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I am retiring from tech to live offline

openpath.quest

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Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#341

Post by socalgal2 »

fontain wrote: post #333
latkin wrote: post #320

This whole thing is eye-searingly performative. Whether or not he follows through and goes dark after this, this farewell is just so ridiculous. Claims to have not used the internet or a phone since February, does all communication via USPS, declares that AI and social media make him hate himself... But somehow is continuing to post on Bluesky, continuing to update his blog, continuing to post YouTube videos, continu…

Your cynicism is misplaced, Chad has been a fixture on HN for well over a decade. He said he has been offline in his personal life since February, not his professional life. His BlueSky is professional. He quit his job and will be offline completely following the handover.

a distinction without a difference.

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#342

Post by senderista »

runamuck wrote: post #19

I love my current job, but also part of me thinks a Garbage Man would provide a cool experience. (I'm ok with the stinkiness). I just think about careening through the city at the crack of dawn, exploring every nook of my city. That or group fitness instructor.

Only on HN would anyone romanticize garbage collection as a career.

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#343

Post by VectorLock »

jebarker wrote: post #263
chrisweekly wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Figuring out what you want to build isn't necessarily easy.

What does it even mean to say you want to build something but you don’t know what it is?

Building is fun, but deciding what to build can be difficult. "Maker ennui."

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#344

Post by switchbak »

throwfaraway4 wrote: post #309
saadn92 wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It comes down to perspective tbh. For someone who's worked hard labor throughout their life, the cushy tech job you get is actually worth doing forever. But for people who have never experienced that, I can see why retiring early makes sense, but honestly most of us get to work from home and do our jobs on the computer, which doesn't require much. It's still an amazing career to be in IMO

I've worked in food service, landscaping and factory jobs. You're right, the tech job does feel super cushy after gigs like that. But I'm about 25 years in on the tech industry now and I feel the same GP. At some point, you can't avoid the politics and corp BS and it wears you down. Everything is relative. Now that I have the means to say "I don't have to or want to do this anymore" I'll be checking out after this ye…

You also don't need the politics and corp bs. I worked as a contractor for tiny little orgs doing good things for ~11 years - basically 2-5 people, almost no BS, good money, tons of time flexibility.

I shifted away to get more predictability and less accounting/biz management stuff. Maybe the party has ended, but I bet there's still some ability to freelance for small orgs? Alternatively working for small yet sustainable companies should be similarly lean.

I find the BS really ramps up with the size of the org. Small orgs obviously have their own problems (and often create problems that don't need to exist), but pick your poison.

I have this idea that AI might actually be a real enabler for small or 1-man teams if you find the right niche. I haven't acted on it yet, but I expect a lot of folks are doing that right now.

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#345

Post by claytongulick »

alchemism wrote: post #224
coldtea wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you just like talking and some program comes out (aka "business problem solving") you might like it. If you like coding (aka "problem solving"), it feels like crap. And if you like still having an IT job in a couple of years, it feels like dangerous crap. (Of course you can be hoping you'll be the one selected, out of millions laid off, to get to keep working on a higher level).

I’d probably let go of the employees who decline using agentic tools first, tbh. All things being equal.

And that's the problem.

The companies that agree with you will be at an interesting place when they have piles of AI slop code and no talented developers.

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#346

Post by sph »

Rover222 wrote: post #319
cortesoft wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because if you are unhappy now, just wait until you are homeless

there are in fact plenty of ways to earn enough money to get by on a simple lifestyle

People in tech, especially from US, are so accustomed to spending $5,000/mo just to survive, that they cannot fathom one is able to live without having a tech job in San Francisco. It's a pretty sad state of affairs.

I live in a first-world European country where the average salary is about €25,000 per year. My mortgage estimate is less than €300/mo. I'm not that afraid of having to supplement my income if I need to. The world will still need cheap and experienced software engineers for a while.

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#347

Post by boelboel »

rootusrootus wrote: post #111
mikeyinternews wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As Eric Schluntz from Anthropic put it (not verbatim): If you're not using AI (I believe he was specifically referring to Vibe Coding), then you are the bottleneck.

That sounds like a good reason not to listen to advice from someone who works for Anthropic.

But the boomer C-suites will listen with awe to these salesmen

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#348

Post by sgt »

fontain wrote: post #333
latkin wrote: post #320

This whole thing is eye-searingly performative. Whether or not he follows through and goes dark after this, this farewell is just so ridiculous. Claims to have not used the internet or a phone since February, does all communication via USPS, declares that AI and social media make him hate himself... But somehow is continuing to post on Bluesky, continuing to update his blog, continuing to post YouTube videos, continu…

Your cynicism is misplaced, Chad has been a fixture on HN for well over a decade. He said he has been offline in his personal life since February, not his professional life. His BlueSky is professional. He quit his job and will be offline completely following the handover.

We're IT people, we often work 14 hours a day. How does that not mix into your personal life?

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#349

Post by dataviz1000 »

postalrat wrote: post #335
dataviz1000 wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> last me a year or two being frugal Word of advice. Get a part time job where you can keep your skills up-to-date because from personal experience personal projects on GitHub will not be enough to land a job in two years. Make sure for every penny you spend you are earning equal. The two years are going to fly by. EDIT: I'm not joking about taking this serious. You want to be working when people start losing their j…

It's very possible in 2 or 3 years there won't be much of a job market remaining and the best thing you can do now is something you own.

I imagine politically it will be like during the pandemic. The government goes full socialist to prevent riots and revolution -- they are going to print lots of money. It is going to be chaotic period. It is already starting and the best thing people can do is make sure they are employed, developing skills, and not spending savings. You want to make it to the other side of this.

I have a very niche set of skills so I could up until 6 months ago pick up contract work anytime I needed. Despite being one of the best in the world at what I did, I can't compete anyone with $400 in tokens using Codex or Claude Code. I'm pivoting quickly but the sentiment is "Oh, shit, this is coming fast and heavy!"

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#350

Post by siren2026 »

saadn92 wrote: post #300
siren2026 wrote: post #237

I have been at it for 20 years now and have started to feel my time is up as well As a lot of comments here highlights, the issue is not so much the tech but the politics, constant perf reviews, re-orgs, nonsense BS that is pushed top-down. This industry is taking a toll on you. My advice for anyone reading this that is starting your career: Live simply and save a lot. When I started my career I thought I would love…

It comes down to perspective tbh. For someone who's worked hard labor throughout their life, the cushy tech job you get is actually worth doing forever. But for people who have never experienced that, I can see why retiring early makes sense, but honestly most of us get to work from home and do our jobs on the computer, which doesn't require much. It's still an amazing career to be in IMO

I also worked hard labour at the start of my career.

They are not really comparable and are exhausting in a different way. Tech makes me mentally exhausted fighting things out of my control. Hard labour made me physically exhausted but I felt more in control of my life. I didn't need to do any performative tasks. Once the day was over, it was over.

Just different type of exhaustions. Grass is always greener on the other side I know

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