Quitting medicine faculty and attending to CS. Oh man, that was a game changer move...
Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
271–280 of 491 posts
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#272I made the decision to not have a career after leaving college and travelled around the world for a few years, working brief stints in tech and non-tech jobs here and there to make ends meet and fund further travels. When I actually started to focus on work that experience benefited me extremely well.
I am very early in my career and would like to do something similar. Can you elaborate on how the travel experience benefited you professionally?
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#273Get married and have kids. They are my biggest inspiration for all successes that I have.
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#274I quit my job in big-law and set out to crack a problem I have seen so often during my previous career.
I liked my previous job, it was interesting and demanding. But being my own boss has taught me a lot as well: I have learned new skills, I have met a lot of people I probably wouldn't have got in touch with in the previous job, and I learned a lot about myself. On most days I wake up feeling that some new discoveries are out there for me... Until now, this journey is very rewarding.
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#275I risked everything and took a leap of faith.
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#276Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks for sharing that! How did you transition to contracting?
I spent about three years contracting, and the way I started was to ask the company I was a permanent employee at (who routinely hired contractors) if they would like to hire me as a contractor instead of as a perm. They said "OK" and so I quit as a perm and restarted as a contractor (I actually also managed to negotiate a four day week and one of the four days at home, back when remote working was much less of a thi…
I'm interested as well, but I wonder, how early can you start (career experience wise or age wise)? I'm happy to email you if it's fine and requires a longer answer
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#277Earlier quoted context omitted.
Contracting in Ireland and in the UK is an easy transition as most contracts are run through agencies, so you don’t have to network or go looking for clients like you might have to do in the US. A simple start point was to approach agencies who had active contract roles in the same way you would for permanent roles. Starting a new contract is just like starting a new permanent job — hand in your one month’s notice an…
Could you maybe name such an agency or at least what they are called?
I've been contracting for 8 years now. I'd recommend CWjobs / ContractRecruit and PurelyIT - just search and refine based on location / skills / required rate.
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#278Emotionally detaching. I was a workaholic from age 16 until 33 and this was my primary identity. I used to always be proud of the work I did, no matter how lame the company or how many times I was screwed over. Then one day my father died, and I was fired from a company who I truly believed in and for whom I had sacrificed. This sounds cynical, but it's really peaceful. With the emotional energy and sheer time saved…
I was going to write exactly what you just published. You can’t imagine how I identify with you.
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#279At age 42 (11 years ago), going back to school and completing a Masters degree in Enterprise Architecture. I had been in the same job for 5 years when I made the decision. Work had a self-education program that paid for my tuition. The decision was literally made in the space of a couple of days before the mid-year intake. If I'd had to wait another 6 months, I probably would have talked myself out of it. It was hard…
What was the application process like, so many years out of school? Did you need old transcripts? Recommendation letters from supervisors?
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#280To avoid reading advice on how to improve my career.
I've always made decisions without thinking how it will impact my career.