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Unemployed Fishing

drakemag.com

31–40 of 65 posts

Re: Unemployed Fishing

#31

There is something truly therapeutic about fishing. It might be because it helps us connect back with our evolutionary roots - out in nature, focusing on the task at hand to the exclusion of all else, and then experiencing the dopamine rush that comes with a good catch.

I must be weird. I find fishing, sunning on the beach, sitting in a lawn chair, etc., extremely dull, and last about 5 minutes at it. This was true for me long before the internet :-)

There are several kinds of fishing, and most of them are very active - not at all like sunning on a beach. Favourite one is more like hiking.

Re: Unemployed Fishing

#32

In one paragraph: >85 percent of workers worldwide hate their jobs >Anything that restores hope becomes worth the exercise. In other words: Many may hate their livelihoods, but liberation can be scary. Personally, I was once of the benefit of having mediocre tech skills and an employer who paid ridiculously well for them. But when I started having problems with stalking, break-ins and intentional ill will, they told…

“But when I started having problems with stalking, break-ins and intentional ill will, they told me to just leave”

I don’t understand. Was your employer breaking into your home?

Re: Unemployed Fishing

#33
post #22

In the comment section was “learn to code.” Totally Insensitive... and not that I agree, but nonetheless close to the point. The consolidation and automation of news is here to stay, and not just journalists/writers — all of us, in fact — need to be very careful to learn the new skills it takes to compete in an increasingly automated world.

As someone who does code, I think most people would be worse off by learning to code.

It can be a rewarding job for someone who enjoys constantly solving crazy puzzles but, even for those who love to code, it can still be a miserable experience. Most people aren't particularly grabbed by the ability to control what a computer does the way that we "geeks" are. They would be bored out of their minds the second they have to do Fizz Buzz, which is why a lot of people never get off the ground with coding in the first place. The starting salary is barely livable; the national average is ~65k, and though I now make six figures, I started in the low 40ks. You won't get rich quick, perhaps at all, and unless you're talented or pick the right technologies, you might be stuck making mediocre pay while suffering the bad code of other learn-to-coders who are in it to strike it rich. After about 4 years, you begin to realize that your job is just like every other job, and that is to clean up the mess made by someone else. Unless you're part of the How fun.

Some people enjoy all of that, but it's a fallacy to believe that anyone could do it if they _just learned_. More people aren't coding(or choosing unemployment over coding) for the same reason that I and many of us didn't learn to become aerospace engineers, or CEOs, or HVAC technicians. Most of us probably wouldn't be that good at those things because we don't all have the drive for them, and I don't think that having more people who are mediocre at their jobs is a good thing for anyone.

Re: Unemployed Fishing

#34
The trouble with corporate jobs is that we tend not to cultivate a social support network and activities outside of it because many of these jobs are a kind of slavish race to the bottom where people compete to show their sacrifices in exchange for managerial favor. Some ways to hedge the (arguably, insane) social risks of your corporate job are, before you are unemployed:

- learn to fish, as the author mentions. Hunting is similar, and good for relationships, as is canoeing, camping, and general outdoorsmanship.

- buy a year+ membership at a cheap gym so you have somewhere to go a few days a week while you are off. The cheaper it is, the more social it will be. Think of it as social and mental health insurance.

- join volunteer, church, or fraternal organizations to develop cheap activity based relationships. if you are a committed atheist, join a secular volunteer organization, and barring those, a theatre or activist group.

- No matter what you hear about others, your severance will be a nasty insult and you will very likely have to spend to hire a lawyer to get what you are owed. Find one now and agree on a rate while you have a job.

- keep lines to recruiters open while you are still employed, even if they are obnoxious. Don't let them know your current/past salary ever, because they will just use your lack of job to pressure you down on the next one. For them to "have your number," literally means being at a disadvantage.

If you are unemployed or just about to be, it's very stressful, but it builds character, and for everyone I know who experiences it, living through it is always better than living in fear of it.

Re: Unemployed Fishing

#35
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I must be weird. I find fishing, sunning on the beach, sitting in a lawn chair, etc., extremely dull, and last about 5 minutes at it. This was true for me long before the internet :-)

> I must be weird. I find fishing, sunning on the beach, sitting in a lawn chair, etc., extremely dull, and last about 5 minutes at it. I'm the same way, but for fishing it depends on the type of fishing. Bait/lure fishing I tire of quickly. But fly fishing was vastly different, at least the one time I did it. It seemed a bit more technical and required more focus and finesse.

Fly fishing for trout is the standard, but I strongly recommended getting some poppers and trying for bass/pan fish. Same fly fishing engagement but more strikes.

Re: Unemployed Fishing

#36

The trouble with corporate jobs is that we tend not to cultivate a social support network and activities outside of it because many of these jobs are a kind of slavish race to the bottom where people compete to show their sacrifices in exchange for managerial favor. Some ways to hedge the (arguably, insane) social risks of your corporate job are, before you are unemployed: - learn to fish, as the author mentions. Hun…

Very wise; excellent advice. Any adult who has faced the prospect of unemployment can probably hear this fairly well, but is there any way to communicate this concept to younger people? I'd have loved to come out of college with a better perspective on what "employment" means for a life.

Re: Unemployed Fishing

#37
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A dozen years from now, I'll be reading on HN(Health insurers' New - or a message board for professionals of some other parasitic tumour which still has a few years of decent living in our economy) a comment about how the consolidation, commodification, and semi-automation of programming is here to stay, and that not just software engineers - but all of us, in fact - need to be very careful to learn the new skills it…

If a job is guaranteed by the government under all circumstances, I think you’ll find the worst of the worst in many cases for co-“workers”. Many people would prefer to work 50+ hours/week for 15-20 years rather than 25 hours/week for 40-50 years.

How many people working 50 hours a week are being compensated such that they can retire in 15-20 years? I’d guess vanishingly few.

Re: Unemployed Fishing

#38

There is something truly therapeutic about fishing. It might be because it helps us connect back with our evolutionary roots - out in nature, focusing on the task at hand to the exclusion of all else, and then experiencing the dopamine rush that comes with a good catch.

I must be weird. I find fishing, sunning on the beach, sitting in a lawn chair, etc., extremely dull, and last about 5 minutes at it. This was true for me long before the internet :-)

Depends on the type fishing and type of fish. Sitting there watching a bobber can get boring. Precisely throwing lures into tight spots when bass fishing is challenging and exciting. Fly fishing is an art, regardless of the type of fish. Offshore fishing is definitely peak fishing excitement IMO, but there is nothing cheap about it.

Let me also add, that the beach is made to surf and/or play games on. Sunning is boring :)

Re: Unemployed Fishing

#39
post #22

In the comment section was “learn to code.” Totally Insensitive... and not that I agree, but nonetheless close to the point. The consolidation and automation of news is here to stay, and not just journalists/writers — all of us, in fact — need to be very careful to learn the new skills it takes to compete in an increasingly automated world.

As someone who does code, I think most people would be worse off by learning to code. It can be a rewarding job for someone who enjoys constantly solving crazy puzzles but, even for those who love to code, it can still be a miserable experience. Most people aren't particularly grabbed by the ability to control what a computer does the way that we "geeks" are. They would be bored out of their minds the second they hav…

65k is barely liveable now? What percent of the US do you think makes over that amount?
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