Left IT to go back to school and get my degree in Computer Engineering. Not a good choice for someone with little to no concentration / comprehension. Take all the stuff you do in (embedded/systems) software, then add in hardware design.
Ask HN: What job did you leave IT for?
71–80 of 111 posts
Re: Ask HN: What job did you leave IT for?
#72Technical writing/Technical Communication. Throughout my IT career, I've always been "the guy who documents everything". It's actually my favorite part of my job because I feel like I'm adding a layer of structure and peer reference to what is otherwise chaos and tribal knowledge.
would love to know your path into it. part of my job now is to mitigate the frictions between views of devs and users but not nearly enough for me. instead i have to code a lot (which i am not too good at).
Re: Ask HN: What job did you leave IT for?
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
As Elon Musk put it, ~"Managers receive the greatest distillation of all the problems. They have the worst job" They are the ones expected to solve the hardest problems. If someone can't figure it out, it gets pushed up the chain.
Managers generally solve no problems. Not engineering ones anyway. They are responsible only for applying the proper resources to get problems solved.
That's an absurd generalisation, and you should probably stop thinking Dilbert is a useful guide to most workplaces.
Some companies work that way, but they are bad companies to work for, IME.
Other companies, managers have got where they are because they know more than anybody else and have the personal skills to marshal a team into solving bigger problems than what is on the board for this sprint alone.
Source: ex-CTO, now Senior Engineer again, done every level of management you can think of, choose to be where I am for a reason, but do not think managers are idiots.
Re: Ask HN: What job did you leave IT for?
#74> little to no concentration and a very low level of comprehension This might sound like a flippant response but it's not: could you move into management? You don't need to know the finer details, but you'd have the experience required to empathise with the developers in your team.
As Elon Musk put it, ~"Managers receive the greatest distillation of all the problems. They have the worst job" They are the ones expected to solve the hardest problems. If someone can't figure it out, it gets pushed up the chain.
Managers only hear about problems which extend past our team. On the other hand, if I have to spend a whole day chasing an esoteric dependency conflict in our uber-jar, the manager won't be involved in it (and it's probably more annoying and mentally taxing than coordinating work with people on other teams).
Btw there is an interesting trend in London where individual contributors (at least in Big Data) are paid more than their managers - that's because ICs are brought in as consultants at 500+ quid a day, while companies often insist on managers being full time employees, who genrally get paid less.
Re: Ask HN: What job did you leave IT for?
#75My side project is an organic farm school. I raise pigs, cows, goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits and grow organic produce. It doesn't require much concentration. You might think this is a huge reach from I.T. but it still requires a lot of problem solving skills and discipline. It doesn't require the same kind of concentration, but you find out very quickly that the concentration it does take is engaging. It holds your…
I have considered farming in the past, quite seriously. I think bringing an engineering/scientist mindset to it might be a distraction, but it might also actually help me stay interested in what looks like otherwise very tough work.
Farmers have moderately high suicide rates: isolation, hard work, long hours, and the inability to just stop, as you state.
I read your account - and have read many others like it - and immediately start to think of farming more like Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea": hard work, rewarding, but there's little choice in getting on with the work.
Maybe one day. Maybe.
Re: Ask HN: What job did you leave IT for?
#76Become an artist. Don't make art based on your expression of your feelings or whatever. Take it on like you would a startup. Create things you think will sell and based on what works iterate quickly. Make lots of work, sell it at cost and increase your price as you refine your process.
You can involve computers in the process of creating work. Things like conceptual art doesn't even have to involve any artistic skill necessarily, but there are many other areas that do if you want to try it out. Paintings from unknown artist can sell for $5K and if you have the energy and space to make sculptures, they can sell for much more.
Always keep in mind who the buyers are, it isn't always directly to customers (galleries, governments, large corporations). Only make work that sells. In the process your pitch will need to be refined. It can't be simply that you want to make money, it has to speak the the audience.
There are many different customers out there looking for different things. Keep in mind there are very few people who devote themselves to this and few of these people have any sense of business, branding, marketing, or even creativity as deep as what is available in technology today. Sure many people can draw or whatever but this isn't want makes a successful artist.
Success comes from all of the same stuff that every other industry focuses on.
R.Mutt QED
Re: Ask HN: What job did you leave IT for?
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
Being a carpenter also sucks
Ever tried it? You sound someone who has a great deal of experience in the field. My father was one and I loved the smell of wood in the workshop. I would have loved to be a carpenter. It's one of those professions that might never go away. Even having mass production stuff, there are still people who prefer the human touch and the originality in the arts and crafts.
There are different kinds of carpenters.
There are construction carpenters (framers) that work outside in the sun, rain, cold hammering dimensional lumber together to construct the skeleton of a building. It's physically demanding and chance of injury is significant.
There are finish carpenters who do the detail trim work like window and door frames, baseboard, wainscotting, etc. You work indoors but still on-site.
There are cabinet makers and furniture builders. You probably work in a fixed location/shop.
Probably a bunch of others that I haven't thought of.
Re: Ask HN: What job did you leave IT for?
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think this may backfire even more. Sure there are stories about how one can get by as a manager without knowing much or doing much, but that's rare. As a manager you have to answer to your boss and make sure team delivery is met. You will need to do budget and stay current with what's happening at work, so that you don't become clueless in meetings. This can be stressful at work since politics is inevitable.
Yes, but all these things are "bigger picture" stuff. It's not trying to comprehend 1000 little things at the same time using deep concentration, as a software developer does.
My experience is limited to product development teams, however where I've worked managers are basically tasked with people management, technical leadership and cross-team relationship management. You are expected to know enough details about what every single member of your team does as well as what other teams are upto at a broad level, so you can act as the tie breaker when critical decisions need to be made. This is very much like holding 1000 different things in your head at a time except maybe not to a great depth. The biggest challenge I've faced switching from developer to manager is being in the middle of all that flies through your team and seamlessly context switching at a moment's notice. It's not deep concentration on one goal but simultaneously chipping away on multiple goals.
Re: Ask HN: What job did you leave IT for?
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
Managers generally solve no problems. Not engineering ones anyway. They are responsible only for applying the proper resources to get problems solved.
That's an absurd generalisation, and you should probably stop thinking Dilbert is a useful guide to most workplaces. Some companies work that way, but they are bad companies to work for, IME. Other companies, managers have got where they are because they know more than anybody else and have the personal skills to marshal a team into solving bigger problems than what is on the board for this sprint alone. Source: ex-C…
A manager that is doing the job right, is managing. Resources, people, time. Not doing Engineering.
Call yourself an idiot if you like (I don't think I said that anywhere?) Managing is a difficult task that requires knowledge and skills. But not Engineering ones.
There's another name for when a Manager is telling his Engineers how to solve problems: micro-managing
Re: Ask HN: What job did you leave IT for?
#80> little to no concentration and a very low level of comprehension This might sound like a flippant response but it's not: could you move into management? You don't need to know the finer details, but you'd have the experience required to empathise with the developers in your team.
Maybe your health problems would prevent you from being the best manager but there's no shame in being a good enough manager.