Ask HN: How did you move from IT/software to something unrelated?

Post by lj3 » Mon, May 22, 2017, 3:46 PM UTC

Ultimatt wrote: post #123

brailsafe wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an astoundingly relevant answer to my question and thank you for taking the time to tell your story. I don't have an answer yet but this gives me something to think about. I share the same interests outside of the office and the same feeling you had once the bubble burst. I was hoping to find some advice on how I could turn the experience I did have into something beneficial to a potential employer—such as th…

I'd consider also how you can pivot slightly rather than completely. Coming out of my undergrad degree I had absolutely zero interest in writing boiler plate style software suited-up in a large company. Instead I took on jnr research positions in other fields like earth sciences as a research assistant, working with satellite data and high throughput laser scanning. Essentially the computer/robotics guy for people no…

Post by biztos » Mon, May 22, 2017, 3:48 PM UTC

controversy187 wrote: post #92

I'm sort of doing this now. I'm a full-time software engineer, and I have a passion for tea as well. I've been reading a TON about small business, entrepreneurship, etc. My wife and I are in the processes of launching a side-hustle online tea company, and documenting the whole process on our YouTube channel. It may not be a full-time gig, but we want to grow it as far as we can. So, in short, we're sticking with the…

Post by le-mark » Mon, May 22, 2017, 3:57 PM UTC

timwaagh wrote: post #72

sidlls wrote: post #34

When my family moved to the Bay Area we owned a home. Rather than sell, we engaged a property manager to rent it out. We had a few years of excellent income from that which essentially paid the PITI (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) on our FHA-financed home (including holding a "reserve" for repairs, vacancy, etc.) plus a (very small) profit. It definitely lit a fire in my belly to switch out. I find softwa…

why not just buy something, rent it out and keep doing your job? it's not like you need to be on it full time to rent out a place. even if you have to do quite a bit of diy. i rent out rooms in my place and it's just a perfect side gig.

Post by mion » Mon, May 22, 2017, 4:37 PM UTC

latte wrote: post #101

I was a 4th-year student in a maths / CS programme in Eastern Europe and had a part-time job as a web developer. Over time, I got the impression that being a dev is a low-prestige job with very slim chances of moving into any position of power. So I abandoned programming entirely, enrolled in a masters' program in economics and in 3 years got a job in M&A advisory at an investment bank. Getting a finance job was not…

Post by draw_down » Mon, May 22, 2017, 4:53 PM UTC

bthrn wrote: post #134

ransom1538 wrote: post #108

SALES. What fascinates me about sales is the ability to bring immediate value to a company. True value. If you walk in the door and bring in a new sale order for $100k: the company just made money. It may sound impossible todo. But it isn't. EG. Selling a twilio account to uber isn't like landing a mars rover. It is totally possible. Uber needs to send text messages and there are only a handful of players in that spa…

> "Once we finish signing the paperwork, everyone else is worthless." It is true. I think that's a fairly myopic, though unsurprising, point of view from the sales perspective. There's tons of work that goes into making a viable product that gets the paperwork to be signed. Programmers, teams, etc. are just as (ir)replaceable as sales staff; when you have the right combination, everything works well. Handshakes and s…