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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?

#301

Post by hlesesne »

jedberg wrote: post #64

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 nea…

An old plumber friend wished he’d specialized. His idea was 1) live in a college town with tons and tons of student or vacation rentals (we already did) and 2) just do water heaters. 24 hour service and mark up for unscheduled installations.

Easy, clean, indoor work (generally) that you can get really good and you can pretty much name your price because everybody freaks when they don’t have hot water or it is leaking.

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

#304

Post by ant6n »

laxatives wrote: post #121

A professor of mathematics noticed that his kitchen sink at his home leaked. He called a plumber. The plumber came the next day and sealed a few screws, and everything was working as before. The professor was delighted. However, when the plumber gave him the bill a minute later, he was shocked. "This is one-third of my monthly salary!" he yelled. Well, all the same he paid it and then the plumber said to him, "I unde…

That's a sovjet era joke about professors working as plumbers, because back then blue collar labor was more respected than intellectual endeavors.

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

#305

Post by artemonster »

TheCoelacanth wrote: post #189
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)

There's a big difference between stereotyping based on something someone was born with and stereotyping based on something they chose to buy.

That is my problem: I don't see that difference. Its still stereotyping. Can you explain how it makes different to stereotype based on choice or some inherent immutable property? Its the majority of asshole careless drivers (inherent immutable property) that _choose_ to buy a BMW that make up a statistic. Still the stereotype selects that group, not by their choice but by and because of their property (being an asshole careless driver).

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

#306

Post by artemonster »

kube-system wrote: post #241
artemonster wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am unsure whether the (im)mutability of a qualifier plays a role. For example, religion is a choice, but making generalized derogatory statements about certain religious groups is not okay either. You can try it with the pattern of "civilized" user: """Everywhere you go, there will be _men hitting their wivers_. Disproportionately they will be ..." and say sorry afterwards. You will be making a statistically correc…

Religion is a choice in the same way citizenship is a choice. Sometimes it is a choice, often you’re born into it, and you often have to meet qualifications to change it, and some of those may be impossible to meet. And your social environment may impose some significant expectations on you.

now you're trying to argue about a specifics of the example I've given. Its tangent to the main question: whether stereotyping on something that is a choice or inherent is different? If you say that it is, can you please elaborate?

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

#307

Post by nelblu »

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…

100% this. I have been renovating my house for the past few months, room by room. It is fun on some days and not so much on other days. It can even be stressful when you can't figure out certain corners, or end up with leaks etc. I have contemplated started renovation as a side business, but having spoken to independent contractors I have figured it isn't all that much lucrative. There are even assholes who won't pay you at all.

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

#308

Post by taxcoder »

11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #253
nkozyra wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's something so insidiously, backhandedly condescending about tech workers pining for the simplicity of an honest day's job that drives me nuts. Yes, there are almost always jobs with less strenuous requirements on time, fewer requirements and late nights. But the average tech worker has a pretty good gig. And if they don't they can go down the street in 2022 and get one. Trades scratch a similar itch to develop…

It may be self-selecting tech workers who feel excessive stress from their job, or, really are disastisfied and ready for a change. I can confess to passing the person holding the STOP and SLOW sign at a construction site, and even saying out loud, "Now that's a job I could do." But when the fog clears, and the paycheck lands in the bank, it's, well... nah. I'd rather put up with the stress or ennui and have the cash…

Sometimes I consider going back to the trades (I have enough experience I could easily do so), but no way would I want to be a flagger. The boredom would kill me by noon the first day.

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

#309

Post by oneoff786 »

jseban wrote: post #273
jedberg wrote: post #64

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 nea…

Yeah but even if it seems more comfortable to sit at a desk, it's much worse for your health, and also will make you feel worse already at the end of the day, so as a desk worker you're basically required to spend another hour after work every day exercising to make up for that. While the people doing the landscaping already got their exercise and fresh air.

Definitely not wearing out their back and knees

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

#310

Post by lordnacho »

TheCoelacanth wrote: post #222
firstplacelast wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So I get it, but also people are way overhyping software development in this thread (which is expected on a tech website). The only thing going for it is an insane salary and lots of us don’t have those. I’ve worked in biotech/healthcare and have never had anything close to a FAANG salary even in a HCOL area. I burned out and am just now taking a month off to just exist. I have had the same thoughts about going blue-…

Software development has a lot more going for it than just high salaries. You have a enormous amount of bargaining power and ability to be picky about working conditions.

Aren't those all the same thing?
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