1. Started a recruiting agency https://www.ericgong.com
2. Everyone hates the recruiting industry so it's ripe for disruption with an actual technical recruiter.
Ask HN: Former software engineers, what are you doing now?
41–50 of 164 posts
Re: Ask HN: Former software engineers, what are you doing now?
#421. Traveling the US by RV (for the last year)
2. After 20 times through the product cycle and I couldn’t muster much enthusiasm any more. Having enough $$ to stop made my attitude go downhill faster. Being able to finally ignore/defy a truly terrible boss made it all come to a head even though I was walking away from almost 300k/y. Bye bye, zero regrets.
Re: Ask HN: Former software engineers, what are you doing now?
#43I was a full stack web dev and Linux sysadmin for about a decade. Switched to welding and machining - I wanted to make something tangible for a change. The work itself was awesome (legos for grownups) but the industry is fairly toxic IME. Right now I'm working on getting back into IT (Network security).
I kind of did the opposite- went from working in construction and ended up doing development as part of my job.
I briefly worked for a pipeline installation company ( oil,gas,etc), where welders were making fantastic money. So a few things on health: Welding electrode design has been improving,so welders get less toxic fumes than they used to a decade ago. People working in fields with pipelines often get joint problems because of extensive time spent in poor weather. Lots of awkward positions- which is harmful long term and etc. Also high end welding isn't something quick to get into: it does require a lot of experience and few people progress enough to become really good at it.
Re: Ask HN: Former software engineers, what are you doing now?
#44Studying data science - https://247reading.group
2: because I was also bored with it. Want to contribute to automation (as in automating non-digital jobs)
Re: Ask HN: Former software engineers, what are you doing now?
#45I'm now a security architect. I get to work on a wider set of problems over the entire business, not just software.
I left mostly because I became fascinated by security, while I was being asked to secure software. I realised I had no real idea how to do this, and the deeper I dug, the more interesting it seemed.
I was also becoming bored by the relentless cyclic churn in software development methodologies and frameworks, and how fashion led the whole thing seemed to be.
Re: Ask HN: Former software engineers, what are you doing now?
#461. Selling real estate, raising kids, planning for various future investments and opportunities. 2. I was in software for 20+ years. It was all I had ever wanted to do from the time I was 13. In hindsight, I’d say you have a phase of the moon in which to make your money and get out. It’s a brutal industry and you will likely face burn out at some point and you need to be prepared for that moment. I was in many differ…
Same, graduating in a year and interested in advice.
Re: Ask HN: Former software engineers, what are you doing now?
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's a dweb? (No my mother language.)
distributed web, maybe? (i.e. likes of IPFS/Scuttlebutt/Hypercore)
Yeah, this is mine https://GitHub.com/hyperhyperspace
Re: Ask HN: Former software engineers, what are you doing now?
#481. I'm a Scrum Master.
2. I really wasn't great at it. I loved it, only did it professionally for 2 years, but did side projects for years before I took an official job. I wish I was good enough to be productive in a professional environment.
Re: Ask HN: Former software engineers, what are you doing now?
#491. Selling real estate, raising kids, planning for various future investments and opportunities. 2. I was in software for 20+ years. It was all I had ever wanted to do from the time I was 13. In hindsight, I’d say you have a phase of the moon in which to make your money and get out. It’s a brutal industry and you will likely face burn out at some point and you need to be prepared for that moment. I was in many differ…
Why do you consider tech brutal?
Re: Ask HN: Former software engineers, what are you doing now?
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its Financial Independence Retire Early. FU money is 10x FIRE.
>FU money is 10x FIRE How do you figure? I always had in my mind that FU money was the amount you needed to quit immediately and be fine forever, which also sounds pretty much like FIRE. Granted, my mental model of FU money is not cash in the bank but passive cashflow which is probably coming from investments FIRE-style, which is maybe where the difference is.
You can be FIRE at around a million in assets. My wife and I ran the numbers and it seemed possible. But we wanted kids and stuff so retirement wasn't in the cards.
If you have FU money you don't need to run the numbers.
That's how I look at it.