I often dream about being a carpenter, a park ranger, or a truck driver. But it feels like it's too late, and my family would suffer from the lack of funds as I transition and learn.
You only have one life. How much land does a man need?
Ask HN: Burned out from tech, what else is there?
21–30 of 105 posts
Re: Ask HN: Burned out from tech, what else is there?
#22I left technology about a decade ago to join the Military. It was an adjustment, but honestly was the greatest job I've ever had. Compared to tech where everything seemed high stress and had terrible work life balance, my military career was like playing on easy mode. Failure was impossible, no one wanted to stay a minute longer than they had to and everything was already on fire so putting it out was never really that urgent. It sounds crazy but I loved it. Now I am refreshed and pivoting back to tech with a fully funded Master's degree.
Re: Ask HN: Burned out from tech, what else is there?
#23Look for IT positions in small/medium-sized companies doing other things than creating products for other startups,or similar. You'll be solving real problems for people who are experiencing them, and most important thing to look out for is what the IT culture is beforehand, and how the rest of the company treats them. If you manage to find something where all of those are OK, they're a dream for a programmer, as you can solve problems the way you see fit, as long as you actually solve the real problems.
Re: Ask HN: Burned out from tech, what else is there?
#24If you want to use your hands and collaborate with humans a lot in person, the trades seem to be quite exciting right now. Salaries are also good — A good plumber in our area makes nearly $800/hr, and that's not touching what the datacenter plumbing folks are making.
Where is that?
Re: Ask HN: Burned out from tech, what else is there?
#25I left technology about a decade ago to join the Military. It was an adjustment, but honestly was the greatest job I've ever had. Compared to tech where everything seemed high stress and had terrible work life balance, my military career was like playing on easy mode. Failure was impossible, no one wanted to stay a minute longer than they had to and everything was already on fire so putting it out was never really th…
If it was the greatest job you ever had, what is the much better job you're aiming to get/got now?
Re: Ask HN: Burned out from tech, what else is there?
#26Wherever you go, there you are.
Re: Ask HN: Burned out from tech, what else is there?
#27If you want to try something totally different, check if you have a local volunteer fire department looking for new recruits. I know a few people who eventually transitioned from tech and made it into their full-time career. I think part of the draw is you show up, solve a problem, leave and feel good about it.
firefighting is one of the most stressful and brutal occupations. def not something to just jump into on a whim.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8006668/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6294048/
Re: Ask HN: Burned out from tech, what else is there?
#28Why are you asking HN? Do you have anyone you know in your personal life you can talk to? Family or friends? Hopefully someone you know well can give you some honest feedback and help you figure out what would be a better fit for you. I don't see how a bunch of strangers on HN could possibly help seeing as they know nothing about you and totally lack context.
Re: Ask HN: Burned out from tech, what else is there?
#29I spent a couple of weeks working on the line in a restaurant over the break. It was the exact opposite of my tech job and obviously doesn't pay very well, but could be a good thing to try for a while and see how your brain changes
Re: Ask HN: Burned out from tech, what else is there?
#30I often dream about being a carpenter, a park ranger, or a truck driver. But it feels like it's too late, and my family would suffer from the lack of funds as I transition and learn.
I'm transitioning to being a carpenter of sorts. I think it has a lot in common with design/dev. My dad is a contractor, he's lousy at marketing but manages to stay busy. He likes to say "All I do is pick up the phone when people call, and it's more than my competition does".