putting it into writing to purge it out than before.

Re: Ask HN: What did you do after quitting the IT industry and how have things been?

#168

Post by grecy »

jpatokal wrote: post #151
grecy wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I'm wary of DRC, but I have to cross it on my way South on the West coast. I'll go fast. My research says Burundi is pretty stable.. I was planning to go there. Do you recommend otherwise?

You're planning to cross the DRC, and you're going to do it "fast"? Please tell me that was a joke, because this is what awaits you: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/ride-tales/democratic-... Update: Ah, I take you're going to cross north to south, meaning you only have a (comparatively) tiny slice to go through. Then you'll likely survive, good luck getting the Angolan visa though...

Angola transit visa has not been a problem for any overlander in the last 6 months.

30 day Tourist visa seems to be issued to about 50% of people that ask.

Re: Ask HN: What did you do after quitting the IT industry and how have things been?

#169

Post by draw_down »

iamdave wrote: post #104

I quit and will be starting my first of a two year pre-law program in two weeks. I'm quitting for a reason I haven't seen represented in the thread: "It's not even what I wanted to do as a career when I finished college" I only ended up in IT when my first job at a law firm as a file clerk nearly ended due to workforce reductions at a mid-sized law firm-an attorney I had helped in a big way solve a rather mundane wor…

I think for a lot of new people in the legal profession, the concern is not so much that one won't get rich, but more that one will have trouble finding well-paid work at all- not that you personally will encounter that issue, necessarily. But I take your point of course.

Re: Ask HN: What did you do after quitting the IT industry and how have things been?

#170

Post by SnowingXIV »

xd wrote: post #66
sdfjkl wrote: post #34

After about 20 years of computer stuff, I've found a new interest - sailing. I spent most of the money gained from computer stuff on a boat, learnt how to repair it and sail it (repairing being the far more extensive subject), and am about to set off for a long trip. While doing this I've been using my newly gained skills and combined with my existing skills (computers, networks, electronics) did some work in the mar…

You ever watch svseeker on youtube? He's a DBA building a boat; I've been watching him for years now and he touches on how his job is just a means to an end in his goals.

Can confirm somewhat. Handle IT for various law firms and get to build sites and come up with solutions with any stack I believe fits best. Of course, I lay out pros and cons with attorneys but usually they defer to my judgement. Lots of pressure but I enjoy the freedom.
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