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Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?

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Re: Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?

#51

Post by drewcoo »

dsr_ wrote: post #16

Consider: * technical writing * QA * office manager (Put everything into a ticketing system with reminder alerts. Don't give anyone else access. Nearly everything an office manager does is a ticket with a deadline and a series of subtasks. The difference between an excellent office manager and a terrible one is their attention to detail. Outsource that to a computer.) * Logistics/shipping management. (Everything I sa…

If you want to get away from coding, either QA or tech writing will make you want to code again because you'll deal with other people's coding problems but have no ability to fix the problems.

Re: Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?

#53

Post by SoftTalker »

the_only_law wrote: post #19
laomai wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Become a substitute teacher first. I've heard good STEM substitutes are hard to find. (and frequently rebooked) It'll also a low bar way to test out whether you enjoy teaching, and which age range you prefer to teach.

How does that pay though? I know OP mentioned they’re fine with a paycut, but I my understanding was subs tend to get a low per-diem pay that would probably end up much less than 1/3 of what they were getting in tech. Most subs I remember tended to be rather old and I imagine they were mostly supplementing other income.

Just be ready to get called at 5AM for work at 7AM at a school that could be an hour away, and then get treated like shit by the staff and the kids. You could not pay me enough to do that.

Re: Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?

#56

Post by SoftTalker »

abeyer wrote: post #48
hackyhacky wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a feeling that you haven't worked in academia. There are no tenured jobs that are easy to get, for the simple reason that firing tenured faculty is intentionally difficult. Tenure-track positions at any reputable university, and even disreputable ones, are highly competitive are require a history of research, in addition to the PhD. Mostly fresh PhDs need to do at least one post-docs in order to be considered…

Nor with the fact that OP is approaching retirement age... if you figure 10 years from beginning a PhD program to tenure (which certainly isn't a hard limit, but probably isn't an unreasonable basis to start from) then they might have only 10-15 working years left after 'getting there'. While hiring and tenure considerations would word it _very_ carefully to avoid the appearance of age discrimination, I suspect that…

And if office politics factor into OP's motivations to change, academia has that as bad or worse than any business/corporate setting.

Re: Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?

#57

Post by drewcoo »

nopenopenopeno wrote: post #25
trashface wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Possibly not great for men: "One of my sons works in early education. He can talk quite movingly about the stigma that you'll face as a man. People will question your motives. At worst, some people will suggest, either jokingly or not, that you might be motivated by pedophilia. "What is it about young kids that appeals to you?" is the kind of question you hear. There are some quite nasty stereotypes around men in tho…

A close friend just moved across the country and back because what he thought would be his dream teaching job turned out to be laced with dramatic and patently insane identity politics as described. He is himself a socialist passionate about helping poor working class people, but his coworkers were snotty out-of-touch liberals with no conception of class divisions at all. They were intent on dividing society along ge…

And it's not just schools. It's also social work. And related fields. Basically, all the things you'd want to involve yourself in "to make a difference" are dominated by liberals.

Re: Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?

#58

Post by hunter-gatherer »

hackyhacky wrote: post #10

I took some time off to teach. Years later, I'm still doing it. I teach computer science and programming. This is a good field to go into, because (a) it applies my knowledge acquired from my earlier life as a developer, and (b) is always in demand. If you want to teach this, you will have no trouble getting a job at a high school, community college, or university. I would also argue it's not, strictly speaking, a te…

I seem to have a different definition of "tech work" than most people here. When I dream of taking a sabatical I think about being a baker or barrista for $10/hour.

Re: Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?

#59

Post by javajosh »

SoftTalker wrote: post #47
rsync wrote: post #45

I love being a UNIX sysadmin and there is nothing else I've ever wanted to do. However , if I were in your position and didn't want to do this work I think I would either get formally certified as an electrician and do electrical work or I would get certified as a paramedic (not merely EMT/EMR) and work as a firefighter. I think electrician is an easier route - especially if you are not very physically robust - but t…

Apprentice electricians need to be in good shape. You'll be out on job sites, in buildings under construction, climbing ladders, pulling wire (long runs of wire are heavy , etc. possibly in cold or windy or rainy weather, etc. This is true of most trades, except maybe machinist. That is what I'd look into, personally. If you're a programmer, you can still continue that by learning CNC programming. I honestly don't kn…

I enjoy some machinist porn, especially youtube.com/mymechanics. That guy is amazing. I'd be curious to know how he got to where he is, because that gear and those skills didn't come to him overnight.

Re: Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?

#60

Post by leethomas »

ljf wrote: post #36

There are so many non-technical jobs in tech companies, which are so much better in the hands of someone that understands technology. Consider the skills and knowledge you have, and see where else you can apply them. Often these roles are far less stressful

> Often these roles are far less stressful

What did you have in mind specifically? I can’t think of anything myself that doesn’t seem just as or more stressful and with less flexibility.

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