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Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

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Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#71

Post by ishvanl »

MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #5

Get a hobby (woodworking), something physical where you work with your hands (woodworking) and is easy enough to start but has near infinite depth (woodworking). Could be anything.

I second this. My thing is pottery. I started in January of 2021 and have been doing it ever since. It cost me 50 dollars for a few hour-long courses at a local studio and it has been an absolute godsend. The pure cosmic joy of seeing and feeling something come into existence quite literally in your hands is unparalleled.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#72

Post by weakfish »

GoToRO wrote: post #56
fwlr wrote: post #43

Dropped out of tech, arguably more by force than choice. My lifestyle, finances, social life, even country of residence (and by extension my love life) were all balanced on top of that little MacBook Pro. Used it for work, used it to socialize, eventually my brain refused to let me mediate my entire life through a computer any longer and I burned out. Now I work at a hotel! Receptionist, barista, waiter, even some ma…

I would guess the one big difference is respect. For some reason, there is no respect for tech workers.

How?

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#73

Post by detourdog »

fwlr wrote: post #43

Dropped out of tech, arguably more by force than choice. My lifestyle, finances, social life, even country of residence (and by extension my love life) were all balanced on top of that little MacBook Pro. Used it for work, used it to socialize, eventually my brain refused to let me mediate my entire life through a computer any longer and I burned out. Now I work at a hotel! Receptionist, barista, waiter, even some ma…

I work as a janitor in the building I own and I love it. The problems people bring to me are so realistic and easy to solve. The worse thing that could happen is I have to call a tradesmen. I have about 24 bills to pay a year. The real world happens at such a manageable scale compared to technology. The stress of being a System Administrator was such a low-level hum I didn't know it was there.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#75

Post by siva7 »

GoToRO wrote: post #59
siva7 wrote: post #41

It is important to understand that everyone has sometimes escape phantasies (teachers, therapists, baristas, founders, medical doctors, professors, developers, etc., they all do) because something is making them truly unhappy in their day-to-day job and they assume other people happier. Finding about the root cause what makes you unhappy will usually lead to more satisfying results than just running after to become a…

My problem is the lack of respect. What can I do about it?

What do you exactly mean with lack of respect? All the professions i've listed above face issues regarding lack of respect all the time (angry shop customers, angry patients, angry board members, etc.). If you feel undervalued in your current team, i would advise to interview with another company/team. If you feel undervalued in your social life, switching roles/jobs usually won't make the problems go away.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#76

Post by frmbb »

iagooar wrote: post #8
matonias wrote: post #4

Currently switching to agriculture with a 2 year part-time study. Only want to use my computer to do administration and code for hobby purposes. But source of income lays somewhere else. 25, no savings.

Be careful, it is tough to earn decent money out there, especially compared to the relatively easy tech money.

It is not always about the money. After 20 years in tech I'd love to have a job that is more outdoors and less repetitive. I'm even considering homesteading at this point...

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#77

Post by tetromino_ »

GoToRO wrote: post #56
fwlr wrote: post #43

Dropped out of tech, arguably more by force than choice. My lifestyle, finances, social life, even country of residence (and by extension my love life) were all balanced on top of that little MacBook Pro. Used it for work, used it to socialize, eventually my brain refused to let me mediate my entire life through a computer any longer and I burned out. Now I work at a hotel! Receptionist, barista, waiter, even some ma…

I would guess the one big difference is respect. For some reason, there is no respect for tech workers.

But tech workers get far more respect than people in OP's current role of a receptionist, barista, waiter, and/or housekeeping.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#78

Post by mabbo »

A few years ago I was similarly burned out. A friend invited me to interview with his tech deployment team. I spent a really fun 18 months on it before coming back to coding.

The job entailed flying on site to warehouses (Amazon), different ones every week, and installing, integrating, or upgrading on site hardware with new control software.

The hours could be brutal sometimes. I was away from home M-F most weeks. But it was fun and it was a great team of people to work with.

All this to say: there are jobs out there that will let you do something new, but will take advantage of your technical skills.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#79

Post by blarghyblarg »

boosting6889 wrote: post #7

I would actually like to be a doctor but it’s not really feasible starting down that route in my 30s

MD in your 30s, early 30s especially, is possible. Some schools happily accept nontrad applicants, and most will take you if you have a strong background and clear interest.

Now, starting down the MD in your late 40s? Early 50s? Yeah, probably not.

You still have time, just not much.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?

#80

Post by deckeraa »

I did that by moving from a full-time tech job to teaching at a local classical-model high school part time and doing tech consulting work part time.

If you're feeling burnt out or bored by tech, you may want to try something similar -- tech was becoming non-fun for me at 55 hours/week, but is fun again at 10-15 hours/week. Plus you get to try out new things without waiting for retirement.

From a financial side, just make sure you've adjusted your expenses to be in line with what you're likely to make doing less tech (since most fields pay less), and implement those expense adjustments before you make a career change.

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