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Ask HN: How to optimize your career for happiness?

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Re: Ask HN: How to optimize your career for happiness?

#241

Post by crossroadsguy »

bluehatbrit wrote: post #234

I don't know where you live, what your budget is, or whether it's an option but if it is - try going part time for a bit. It opens up time for other things in a really significant way and almost forces your job to be relegated to "just a job". The simple act of "sorry I can't make that meeting, it's my day off" can push you do spend that time on something meaningful and put up healthy mental barriers around work. It…

In fact just starting to say things like “sorry I can't make that meeting, it's my day off” or “it’s my off time” even in a full time job can make your life so much better. Or at least make you leave that job if that’s met with resistance.

Most of the time and I mean most of the time people add you to odd hour work or more work because you don’t say no.

Re: Ask HN: How to optimize your career for happiness?

#242

Post by randomopining »

siproprio wrote: post #29

I'm currently 27, and I would really like to know where are those people who make 120k on a 40h/week job working, and how do I get there!

It’s not hard. Just interview around in higher pay locations. I’m not even that good and I’m at 140k now for Java

Re: Ask HN: How to optimize your career for happiness?

#243

Post by moneywoes »

toddm wrote: post #111

For me, the special part is truly viewing any job as just that: a job. I no longer assess my worth as a person as a function of job title, salary, or anything else. I take contracting work primarily and expect absolutely nothing more than a paycheck. Work is a transaction and I deliver what I can and am not a jerk. Almost every disposable penny goes toward physical fitness. My spouse happens to be cut from the same c…

What have been the best investments you’ve made?

Re: Ask HN: How to optimize your career for happiness?

#244

Post by moneywoes »

toddm wrote: post #212
HalcyonicStorm wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the direction I find myself going too. I am a runner in NYC. Its also fulfilling my social needs because I am a member of multiple running clubs. I get to interact with people outside of the tech bubble from all walks of life. I also have met people who are role models for different stages in life. I now have an idea of what I want to be like in my 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s because of the people I've met since I've…

Good for you, and keep it up - just finding a workout group or running buddies is a great investment for encouraging you to stick with it. Plus the ROI - low blood pressure, heart health, and so on - is almost infinite given the low cost of entry.

What is your view on joint damage?

Re: Ask HN: How to optimize your career for happiness?

#245

Post by randcraw »

netman21 wrote: post #42

I have found that there are two types of people who are happy in their work. 1. Those that help others, like teachers and nurses. Their jobs can be stressful and not very financially rewarding. But they take satisfaction from seeing patients get healthy or students learn. The other type are people who create things. If you are not of the first type I highly suggest that you find a career where you make things. Creati…

I agree. It's those two missions that I've found consistently compelling oer the 35 years I've been a pro. Both missions focus your attention away from distractions like climbing ladders to nowhere and the many subterfuges intended to that end.

Thus far, I've spent more effort on helping than hewing. But if I were to do it again I'd invest more effort in creating, either as part of my job or as an endeavor aside. There's something timeless and satisfying about immersing the self in invention and elbow grease.

Re: Ask HN: How to optimize your career for happiness?

#246

Post by tjr225 »

moneywoes wrote: post #244
toddm wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good for you, and keep it up - just finding a workout group or running buddies is a great investment for encouraging you to stick with it. Plus the ROI - low blood pressure, heart health, and so on - is almost infinite given the low cost of entry.

What is your view on joint damage?

Is this some sort of weird gotcha or are you sincere?

Joint damage is not really statistically correlated with long distance running, and anyone targeting a sub 20 minute 5k is going to have their weight and form so dialed in, it probably is barely a risk at all.

Re: Ask HN: How to optimize your career for happiness?

#247

Post by damontal »

lucb1e wrote: post #51
pmorici wrote: post #26

Get a gym membership and go every day. If you have trouble going routinely sign up for classes or a personal trainer so you feel more obligated to go on a regular basis.

Heh, that sounds like a nightmare for me personally. If going to an artificial place to get tired every day works for you, that's great, but this is not generally good advice. If it's purely about physical fitness (I'm really not quite sure what your goal with this method is, perhaps you could edit to clarify), going into nature to cycle or jog is much better due to the nature-happiness correlation (e.g. https://jour…

There are some really nice gyms out there that are almost like spas. You don’t have to go and work out like an animal every day. Sometimes I’ll go and do a light workout, maybe swim, and then soak in a hot tub.

Some days I’ll run in the woods near my home but that’s not so enjoyable in the winter.

Re: Ask HN: How to optimize your career for happiness?

#248

Post by toddm »

greazy wrote: post #232
toddm wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See below - the biggest expense is personal training and coaching. I am not a software engineer, and I have never commanded software engineer salaries. I am what they call a "data scientist" and I have an academic background in the sciences. My wife is a project manager at a big company that is nowhere near the FAANG level. We have a bare-bones yearly burn rate of about $40K: that's mortgage, utilities, rice and bean…

I think i have a similar background to you. Mind sharing how you got into data science contractual work? Is it through academia or in the business world?

It was initially an extension of a relationship I had while in academia. Several regular employment stints came afterwards, just from talking to people.

There are a few contract engagements I don't put on my resume: adding stuff to a few WordPress sites for friends; setting up a small Beowulf Linux cluster; debugging a Microsoft Access application for a small business. The main reason I don't list those (and a few others) is that I don't want to do them ever again. The secondary reason is that I don't want a full-time employer to know that I am/was working on the side.

More recently, a old classmate from grad school - with whom I worked recently - recalled that I was/am a specialist at running and interpreting the results of a clunky piece of software.

Presently I am not working and am starting a contract as a GIS data scientist for a telecom company in January. That one I got from a recruiter who needed someone with my skill set.

Note I have updated my contact information on my HN profile, from which you can infer what my LinkedIn profile is and have a look.

Re: Ask HN: How to optimize your career for happiness?

#249

Post by pronlover723 »

ReactiveJelly wrote: post #132
pronlover723 wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Worrying about > Permissive licenses are equivalent to unpaid labor in the eyes of SaaS companies and other freeloaders. Is a way to unhappiness. I MIT/BSD stuff and no worry about who uses it and how much money they make. The attitude above is like given to poor people at the sour kitchen and then getting angry if they make it out of poverty, become successful, and don't follow in your foot steps. What they do after…

But the point of a soup kitchen is to give without expecting any RoI, not even non-monetary return. If I want to build a community of people who upstream patches for a project, copyleft does it better than saying patches are not required. MIT is like a soup kitchen because soup kitchens are like MIT. I don't want to work in a soup kitchen.

> If I want to build a community of people who upstream patches for a project, copyleft does it better than saying patches are not required

I'm confident that you can't back that up with any facts. MIT/BSD projects are doing just fine at community and patches.

Re: Ask HN: How to optimize your career for happiness?

#250

Post by dudeinsf »

Have a sense of who you want to become, your values, what you aspire to be. Make decisions that bring you closer to that identity, instead of closer to more money or status.

Also, pick jobs that have some mission focus. Jobs where people are attracted by money only can result in toxic cultures (at my least so far in my career).

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