Ask HN: Career and life advice for a 30yo • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Career and life advice for a 30yo

#111

Post by sailfast » Wed, Jun 10, 2020, 2:48 PM UTC

Find a place with some honest people, working on something that matters. You don't need to be some legendary hacker to work with solid people in a con-person free zone.

It sounds like you're perhaps working jobs where, if a broader objective exists, it doesn't really "matter" or it's made-up. "We're changing the world through [thing that sounds big but really means large-scale data collection for ads]"

Ever consider government? There are likely more bureaucrats and hoops, but if you do your job right you'll save lives.

Re: Ask HN: Career and life advice for a 30yo

#112

Post by JamesBarney » Wed, Jun 10, 2020, 2:51 PM UTC

ianai wrote: post #96

thom wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to deny the obvious frustration of the poster, but it's sad to see such wise and calm advice currently being downvoted.

It’s not helpful advice. He’s essentially finger wagging instead of offering positive input. Corporate America really is bad enough to warrant correction. If anything, I’d probably suggest learning about people to the OP of the thread. Find out how to spot personality types quickly and how best to work with them - including avoiding the toxic ones. But also temper it with not over analyzing-analysis can become its ow…

You say "Corporate America" but in my experience devs were in a similar or worse boat in Europe, and India. (I haven't worked with any east asian development organizations)

Re: Ask HN: Career and life advice for a 30yo

#113

Post by sova » Wed, Jun 10, 2020, 2:52 PM UTC

hn3333 wrote: post #21

rohan1024 wrote: post #18

You may find this essay by pg helpful in making your decision: You Weren't Meant to Have a Boss - http://www.paulgraham.com/boss.html

Without having read the linked post yet (saved for later) I do believe that the headline is right. We are the boss and the computer is our worker. We can have as many as we need (AWS, DigitalOcean, etc.). We just need to give these workers a task that will pay the rent. (And unfortunately the money still comes from people, unless it's about automated stock/crypto market trading bots.)

Has nothing to do with humans being masters of technology ...

  "I was in Africa last year and saw a lot of animals in the wild that I'd only seen in zoos before. It was remarkable how different they seemed. Particularly lions. Lions in the wild seem about ten times more alive. They're like different animals. I suspect that working for oneself feels better to humans in much the same way that living in the wild must feel better to a wide-ranging predator like a lion. Life in a zoo is easier, but it isn't the life they were designed for."

Re: Ask HN: Career and life advice for a 30yo

#114

Post by gridlockd » Wed, Jun 10, 2020, 2:53 PM UTC

> what do you think?

I think you're not actually here to get advice, but to lament the state of things.

You need to grow up. You have no respect for these people outside your profession, whose work you do not understand. You're blaming the environment for your personal unhappiness.

Nobody is forcing you to stay in your lane. There's an endless amount of things you could do, you just don't want to take the risk, otherwise you would be out there doing it.

You have broadly three choices:

1. Throw yourself out there and prepare to hit rock bottom. It's going to be unsafe, but it's not going to be boring. You'll become a stronger person.

2. Learn to appreciate what you have instead of focusing on the negative, stop disrespecting people that don't live up to your bullshit hacker ethos standards. Work one day less per week. You'll become a more tolerable person.

3. Stay the miserable human being that you are. Nobody cares.

Re: Ask HN: Career and life advice for a 30yo

#115

Post by icoder » Wed, Jun 10, 2020, 2:54 PM UTC

Opening a company of your own solves all your problems and brings back others, only you can decide which you value more. An in-between route would be to go freelance, which in my area (Amsterdam) and our field (software dev) seems just as 'sure' as employment, but gives you more freedom to:

- jump between / serve multiple employers (customers) - play with your hours (ie make some room for side project or other life goals) - play with your hourly rate (making it easier to play with your hours)

In general you may want to move close(r) to hardware dev work (not necessarily going embedded, but at least tied to it), especially within small startups or a mostly independently operating R&D team. Although anecdotal my experience is that this brings you more of what you search for.

PS: As for academia, I wouldn't go as far as saying you can replace it with some Googling / online education, but having been there for some years I do think your conclusion that you will not be happy there might still be correct, it's slow and rigid.

Re: Ask HN: Career and life advice for a 30yo

#116

Post by aka1234 » Wed, Jun 10, 2020, 2:55 PM UTC

scotty79 wrote: post #109

> entering the industry in the early to mid 2010's i found a landscape filled with self serving product managers, conmen [...] > [...] the hacker ethos was lost. the culture changed I'm 41 so I probably entered the IT industry a decade before you. Nothing changed. It was always like that. And I just strongly suspect it's not just IT. That's basically what 'work' and 'business' is. Basically start having life outside…

It's not just IT. I transitioned to a career in IT when I was 35. I've done a _lot_ of things in my time; everything from bouncing in a world-famous downtown district to being a cashier a gas station.

This is all good advice. Find something you're passionate about outside of work. Maybe look for tech-related 501(c)3s, educational programs, or (if you're so inclined politically) social-justice related causes. All of these could use the help of an experienced IT guy/gal.

And (IMO) there's nothing better to recharge the 'ole batteries than to see the look in someone's eyes when something just clicks. Want to find the hacker ethos and culture? Pass it along to the next generation.

Re: Ask HN: Career and life advice for a 30yo

#117

Post by flanker » Wed, Jun 10, 2020, 2:58 PM UTC

idoby wrote: post #19

Shit, are you me? You're just being over 30, welcome. Those documentaries you watched on your old CRT TV while growing up were showing you fiction. The tech industry is an ad mill. Academia is about innovation killing fiefdoms. What you need to realize is that for an institution, the first priority is maintaining homeostasis, and that means not letting you do something that might risk resources or upsetting the estab…

> Shit, are you me?

That's what I said, I suppose there are lots of people in their early 30's having a dilemma. I'm also struggling with something similar, but I recognise I have much to attain in level of expertise but do I want to do that? Is another question.

Re: Ask HN: Career and life advice for a 30yo

#118

Post by joecasson » Wed, Jun 10, 2020, 2:59 PM UTC

cynusx wrote: post #35

I think you want to seek out companies where the main business risk is technology risk still. That would be database companies, developer tools, artificial intelligence startups, operating systems, ... Probably drones and sensor-companies also qualify but don't really know much about that industry. SpaceX's reusable rocket is a great example of technology risk and so is Tesla's affordable electric car. Most startups…

> That said, I think product and businesspeople are often not aware that having really solid tech yields dividends for years to come and will help them outcompete any peer as well increase the acquisition likelihood.

This an incredibly inaccurate assertion. I'm not aware of a single business person would ever say, "I think we can win simply on positioning." [1] While people may not understand/appreciate the pressures or output of an engineering team, it is not to say that they don't recognize when the product stability is not there. It undermines the credibility in their statements and pitch.

[1] 10 years experience in Sales and Engineering at very small and medium sized businesses

Re: Ask HN: Career and life advice for a 30yo

#119

Post by palerdot » Wed, Jun 10, 2020, 3:01 PM UTC

ritchiea wrote: post #12

First I would take a step back and try to view the situation with less judgment. It's easy to look at the past and mythologize it and imagine it as perfect. Maybe there are more MBAs and executives and thought leaders today but the past you're romanticizing would have its own frustrations and road blocks. The other thing it sounds like you're doing is looking around for a great opportunity rather than zeroing in on a…

> you can decide what you want but you can't decide what it will cost you

Excellent quote. Can you give the source of this quote?

Re: Ask HN: Career and life advice for a 30yo

#120

Post by dekervin » Wed, Jun 10, 2020, 3:01 PM UTC

cynusx wrote: post #35

I think you want to seek out companies where the main business risk is technology risk still. That would be database companies, developer tools, artificial intelligence startups, operating systems, ... Probably drones and sensor-companies also qualify but don't really know much about that industry. SpaceX's reusable rocket is a great example of technology risk and so is Tesla's affordable electric car. Most startups…

A hardware focus provides a low pass filter to find engineering driven projects, at least for now. You should browse. One should probably browse https://hackaday.io/ every so often for inspiration.