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Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

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Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#231

Post by seba_dos1 »

vinyl7 wrote: post #150
seba_dos1 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't done so myself either, but as the time passes I increasingly become convinced that the only available options for vast majority of population will be to do it now on your own terms or be forced to do it with everyone else later.

I like how as a people, we exploded with technology and capabilities, and now supposedly need to return to living like a cave man. I just hope that people who decide to live that way can cope with the fact that all the rich people and politicians will still live in affluence no matter what

If you "explode with technology and capabilities" while externalizing a lot of their costs to future generations, what other outcome can you honestly expect? The future starts now.

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#233

Post by amelius »

swalsh wrote: post #98
einpoklum wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stock traders don't "provide" anything, they're just playing a part in a poor, and exploitation-buttressing, system of exchange and resource allocation.

That's a very shortsighted view.

Shortsightedness is exactly the problem with daytrading.

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#234

Post by yoyohello13 »

throwaway984393 wrote: post #207
nautilius wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d say the theme is “midlife crisis”.

It's the opposite of a crisis though. It's midlife career rebirth.

It’s a crisis that leads to positive change.

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#235

Post by omginternets »

angrygoat wrote: post #188
omginternets wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is both cool and unusual! I have a question: did you ever get a feeling of what I can only describe as "numinous vertigo" when thinking about software systems? I sometimes get the sense that I'm peering into some basic universal structure, especially if the work has strong ties to theoretical CS or mathematics. It's as if I'm looking at something so fundamental and so meaningful that it ends being an emotional e…

Awesome question. I don't have a hugely strong mathematical background (second year university in some areas, like calculus, some stats, linear algebra, but a long time ago), but I think I know what you're getting at. My answer is yes – I had a particular experience on a silent retreat which I think falls into this category. There's a 15th century text by Nicholas of Cusa that I think you might enjoy and which I thin…

Thank you so much for this. I can already tell we're on the same wavelength, and I'm looking forward to a lazy Sunday afternoon of reading.

>One interesting thing studying theology/philosophy/... is that my working set of metaphors has somewhat switched.

Believe it or not, I come from a literary background (my B.A. was in literature and I switched to a STEM field afterwards) so I know exactly what you mean. There's always a tension between picking the metaphor that's most fitting and the metaphor that your audience will understand.

On a related note, have you ever read Leibniz's Monadology [0]? It's an attempt at a bottom-up, constructive approach to proving the existence of God. Unsurprisingly, it fails at this task, but I've always been fascinated by how close he gets, at least on the surface. You have to think very hard to see where the proof breaks down; I had to look it up.

[0] https://plato-philosophy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/The-...

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#236

Post by sandoze »

2bitlobster wrote: post #139
sandoze wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here’s the thing. If I could just code without being a slave to a scrum master or being product micromanaged.. I would never leave the industry. I worked five years in mobile gaming when the Apple Store first opened. Released 13 titles, had my hands in a half a dozen others, three teams in two countries, 15 employees at our height (95% remote). Never had a standup, planning meaning, grooming.. etc.

What were your main means of coordination and planning?

As a footnote. Let’s face it, good devs are good communicators. We do it constantly with our team members. I’m blocked, I need help, why don’t you work on, what if we did..

Daily scrum and weekly grooming and quarterly planning. That’s for product. That’s counting beans and making sure no one goes rogue and accidentally innovates.

Daily scrum is nothing more than a product status meeting. If you’re a dev and you’re waiting for that meeting everyday to tell someone you’re blocked or need something.. then there’s a communication problem.

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#237

Post by micromacrofoot »

bradly wrote: post #222

I left tech in July and I'm building furniture and woodworking now. I had been doing Rails since 2007, ending my career with a great 4.5 year stretch at Apple and was ready for a break. Two to four weeks off a year just isn't enough for me and my family and simply getting paid 10-20% more wasn't going to change our life. I'm loving it. I don't sit or stand in place for eight hours a day. I'm learning a ton. I'm engag…

How did you start and how long did it take to start making a sustainable income? I would prefer to switch to something that puts me on my feet but I can’t imagine how I could make it work financially.

TBH at this point in my career I think I’d rather just deliver mail even if it paid 75% of my current salary (unfortunately it’s more like 33%).

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#238

Post by hesdeadjim »

RubberMullet wrote: post #213

Quit my job as the CTO at a small Bay Area startup. One too many failed startups had taken their toll, I felt like a boxer that had lost his chin. Thought about culinary school and becoming a chef but after reading Kitchen Confidential, I changed my mind. Decided on welding/fabrication and ended up working on a ranch that had a metal fabrication shop. I enrolled in some classes at the local CC so I could improve my s…

Now that’s a cool journey.

I made the switch to gamedev a decade ago after more traditional startups. If you’d like to chat about the industry I’d be happy to. I helped build a larger studio, then went indie with some moderate success, now I’m doing the build a studio thing again because I am an insane person.

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#239

Post by 55555 »

robodale wrote: post #71

Walked away from 20 years of software development last year. I've been day and swing trading stocks for last 2 years. I'm now trading full time and doing great. I don't miss the daily stand-ups, scrum meetings, planning meetings, "quick chats", one-on-ones with management, weekly department meetings, monthly company meetings, and late night critical support calls one bit!

What are some of the resources and communities you use for trading?

Re: Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?

#240

Post by 55555 »

matsemann wrote: post #80
robodale wrote: post #71

Walked away from 20 years of software development last year. I've been day and swing trading stocks for last 2 years. I'm now trading full time and doing great. I don't miss the daily stand-ups, scrum meetings, planning meetings, "quick chats", one-on-ones with management, weekly department meetings, monthly company meetings, and late night critical support calls one bit!

Sorry for the blunt question, but how does it feel to go from something where you make something valuable to ...that? (At least I feel what I do give me meaning)

Giving back to the world is just one way to be satisfied. Being great at something, or even just learning, are often sufficient.
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