Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: anyone ever drop everything and leave software dev behind?

news.ycombinator.com

91–100 of 109 posts

Re: Ask HN: anyone ever drop everything and leave software dev behind?

#91
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I bet there were times that he did. Especially before he was "George Carlin, world famous comedian" and was just some guy trying to land enough gigs to feed himself.

Maybe. It's just as possible he always loved being a comedian, even when it was hard to find work. The point is that he found a job he loved. No one should live under the assumption that everyone hates their job because of a joke.

Really? From what I know about Carlin, he was onto comedy for at least >3 years before he started getting some attention. Before that it was just a job that barely kept his expenses going. And I am pretty sure that was not the kind of world we live in. Becoming famous enough took time back in his time.

I am pretty damn sure there must have been days he would have hated his "job" as a comedian, because it didn't look like it was going anywhere. And remember, this was the era when fighter pilots and airforce people were considered the coolest ones, and he was kicked out before even completing his Air Force enlistment.

So, I guess it would be safe to say, he had doubts about himself, and he was trying to explore what he was meant to do. And I think we can agree, there must have been days when he hated his "job" as a comedian, but just HAD to keep going.

Just because you love your job, doesn't mean you are not going to hate/ don't care about it anytime in future. I don't think Love/Hate are mutually exclusive. At some point, there must be days when they occur intermittently.

Re: Ask HN: anyone ever drop everything and leave software dev behind?

#92

I wrote code for the military for 3 years after high school. Writing code for a living took what was my most enjoyable hobby at the time and turned it into a chore. I lost all of my love for it. So, I abandoned code and became an automotive mechanic. That's a fucking leap, let me tell you. Seven years later, my body was wrecked from arthritis I picked up in the Marines, so I got out of the automotive industry (a job…

If you can, rewrite the application using Python/Java that u are learning (Ruby, if you want to catch up). May be you can refine the idea and do a better job now. I admire your path. Goodluck and keep us posted on your progress.

Re: Ask HN: anyone ever drop everything and leave software dev behind?

#93
post #90
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe. It's just as possible he always loved being a comedian, even when it was hard to find work. The point is that he found a job he loved. No one should live under the assumption that everyone hates their job because of a joke.

Really? From what I know about Carlin, he was onto comedy for at least >3 years before he started getting some attention. Before that it was just a job that barely kept his expenses going. And I am pretty sure that was not the kind of world we live in. Becoming famous enough took time back in his time. I am pretty damn sure there must have been days he would have hated his "job" as a comedian, because it didn't look…

Bill Hicks' later stage shows make it pretty clear that he hated the job, and Carlin was about as cynical, so I could believe it.

Re: Ask HN: anyone ever drop everything and leave software dev behind?

#94
post #72
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

:\ really no focus? even something general like, "web development" (as opposed to "game development", "financial software"). i'm curious because i wonder what fields it's easy to find work in again after a year off.

At the time it was python, databases, C, unix and java. A mixture of sys admin and development for online medical records. Part of the reason I left was because I found that I could not cope with how boring my job was. I do not compartmentalize very well. When I returned, I worked for a place that made a music player.

cool. how did you find/end up at the "music player" company?

Re: Ask HN: anyone ever drop everything and leave software dev behind?

#95
post #14

I'm really just a mediocre programmer with really good domain knowledge Your problem is that you have no problem. Let me explain... I believe that the "quality" of a programmer is not how much you know, but what you can do with it. So it you have "really good domain knowledge", then you probably aren't a mediocre programmer at all, you're probably a good programmer or even better. Like many other hn'ers, I love to co…

great advice (as usual), edw519 ... have you thought about starting a blog with an FAQ mined from your responses from "Ask HN" questions? an easy hack that someone else could even do would be to troll through "Ask HN" threads, extract the ones where your answer was highest-ranked, and slap them together on a webpage somewhere. then that could be manually filtered and curated. i think that this would be a helpful page…

I wouldn't limit it to young programmers.

Re: Ask HN: anyone ever drop everything and leave software dev behind?

#97
post #49

“Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar.”" -George Carlin

FYI, that's Drew Carey, not Carlin.

They actually are both credited for that one, not sure who used it first.

Re: Ask HN: anyone ever drop everything and leave software dev behind?

#98

I've been in the same job for nine years now. Great people, great company, an excellent salary, but it's just gotten old. The work has become repetitive and the big problems have been solved. So I'm leaving to take a bit of time off and hack on projects of my own. I don't intend to leave programming but I might try and find a new problem domain to work in. I had an epiphany about this last month: you can't compartmen…

I'm in a similar situation - great salary, great people, not so enthused about the company or the work any more. I'm starting to seriously consider taking a sabbatical of some kind too, good luck with yours!

I know a lot of people who can be very happy without caring too much about their job, but that's not the case for me (or you, by the sounds of it).

Re: Ask HN: anyone ever drop everything and leave software dev behind?

#99
post #53
post #49

“Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar.”" -George Carlin

This is just a joke, I wouldn't take it seriously. Do you really think Carlin hated his job?

Suffered from depression. Definitely hated his job.

Re: Ask HN: anyone ever drop everything and leave software dev behind?

#100
Two friends, both developers. One started a video store with his family. Upside, lots of time with the family instead of in a cube. Downside: unstable market, lots of ups and downs.

Other guy started a falafel joint. Never seen a guy look so happy, healthy, totally mellow. Was a developer/manager then VP Software Engineering; now is Dad, cool boss for college students (has record for employee retention in a college town) and Husband he couldn't be before.

Post reply on HN