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Be in a field where tech is the limit

mathiaskirkbonde.substack.com

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Re: Be in a field where tech is the limit

#11

Post by rawtxapp »

wcerfgba wrote: post #3

I am interested to learn about fields where software engineers can help to bring about innovation and push those fields forward, providing some of the tech that is missing there. I would like to apply my skills in a transdisciplinary manner and work on projects that are not just B2B SaaS products. One option is research software engineering, where SWEs team up with researchers to produce better code for models and si…

Biotech is one, we are still nowhere near close to understanding the secrets of the human body, there remains lots of incurable conditions, etc.

I think the speed at which they were able to develop mrna vaccines just shows how far along we've come, but also how much more we have to go. Things like protein folding at deepmind definitely requires all these things you mention.

Re: Be in a field where tech is the limit

#12

Post by rawtxapp »

whateveracct wrote: post #2

i think going in a field where they'll pay you plenty without noticing you barely spend time working is the play the brightest don't spend their time & energy making others wealthy

Use your free time to build stuff, save the money to bootstrap and when your project gains traction, leave and build your own things so that you're not making someone else wealthy.

The brightest absolutely do spend their time and energy making others wealthy (ex: I would consider most senior eng at FAANG to be bright and although they are definitely rich, they are not wealthy). I suspect that's because of the cycle of responsibilities and spending most of their incomes.

Re: Be in a field where tech is the limit

#13

Post by [deleted] »

wcerfgba wrote: post #3

I am interested to learn about fields where software engineers can help to bring about innovation and push those fields forward, providing some of the tech that is missing there. I would like to apply my skills in a transdisciplinary manner and work on projects that are not just B2B SaaS products. One option is research software engineering, where SWEs team up with researchers to produce better code for models and si…

[deleted]

Re: Be in a field where tech is the limit

#14

Post by patcon »

This also applies so hard to grassroots community organizing. They are doing all their scaling purely through manual human strategies. Which is great, but even small amounts of tooling can help these groups to organize better and avoid burnout -- burnout and frustration kills movements, because good-feels and passion is pretty much the only thing holding people together (never money, like in a regular field)

Re: Be in a field where tech is the limit

#15

Post by pgt »

Taek wrote: post #7

Why is there no innovation in healthcare? Because better technology won't get the entrepreneur a satisfying reward.

Regulation has a way of keeping out innovative founders who would rather add value in newer, unregulated fields.

Re: Be in a field where tech is the limit

#16

Post by username90 »

mLuby wrote: post #9

Being in a field (or startup) where tech is not the limit is super frustrating.

Some hates being a commodity, others hates not being a commodity. Plenty of people love those boring jobs since they are easy to perform, you know what you have to do and you know you can do it. And since you are just a cog in a big machine nobody has their eyes on you since you aren't special in any way, if you quit they can go out and hire another one like you right now.

Re: Be in a field where tech is the limit

#17

Post by carabiner »

wcerfgba wrote: post #3

I am interested to learn about fields where software engineers can help to bring about innovation and push those fields forward, providing some of the tech that is missing there. I would like to apply my skills in a transdisciplinary manner and work on projects that are not just B2B SaaS products. One option is research software engineering, where SWEs team up with researchers to produce better code for models and si…

Mechanical engineering is one. The problem is gaining buy-in from the old guard that your newfangled tech will make their lives easier, not harder. To do so, you might need to get a mechanical engineering degree and work as one for a few years. Reminds me of how FarmLogs was started by someone who grew up on a farm. Ultimately the block is communication/persuasion, not technical though.

Re: Be in a field where tech is the limit

#18

Post by rawtxapp »

Taek wrote: post #7

Why is there no innovation in healthcare? Because better technology won't get the entrepreneur a satisfying reward.

Very costly and lots of regulations, big consequences for failing. If a SaaS product has a bug, worst case scenario, someone loses money, if someone messes up in healthcare, a person might die.

Re: Be in a field where tech is the limit

#20

Post by whateveracct »

nicbou wrote: post #6
whateveracct wrote: post #2

i think going in a field where they'll pay you plenty without noticing you barely spend time working is the play the brightest don't spend their time & energy making others wealthy

That also has its disadvantages. Being stuck in an office with little work, but little else in the way of entertainment slowly burns you out. Having next to no work for two months wasn't as pleasant as I thought it would be. Fields where you don't make other people wealthy aren't so rosy either. They bring their own drama to the table.

The trick there is to work remotely. You can just build software, make art, do your own side-business 8hrs/day while hitting the employer's bar of "I'll keep paying this guy" and keep that income flowing.
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