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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?

#231

Post by hodgesrm »

smileysteve wrote: post #159
hodgesrm wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Leaving aside problems with heat, it really helps to be small. One of our electricians was about 5' 2" and previously served on submarines in the US Navy. Another job where being of small stature is a benefit.

A plumber can be similar. In a craw space, I've soldered a coupler where I couldn't get the torch to light in the small space I had. Yep, there wasn't enough oxygen to sustain combustion.

Yikes. Here in California in addition to size of the space, you really don't want to be there if the ground moves. (Which fortunately is very rare.)

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

#232

Post by HL33tibCe7 »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #85
throwaway135711 wrote: post #27

In fleeting moments of madness, maybe. But aside from that, of course not! We're so unbelievably lucky to be able to do things that we're good at, most of us enjoy (to some extent), and also be paid eye-watering amounts of money. 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 d…

"also be paid eye-watering amounts of money." Thats not really true outside US

It is in the UK

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

#233

Post by redisman »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #200
TheCoelacanth wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, yes, owning things is definitely the best job, regardless of what industry you're in. It's not the typical path for any job, though.

I know, but I think for most people in this thread, there is an upward path for that. I often wonder why the other painters working for him don't go off and start their own painting companies. Perhaps a few will. But I suspect many of them would not enjoy or be comfortable with spread sheets, business taxes, work insurance and some of the other things that go along with owning the company. I suspect my neighbor, like…

But then you’re a business owner and a manager. It’s mostly not golf. As I’m sure anyone who has had a business here already knows very well.

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

#234

Post by artemonster »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #163
artemonster wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like how in our progressive society it is absolutely frowned upon to invoke any association between observable societal statistics and, say, race/gender, but its okay to bash BMW/audi drivers. So, user civilized, why is it okay for you to generalize? And why exactly you were sorry? (I am aware that this is a tangent discussion to the original post, but it may be an interesting one)

You can choose whether to buy a BMW or not?

but having one does not make you an asshole driver

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

#235

Post by kd0amg »

mrwnmonm wrote: post #97
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…

What about teaching? Or becoming a Youtuber?

Teaching isn't likely to get you away from unreasonable people with unreasonable expectations.

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

#236

Post by sjg007 »

pessimizer wrote: post #211
ryandvm wrote: post #62

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 probabl…

I feel like a lot of replies like this assume that everybody is an upper-middle class white kid who hasn't had to shovel shit before. I've had a lot of much worse jobs than being a mechanic; jobs where I looked up from what I was doing when the mechanic walked in with unbelievable jealousy. I'm counting the days until CoPilot suddenly turns a bunch of John Galts into Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists, but an additiona…

Honestly same for most doctors too. They are just human body mechanics.

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

#237

Post by Beltalowda »

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #113
Beltalowda wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked in a daycare for a while when I was young; I really liked being a scout leader and figured I might want to do something like this for a living. I didn't like it very much: turns out that a few hours on saturday is not quite the same thing as 8 hours every day. I think in general "doing this for a hobby and fun" and "doing this for a living" are two entirely different things. Many people love to cook as a hob…

Some years ago I had a friend who agreed to do some tile work for some other mutual friends. Midway through, I was at the "client's" house talking with them, and they were complaining (not bitterly, but perplexedly): "We just don't get it, Steve finishes and says he'll be back in the morning but then he doesn't show up for 5-10 days". I shared in their amazement - it seemed so rude, so unnecessary. Why would you do t…

Ah yes, the infamous builders. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0QxQoOInV0

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

#238

Post by ramesh31 »

I've noticed people in this industry who took the typical high school -> college -> professional job route with no time in their life spent struggling at all or doing manual labor have some kind of weird romantic notion about it. Working manual labor sucks. It destroys your body, forces you to work terrible hours and often in brutal conditions, and pays awful. I spent years of my life being homeless and working menial labor jobs for years before getting into software development. You guys have absolutely no clue how insanely privileged we are. I think about it every single day.

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

#239

Post by banana_maker »

cpsns wrote: post #108
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.…

> I recognize that I have the privilege of not sacrificing my body and health for my income. Sitting for longer periods in any amount is incredibly bad for one's health long term, every study on the subject has confirmed this. You are sacrificing your health, just in a different way.

Comparing construction or plumbing work to sitting is absolutely ludicrous.

I also use a standing desk anyways, but I am not sacrificing my health like my grandfather or father did who had/have back/knee and other health issues in their 50s from physical labor.

Being able to earn a nice living while sitting at a desk is an enormous privilege, and I also get money and healthcare to routinely visit doctors anyway.

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

#240

Post by lokalfarm »

spicybright wrote: post #73

One of the best jobs I've had was working part time at a pizza place in my early 20's. I made just enough for rent, food, and fun. The job was easy to be good at, but rewarding because I was helping actual people. Most of the time it was slow so you got to joke around with the other employees. But sometimes you'd get slammed and have to organize your crew to work efficiently for a few hours, which was stressful, but…

This is more a reflection on that period of your life than the work itself.

Part time at a pizza shop in your teens/20s? Time of your life! Doing that exact same work in your 30s when you're trying provide for a partner and potentially kids? When you have bills stacking up, rent is shooting through the roof, and your hopes of one day owning a home are slowly circling the drain?

What do you do now, when that is your sole skillset to fall back on? Being on your feet doesn't feel nearly as nice as it did when you were in your early 20s. Those slow times become stressful because you know it means you could be out of a job like that. Sure, people might always want to eat pizza ("there's always work") but that doesn't mean your quality of life is going to increase _at all_ because of that. Your only hope out - opening your own pizza shop - is an incredibly fragile & stressful undertaking. You're much more likely to lose all the money you borrow/invest into it than ending up with a successful restaurant that provides for you financially.

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