I'm going to a commune in Vermont and will deal with no unit of time shorter than a season
You're my hero, assuming you're not being facetious (I'm not).
It’s a quote from soul of a new machine that has haunted me for years.
Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?
121–127 of 127 posts
Re: Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
What helped for me was switching from a 5000 employee company to a 50 employee one. I really loved my previous job, but just witnessing the politics made me want to quit, and I'm glad I did.
Anything you miss about the 5000 employee company?
I guess the bigger the company the more interesting niche problems and processes there are that are worth spending a lot of time improving/automating etc. And yes a big company has more "high end" perks (better hotels when travelling, priority boarding, more expensive company events). But I enjoy a cheap beer with an enthusiastic group of colleagues more than I could possibly miss a fancy hotel.
Re: Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
Expect way less than 1/3 pay, though.
True. Though honestly I'd definitely end up taking my technical & entrepreneurial experience into it and doing something with it in that field. When I was a teenager, 25 years ago, I used to CNC my own bike parts and also worked as a local bike mechanic. I've only accumulated a lot more fabrication, software, and business experience since then. Though of course I'd vastly prefer this particular industry transition to…
I also fantasize about learning to CNC and weld bike parts :-).
Re: Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
True. Though honestly I'd definitely end up taking my technical & entrepreneurial experience into it and doing something with it in that field. When I was a teenager, 25 years ago, I used to CNC my own bike parts and also worked as a local bike mechanic. I've only accumulated a lot more fabrication, software, and business experience since then. Though of course I'd vastly prefer this particular industry transition to…
I also fantasize about learning to CNC and weld bike parts :-).
Well, I can teach you how to do both of those things! :-)
Re: Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?
#125I have a friend who took time off around same age and became a commercial pilot. He enjoyed it but came back to dev eventually as he missed tech pay.
Re: Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Four-year colleges require Ph.Ds for those roles, no exceptions In British academia it is not impossible to get a lecturer position (equivalent to US assistant professor) without a PhD. Simon Peyton Jones, who is famous for his Haskell / GHC work, got one and progressed all the way to full professor. The OP might want to consider this. If one aims at CS positions that are mostly / fully devoted to teaching in not-s…
Yep, totally possible to get to an assistant professor/lecturer without a Ph.D, but they are not considered full-time faculty, will not qualify for tenure track (i.e. can theoretically get fired at any time, but realistically probably not), do not get top pick for courses/course slots (and might not be eligible to teach certain courses despite having the credentials to do so), and, at some schools, are not eligible f…
In many European countries, including UK, tenure has been abolished.
At the time of application, you know whether the job is permanent. Some lectureships that do not require PhD, or where PhD is optional, are permanent jobs.
Re: Ask HN: In mid 40s. What non-tech job can I do?
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
Looks like I'm following the same trajectory. Started off my "career" in finance (not even the quantitative kind), then set up a family office, converted it from a long-short shop to a quantitative one with the help of a very technically confident partner, and just "retired" last Friday. Career in quotes because I cofounded a startup in university which we sold off. Retired in quotes because I'm such a bad coder that…
That sounds amazing! Congratulations Do you still want to be a data engineer? I wouldn’t let HR “requirements” stop me. There must be a way. 5+ year DEs once had 0 experience
It's not off the books, although I can understand stringent HR requirements for the role. We had the same requirements when recruiting :P, although we needed someone to be able to hit the ground running. I guess the same goes for most companies.