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Ask HN: What tech job would let me get away with the least real work possible?

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Re: Ask HN: What tech job would let me get away with the least real work possible?

#141
Become the database/configuration management guy for a simple but established B2B SaaS? In that sector data volume is not usually super high, so you're not managing complex replication or backup strategies.

Once the DB is up and running, you're pretty much just ensuring it doesn't fall over, which can probably be done in under 2hrs a day.

Re: Ask HN: What tech job would let me get away with the least real work possible?

#142
I think you are right for trying to spend more time on your hobbies. However isn't there a way to make a life out of your hobbies? It does not have to make you rich, but every penny you earn out of it, does not have to be earned by work which is mediocre at best.

Good luck on your search!

Re: Ask HN: What tech job would let me get away with the least real work possible?

#144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My job allows me to go back stage at Glastonbury and track-side visits at the Olympics, front seat views of royal weddings, orchestral pit on last night of the proms, and I have a fairly sedantry job of mostly pushing buttons. Colleagues have spent days in jungles building bridges to drive cars over them, have got to know people living in random villages from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and share in their culture, have m…

> My job allows me to go back stage at Glastonbury and track-side visits at the Olympics, front seat views of royal weddings, orchestral pit on last night of the proms, and I have a fairly sedantry job of mostly pushing buttons. I had a similar job once, where I worked in TV coverage of final table of WSOP (World Series of Poker). I was around the poker celebs at the time, preparing talking points for my boss who int…

It seems like this person deeply values what they had the opportunity to do, while you don't care about poker.

Re: Ask HN: What tech job would let me get away with the least real work possible?

#145
post #16

This is an awesome question. I hope someone has good strategies for you. Life should be spent doing the things you find worthwhile, and the fact is, not all of those things are monetizable. Given how esteem- and success driven HN as a platform is... you might not get too many ideas since I suppose people want to maintain their "hireable" status. Success and "loving your job" are more or less empty phrases unless you…

I'm surprised once again by the nice and helpful community on HN. I anticipated most comments would be people telling me to get my head out of my ass and get to work. I hope you find a way to chill through life.

I think you question is very sincere and VERY UNIQUE for this community because every other question is asking for the exact opposite. That's why there are a lot of interesting replies as well as a lot of interest in the question itself.

Is your hobby/"passions (which are not monetizable)" expensive? And are you 100% certain they are not monetizable?

In today's world, I have yet to see something which is not monetizable. Unless you are referring to something which is too competitive - even that can be monetized....though monetization itself might require too much work which goes against your requirement so I understand.

Re: Ask HN: What tech job would let me get away with the least real work possible?

#146
This is unethical, but outsource yourself. Get contractor jobs and then hire cheap overseas workers to do the work and pocket the difference. If you can get a few of these gigs going and can manage your calendar you can probably cut yourself down to 20 hours a week.

Just be better at hiding it than the guy we hired who got busted doing this literally within the first hour of his first day. Don't let your boss take over your computer while your contractor is controlling your computer via WebEx!

Re: Ask HN: What tech job would let me get away with the least real work possible?

#147

Just think. If your ability to get good quality health insurance/coverage wasn’t directly tied to having to be employed for those benefits, we all could pursue our passions and desires.

This is a common concern. But public health care really isn't THAT expensive. Something like $300/month.

Until you have a rare medical condition that forces you into bankruptcy because the treatments are not covered. Bad things happen to good people through no fault of their own.

Source - filed for bankruptcy due to family member having a rare medical condition. It was a strategic decision, because rich fat cats do it all the time when they make bad decisions. Within 18 months, bought new car at 0% interest, had mortgage within 3 years at very low interest. It wasn’t bad at all.

If any other business was ran like the medical industry, it would have been shut down years ago.

Re: Ask HN: What tech job would let me get away with the least real work possible?

#148

There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to focus on hobbies/life and not caring much about working time job - I would guess most people fall on this side, actually (and they don't even have too much of hobbies either). However, the way you wrote this post, it strucks me that maybe you have burnout, or you're depressed - as if you reach out to your passions not mainly because you like them, but because those ne…

What would you recommend?

I identified myself way too much in OP's post. I'm in my mid-20s, have a job as a consultant DevOps engineer in a boring fintech company, in a project that I think will fail. I'm full-remote atm, and I'm already doing the least amount of work that I can do without it being noticed.

I'm really good at programming (based on feedback of my co-workers), and I like doing side-projects (usually video-game related). I can't stop thinking everyday that I'm wasting my skills on, as OP stated, useless software. I'm not sure that I'm not being a diva, though.

I'm currently taking the steps to go to a 4/5th schedule, but I'm not sure it will make it any better. I'll have more time to do what my want (side-projects + hobbies), but I'm not sure it will solve what I feel deep down.

Re: Ask HN: What tech job would let me get away with the least real work possible?

#149

I don't know about putting in the least amount of effort for 5 days a week. But what I do know is that in my country, the Netherlands, part-time work is more and more becoming the standard. Already, 75% of women and 30% of men work 32 hours a week or less. In many sectors the fulltime standard has been lowered to 36 hours, which means every other Friday off. I myself started on 40 and will move to 32 hours somewhere…

> It's your right by law to reduce your hours for the same pay/hour.

Is this actually a thing? There are laws regarding this? How do these laws work if there's a job requirement itself which needs certain number of hours?

Re: Ask HN: What tech job would let me get away with the least real work possible?

#150
get really good at sysops/dev for legacy mainframes: AIX, etc. get an IT job at a hospital or financial institution that has this legacy system. Install a remote access serial device. Write automations that cover most failure cases. profit (time)
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