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Quitting engineering to pursue art full-time

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Re: Quitting engineering to pursue art full-time

#121

Post by aleph_minus_one »

dottjt wrote: post #54
redbell wrote: post #48

If I were to transition from software engineering, I'd prioritize a role that meets the following criteria: 1. Minimizes screen time and doesn't rely heavily on computers for productivity. 2. Allows me to disconnect after work without constant notifications or calls. 3. Offers stability, requiring minimal adaptation to new trends or technologies. 4. Lastly, and more importantly, not easily replaceable by AI in the ne…

Any ideas on actual roles? I think the thing that kills me is the mental exhaustion of software development. Just thinking about how to solve problems all day is mentally taxing.

> I think the thing that kills me is the mental exhaustion of software development. Just thinking about how to solve problems all day is mentally taxing.

In my experience tolerating managers and people who don't really care about software is the much more exhausting part of software development.

Re: Quitting engineering to pursue art full-time

#122

Post by _heimdall »

Dalewyn wrote: post #115
_heimdall wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The same can be said for empires in general. Dominance seems forever until it isn't, and often the "higher you go the faster you fall" idea plays out. There are plenty of signs that the US could be in the midst of its own empire failing. Whether that actually plays out is something we wouldn't know for decades or centuries, but there sure are a lot of parallels to failed empires of the past.

The question we need to ask isn't whether Pax Americana is dying, but who is going to succeed it. So far it seems like it'll be China on account of there being no other country or bloc able to compete at that level, but that would be very unpleasant for us westerners.

In all likelihood, I'd expect it to be a country or a group of countries that we would never really have expected.

Unfortunately I don't think the US would go down quietly if the empire really is failing. Another major war wouldn't be out of the question, clearing the board for a lot of change to take place.

Without a war though, and one can only hope this is the case, I don't see China pulling it off. I both don't think they really have that motivation, and I don't expect they really could transition from such a totalitarian state to an empire driving anything near the level of US dominance.

When the US empire fails, and it has to eventually even if we aren't currently walking that path, the question is whether it falls apart or fails violently. You could point to many parallels with the Roman Empire and guess that it will just fall apart, even if there are fringe wars along the way.

Re: Quitting engineering to pursue art full-time

#123

Post by pixl97 »

passion__desire wrote: post #29
datadrivenangel wrote: post #20

Reminds me of the classic: "Sorry I missed your comment of many months ago. I no longer build software; I now make furniture out of wood. The hours are long, the pay sucks, and there's always the opportunity to remove my finger with a table saw, but nobody asks me if I can add an RSS feed to a DBMS, so there's that :-)" https://github.com/docker/cli/issues/267#issuecomment-695149...

I remember a quantum information theorist went to become a hard labourer in construction because he thought "physical labour is food for the soul"

Honestly I would say labor/exercise is food for the brain. Of course moderation in everything.

Re: Quitting engineering to pursue art full-time

#124

Post by _heimdall »

TheLoafOfBread wrote: post #118
Dalewyn wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The question we need to ask isn't whether Pax Americana is dying, but who is going to succeed it. So far it seems like it'll be China on account of there being no other country or bloc able to compete at that level, but that would be very unpleasant for us westerners.

Uncomfortable situations are seed for evolution. Westerners has no real need to do audacious steps, because they don't feel threatened. When China will take over from USA, I would not be surprised that there will be some ingenious way how Western civilization will rebuild itself.

The west, especially the US, likes to view China as our big rival these days. I'm still not sold, economically we're highly dependent on each other and militarily it doesn't make sense.

If the US and China really were to get into direct conflict, the bigger question may be who on earth was least impacted by nukes rather than which of the two countries "wins" (in quotes because we all lose in war).

Re: Quitting engineering to pursue art full-time

#125

Post by RussianCow »

bityard wrote: post #91
redbell wrote: post #48

If I were to transition from software engineering, I'd prioritize a role that meets the following criteria: 1. Minimizes screen time and doesn't rely heavily on computers for productivity. 2. Allows me to disconnect after work without constant notifications or calls. 3. Offers stability, requiring minimal adaptation to new trends or technologies. 4. Lastly, and more importantly, not easily replaceable by AI in the ne…

These are the roles I seriously considered and actively explored to some degree or another. 1. Electrician. It's not something you can just jump into, even if you're the type who can grok 100% of the theory, equipment, and electrical code overnight. Even after you're all trained up, you have to rank up through various levels, most of which require working under someone else for X number of years. It takes a decade or…

I started a side business making custom craft cocktails for events (mostly weddings). It's a stressful job, but mixology is a passion of mine and so it doesn't feel nearly as much like work as my 9-5. I'm still in the early stages and learning a ton as I go, but I'm hoping to streamline my processes and raise my prices/margins enough to make about $80 per hour, which would be enough to allow me to go part-time with software engineering and give me much more free time overall while still earning enough to cover costs and save.

Re: Quitting engineering to pursue art full-time

#126

Post by mkl »

nachox999 wrote: post #111

I've been playing the piano and composing music for over a decade. Last year, I started getting paid as a ghost composer, and since then, I've been composing more songs per week on average than ever before in my life. I don't regret anything; I love everything I've composed for the person who hired me, and getting paid for it is an incredible bonus. It's almost like a dream come true that I never sought or aimed for.…

How did you find work as a ghost composer? By having a lot of your own work out there in public?

Re: Quitting engineering to pursue art full-time

#127

Post by harimau777 »

kodt wrote: post #70
ertgbnm wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Masseuse or physical trainer are the only jobs that I can think would qualify. No screen time, no one needs a midnight massage (although your work hours would probably not be 9-5.), not reliant on technology, and going to take a while for AI to replace. Very few good jobs fulfill criteria number 2.

Don't most physical labor jobs and trades fulfill number 2?

Those generally aren't good jobs. In particular they tend to pay poorly and destroy your body.

Re: Quitting engineering to pursue art full-time

#129

Post by nachox999 »

mkl wrote: post #126
nachox999 wrote: post #111

I've been playing the piano and composing music for over a decade. Last year, I started getting paid as a ghost composer, and since then, I've been composing more songs per week on average than ever before in my life. I don't regret anything; I love everything I've composed for the person who hired me, and getting paid for it is an incredible bonus. It's almost like a dream come true that I never sought or aimed for.…

How did you find work as a ghost composer? By having a lot of your own work out there in public?

It was by chance, I wasn't looking for it. I was working as a community manager for a musician and I came up with the idea of suggesting co-composing something together, and ended up composing songs for her. If I wanted to reverse engineer it, I could start by proposing the same thing to every musician I know (or even reaching out to musicians I don't know through social media).

Re: Quitting engineering to pursue art full-time

#130

Post by renewiltord »

Dalewyn wrote: post #115
_heimdall wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The same can be said for empires in general. Dominance seems forever until it isn't, and often the "higher you go the faster you fall" idea plays out. There are plenty of signs that the US could be in the midst of its own empire failing. Whether that actually plays out is something we wouldn't know for decades or centuries, but there sure are a lot of parallels to failed empires of the past.

The question we need to ask isn't whether Pax Americana is dying, but who is going to succeed it. So far it seems like it'll be China on account of there being no other country or bloc able to compete at that level, but that would be very unpleasant for us westerners.

The view from Disunited Nations seems likely. There need be no successor peace. There could just be a broken ocean. Europe, in particular, has long failed to contribute to the peace it prospers in. The US periodically has to go and pacify the place since they are practically barbarians who will start killing each other in massive genocides given a few moments alone. When the US withdraws, weakened and bruised, no doubt they will turn on each other.

They already did, and the US had to blow up a pipeline to keep them in line. But that capability won't last forever.

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