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I watch machining videos on YouTube for fun knowing that I’ll never make the jump.
I occasionally build physical things just so I can have some variety in frustrations that help me put my day job frustrations into perspective.
If I really hated it, I could save up for some time and do something else, because again… I’m pulling insane amounts of money for software work.
Trades like plumbing, electrical work etc are -hard- work. I recognize that I have the privilege of not sacrificing my body and health for my income. My biggest concerns are making sure my posture is correct and that I take enough walks. Such a hard life.
I’ve noticed that some programmers tend to romanticize things like farming or plumbing, and generally speaking not understand the hard physical work those people have to go through. It can be quite patronizing.
Edit: sitting a desk is not “sacrificing your body”. Comparing that to the labor that people in trades do is completely detached from reality. Obviously there are things like standing desks and working out. But in life you have to sit or stand regardless.
https://old.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/comments/sm54ri/a...
No job is going to get you away from unreasonable people with unreasonable expectations, and most trades introduce a bunch of other unpleasant things that you'd have to deal with.
It's all tradeoffs. Someone may legitimately prefer the stresses of a trade to the stresses of working in software, and that's great for them. But it's not an objectively easier path: if it were, plumbers would be much less expensive.
None of those. But I would like to be carpenter or machinist.
I do often dream of moving back to Romania, to a hamlet in the mountains and building a wooden house like Mr. Chickadee ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TcARfChhbE ).
But I'd never do it because I'm greedy and don't take risks.
* rewire 1920's three story house with romex instead of knob & tube
* install 6.6kW ground mount PV arrays and connect to grid
* replumb two kitchens and three bathrooms
* install water softener (all copper, dozens of required brazed joints)
It's pretty easy to forget how low the median income really is when one's social group is exclusively tech or other professional occupations (lawyers, doctors, etc). Meeting somebody who's doing physical labour 40-60 hours a week only to make 25k USD or whatever puts things into perspective really quick.
No. Plumbing is gross and wet. Carpentry, on the other hand...
Plumbing is gross and wet but you clearly know where the bullshit is from the beginning. In software it is creeping from everywhere, changing patterns every coouple of years as well. I probably wouldn’t want to be a real plumber but I hear the people who would. And I definitely get the urge to find something else but generally trading off for something else is problematic as well and generally comes with its own type…
Now I find myself needing to jump back into programming, and my strongly preferred language is Pascal. It's going to be an interesting ride.
If you do this yourself, make sure you have planned for contingencies like long term disability, should you be injured on the job, or get sick. Having a large nest egg of tech worker pay is a very good idea to secure before making the leap.
The tech domain is so expansive that there is an inability to master it which is a core tenant for job satisfaction. I watch machining videos on YouTube for fun knowing that I’ll never make the jump. I occasionally build physical things just so I can have some variety in frustrations that help me put my day job frustrations into perspective.
Of course you can attain mastery over certain sections of computer science/engineering.