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Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

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Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#241

Post by peterangular »

caseydonahue wrote: post #230
peterangular wrote: post #38

I work in this field so I'm incredibly biased: automated business solutions that cut entry-level data employees out of the equation. You save TONS on the bottom line, and cut out human-driven process that is error prone and difficult to manage. I'm talking about things beyond "API-driven dev", more in the realms of Puppeteer, Microsoft Office automation, screen-scraping (mouse/keyboard), etc. I make API's out of thin…

Can you give some more insight into what you work on automating specifically?

Anything - green screens, Excel spreadsheets, PDF generation, Docusign, tying 6 web experiences with separate logins into one, simplification of complex auth scenarios, etc.

Most of my day is literally just getting one step further and one step further into a "process" of some sort, and then handling a metric boatload of edge-cases as they come up. Then the last portion of the contract is the actual integration into a business, and handling the "ninety-ninety" rule that always ends up happening when the rubber meets the road.

I take a complex, convoluted mess and turn it into a coherent "something", usually an API or web experience.

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#242

Post by virgilp »

peterangular wrote: post #38

I work in this field so I'm incredibly biased: automated business solutions that cut entry-level data employees out of the equation. You save TONS on the bottom line, and cut out human-driven process that is error prone and difficult to manage. I'm talking about things beyond "API-driven dev", more in the realms of Puppeteer, Microsoft Office automation, screen-scraping (mouse/keyboard), etc. I make API's out of thin…

Isn’t this the “robotic process automation” market? (though that one is a bit more than what you are saying)

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#243

Post by Enginerrrd »

starpilot wrote: post #203
maxhallinan wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you find processes that can be automated? I've often thought that there must be a ton of this stuff in various industries where programmers aren't typically embedded.

Very common when you do tech work in a non-tech industry. Comes up a lot with coding-inclined mechanical engineers. Zed Shaw's words are really true: > Programming as a profession is only moderately interesting. It can be a good job, but you could make about the same money and be happier running a fast food joint. You're much better off using code as your secret weapon in another profession. People who can code in th…

Man this is me. Knowing a bit of coding and machine learning in engineering has been such a boon over my career in civil/environmental engineering.

But it's like math, if you know it well enough, you'll find ways to use it everywhere. If you don't, you won't. You have to be the type of person that likes to innovate. Its hard to sell to prospective employers, but its great for demonstrating value once you are with an organization. All of my previous employers fight over trying to get me back when I've found myself looking for work. ...Now I work for myself and make my own work and I've priced myself out of their offers, but that's not so bad.

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#245

Post by SkyPuncher »

awinder wrote: post #147

I'm gonna go in a different direction: broadly, solutions that deal with the problems of an aging population: 1. Technology that helps doctors/practices service more elderly patients 2. Wellbeing technology for seniors (Headspace/Calm should totally push towards this area) 3. Personnel management for homecare nursing List could go on and on. None of this is especially "trendy" but there's clear demographic reasons to…

I worked in these spaces for the past few years.

Money is the biggest challenge. Elderly who can afford to pay for their care have plenty of options available for all of this. Many elderly (on Medicare or fixed income) simply don't have any money.

> 1. Technology that helps doctors/practices service more elderly patients

Telemedicine and home care services, like Honor, are addressing this. Telemedicine will improve as more technically adept people age.

> 2. Wellbeing technology for seniors (Headspace/Calm should totally push towards this area)

This is purely a monetary issue. The moment Medicare covers these services, they will be used extensively.

> 3. Personnel management for homecare nursing

This one is part money and part skill. There simply isn't enough money to pay people with homecare skills. The price most people are willing to pay typically falls in the range of a Home Health Aid. There are some great ones, but there are also tons that lack skills, ethics, and compassion for the role.

I don't blame them either. Why would you do home health when you can get similar pay working at a factory, warehouse, or, even, fast food.

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#246

Post by SimbaOnSteroids »

ghaff wrote: post #140
dlivingston wrote: post #18

I have a hunch that the Next Big Thing (TM) will be augmented reality: though the technology is currently in its infancy, when compelling AR glasses are finally released (Apple is rumored to be released theirs in 2020) I think that it will have a massive impact. AR frameworks are a dime a dozen, but if you're an Apple person look into ARKit + Swift.

One of the big wildcards for widespread consumer use is the social aspect. We can envision what AR might look like in everyday life. What's far less clear to me is the degree to which people will accept AR glasses that are constantly using video and audio to deliver information to the wearer will be accepted. If I know that person I just met has inconspicuously scanned me and looked up all kinds of information that a…

I think AR almost has to be Apple, not from a tech perspective, but from "this tech is very creepy, invasive, and visibly so" angle. Apple may be the only company that is simultaneously big enough to make the tech happen and charismatic enough to get us to let down our guard to it. Although that latter one is rapidly diminishing.

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#247

Post by peterangular »

nwsm wrote: post #201
peterangular wrote: post #38

I work in this field so I'm incredibly biased: automated business solutions that cut entry-level data employees out of the equation. You save TONS on the bottom line, and cut out human-driven process that is error prone and difficult to manage. I'm talking about things beyond "API-driven dev", more in the realms of Puppeteer, Microsoft Office automation, screen-scraping (mouse/keyboard), etc. I make API's out of thin…

Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Examples are UI Path and Blue Prism. It's finicky technology that is hard to make sustainable, but a lot of companies are really interested in it because of the amount of work that could be cut out like you said.

> It's finicky technology that is hard to make sustainable

This 100 times over. The only way I've been able to make it work is being one heck of a generalist. I've found that training on what I do is near-impossible and I don't even know if I could scale a real company in this beyond myself.

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#248

Post by jeffreyrogers »

cagenut wrote: post #236
jeffreyrogers wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, how about the copper that transports that electron to somewhere it can do useful work? How about the 1800C furnace that melts sand into the silicon for the solar panel? How about the diesel fuel that the massive mining trucks used to haul the copper ore out of the mine are fueled with (these things are heavy and get something like 8 gallons to the mile (not a typo) good luck running them on batteries)? Those th…

This is just pointless smug contrarianism, I hope you're just in a bad mood and don't really believe or think this way regularly. Mining trucks are excellent candidates for battery electrification, Volvo is already building and selling them. What other things do you think are never happening that are infact already happening?

I really doubt it makes sense to use electric vehicles for mining, but I could be wrong. I guess we'll be able to see in the coming years what fraction of mining vehicles are electric.

But what is wrong about what I stated? It's obviously impossible for solar to approach $0 because of the large material costs inherent in manufacturing solar panels and transporting electricity. This is not contrarianism, it's realism. We probably use more energy per capita than is sustainable, and eventually we will have to change that.

Also solar panels wear out. I could see a case being made for the cost going to zero if you amortize it, but you can only amortize it over about 25 years, after which you have to replace the panels. This sets a floor on the price.

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#249

Post by notJim »

cagenut wrote: post #236
jeffreyrogers wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, how about the copper that transports that electron to somewhere it can do useful work? How about the 1800C furnace that melts sand into the silicon for the solar panel? How about the diesel fuel that the massive mining trucks used to haul the copper ore out of the mine are fueled with (these things are heavy and get something like 8 gallons to the mile (not a typo) good luck running them on batteries)? Those th…

This is just pointless smug contrarianism, I hope you're just in a bad mood and don't really believe or think this way regularly. Mining trucks are excellent candidates for battery electrification, Volvo is already building and selling them. What other things do you think are never happening that are infact already happening?

> Mining trucks are excellent candidates for battery electrification, Volvo is already building and selling them.

For near zero? Where?

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#250

Post by zip1234 »

windsurfer wrote: post #93
dlivingston wrote: post #18

I have a hunch that the Next Big Thing (TM) will be augmented reality: though the technology is currently in its infancy, when compelling AR glasses are finally released (Apple is rumored to be released theirs in 2020) I think that it will have a massive impact. AR frameworks are a dime a dozen, but if you're an Apple person look into ARKit + Swift.

What value does augmented reality add to anything?

Visualizing any change to the exterior of a building or new construction project in the actual location that it will be.
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