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Anyone else feel the constant urge to leave the field and become a plumber?

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Re: Anyone else feel the constant urge to leave the field and become a plumber?

#61

Post by psbp »

lolinder wrote: post #23

This comment and its top reply are dead on: 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…

The levels of stress aren't that much different, but there's something more practical about the stresses of labor jobs that make them a bit more manageable in my experience. Only in software jobs have I had persistent, constant stress that never seems to let up and consumes my weekends. It's a skill to manage it, but it's definitely part of the job.

Re: Anyone else feel the constant urge to leave the field and become a plumber?

#62

Post by ryandvm »

Sure, you hate your boring, safe, lucrative job in software development until you become a plumber and find yourself on your hands and knees beside a disassembled toilet for the 87th time. Splattered in fetid wastewater, pulling stuck condoms out of the floor while the idiot renter stands above you dragging on his Juul, and you realize, maybe I didn't have it so bad after all.

The "grass is always greener" is probably the most repeated aphorism for a reason.

Re: Anyone else feel the constant urge to leave the field and become a plumber?

#64

Post by jedberg »

This last summer/fall really put things in perspective for me. We did a major outdoor renovation at our house, which involved landscapers, plumbers, electricians, and carpenters.

Every day these guys would show up at 8am and long sleeves and jeans and hard hats, work super hard, pee in a port-a-potty, and be exhausted by the end of the day. They worked out in the 100 degree heat as well as the rain as the job got near the end. Luckily the bosses were pretty cool and provided them with decent food for lunch and plenty of drinks (but I still offered them food and drinks too).

I on the other hand was working at my desk in my air conditioned house in comfortable clothes. A few times a day I'd put on my flip-flops and wander around outside to check on their work, ask a few questions, and then head back in when it got too hot.

And a couple of times the plumbing sprung a leak just as they were getting ready to leave, despite their best efforts to get all the risky work done early, and they they had to stay super late. Once the plumber was here till midnight after arriving at 8am.

I used to have thoughts about how it would be nice to have a job with totally spelled out requirements that end at 5pm and then you have the rest of the day off. But no more. I'd much rather work at my comfy desk inside and deal with the occasional call at 9pm on a Saturday than deal with what they all went through.

Re: Anyone else feel the constant urge to leave the field and become a plumber?

#65

Post by candiddevmike »

umvi wrote: post #7

I actually think it would be fun to "retire" and go to trade school to become an electrician. Not forever, just long enough to learn the trade. I practically have an EE degree, but since I only ever worked with low voltage, mostly digital circuits I still have poor electrical intuition for things like residential AC. Realistically though, I think my secondary post-retirement career will end up being a teacher of some…

Being an electrician sounds great until it's the middle of summer and you have to go in an attic or under a trailer.

Re: Anyone else feel the constant urge to leave the field and become a plumber?

#66

Post by rudasn »

civilized wrote: post #34
lolinder wrote: post #23

This comment and its top reply are dead on: 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…

Quoted post unavailable.

There's a study for that : https://www.scrapcarcomparison.co.uk/blog/which-drivers-are-...

Re: Anyone else feel the constant urge to leave the field and become a plumber?

#68

Post by convolvatron »

praptak wrote: post #38

My constant daydream is machining. So far I learned the basics of FreeCAD, watched a shitton of machining videos on YouTube and researched some lathes and mills. Unfortunately it is a hobby that requires lots of space to keep the machines and tools.

its true. i live in a medium-size american city and you can find a corner in a warehouse if you look hard enough.

i started out trying to build a little mini-shop. that turned out poorly. working with the small tools seems to require alot more expertise and patience than working with the normal-sized toolroom machines.

space aside its pretty much free. old machine tools are great learners and can be had for not much more than scrap price. steel is dirt cheap.

Re: Anyone else feel the constant urge to leave the field and become a plumber?

#69

Post by bartread »

lolinder wrote: post #23

This comment and its top reply are dead on: 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…

I agree. I work in tech and, outside of work, I'm refurbishing my house. I'm enjoying the refurbishment but would I do a trade as a full time job? Hell no.

Crawling around in my loft sistering joists is satisfying work but also, if it were to become the kind of thing I did over a long period of time, would 100% wreck my knees.

And that's just one downside. There are plenty more: e.g., all the ancillary guff you have to do (same as you have with contracting really), and then dealing with the general public and having people phone you at all hours of the day and night looking for estimates and quotes. No thanks.

Re: Anyone else feel the constant urge to leave the field and become a plumber?

#70

Post by arbol »

banana_maker wrote: post #22

Occasionally that thought pops up. Then I remember I’m making insane amounts of money, from the comfort of my desk in my house. At 25 I’m making more than my parents ever did, with a fraction of the physical effort. 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.…

Sitting in a seat day after day is sacrificing your body and health for work. You may not notice this now but you will in 10 years time.

https://www.cancer.org/latest-news/sitting-time-linked-to-hi...

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