Cashflow: you want many of them, things that have royalties or residuals that add up over time. Better having a bunch of gradual passive incomes instead of one big income. Making software that is sold in an App Store is a way, but also offering your web dev services on a month-by-month basis (subscriptions) may be a potential way to leverage this idea. Longterm you want a way for money to continually keep finding you, and the quantities don't need to be huge but the trickles should be many. Start with something that scales and get it working. Other things that can help you make a passive income are: writing books (after you have a life worth of experience to write about or very strong philosophy or understanding, or simply colorful use of language), create music and sell albums or songs online (i am breaking into busking, myself), create or invent something that kicks back a small percentage but frequently. It all adds up, so small things ... don't shy away from them. What's your ideal vision for job and house and squad situation? Visualizing where you want to be without stressing so much the "how" can be really beneficial because we are naturally pathfinders in a rapidly changing world, sometimes we need to focus on the honeypot and the rest falls into place.
Ask HN: How to survive as a homeless engineer?
81–90 of 192 posts
Re: Ask HN: How to survive as a homeless engineer?
#82I just went through the worst job search in my life but it ended up well for me in the end, it just took awhile. Don't give up hope! Keep doing the interviews, something will work out for you eventually!
Re: Ask HN: How to survive as a homeless engineer?
#83Email in profile. I am in Denver / Boulder area and would like to help you.
Re: Ask HN: How to survive as a homeless engineer?
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
which part?
How have you been an engineer for 15 years and still: - Rent an apartment - Don’t have a few laptops laying around - Don’t have any savings while having no kids Each item above, on its own, is normal but all together doesn’t make sense. For the last 15 years you should have been making 60-200k and you obviously didn’t sink it into a house, computer hardware, or savings. Where did it all go? That’s why this doesn’t ad…
There are any number of life circumstances, from a failed startup to poor health, which could account for this.
None of which, I'm eager to add, are any of your goddamn business.
Re: Ask HN: How to survive as a homeless engineer?
#85Sorry to hear about your situation.
Please share your email / Upwork profile, also feel free to email me (contact in the profile) - I might be able to help you.
Re: Ask HN: How to survive as a homeless engineer?
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
which part?
How have you been an engineer for 15 years and still: - Rent an apartment - Don’t have a few laptops laying around - Don’t have any savings while having no kids Each item above, on its own, is normal but all together doesn’t make sense. For the last 15 years you should have been making 60-200k and you obviously didn’t sink it into a house, computer hardware, or savings. Where did it all go? That’s why this doesn’t ad…
So many things could have happened, not everyone is able to save up. Also, it's irrelevant - either you want to help or not. Discussing the "impossibility" of his situation is not yours to judge, seriously.
Re: Ask HN: How to survive as a homeless engineer?
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're not going to win friends with this kind of belligerent talk. Why don't you stick with the approach you took in your other top-level comment, which I thought was pretty great: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17317062
> You're not going to win friends with this kind of belligerent talk. 8 years of a president talking reasonably got us the rise of the alt-right. I'm all for belligerence and not letting people weasel their way out of support for disgusting beliefs.
It's not alt-right. They're white supremacists. Fascists. Let's not mince words when it comes to the beliefs that absolutely destroyed the world once already. Americans came to a bunch of places (eventually) to help fix that, and now they're letting it happen in their own country. Frankly, it is a disgrace.
Re: Ask HN: How to survive as a homeless engineer?
#88I also agree this story doesn't make sense or it is missing some stuff. Otherwise I'll be harsh: What the hell happened during 15 years? I'm based in a third-world and have been working for 7 years only and have approximately a lifetime of savings. Despite traveling to a dozen countries and buying lots of gadgets.
Something doesn't add up. Or, you have a bigger problem than finding a job (gambling addiction? an expensive health condition?).
Also you can get evicted for missing rent for 3 days? Anyone care to spill the law here? I have seen people go months rent-free before getting an eviction.
Re: Ask HN: How to survive as a homeless engineer?
#89The strategy here is: solve the short-term crisis first, so you can buy time to find a good job.
Some ways to buy time in the short-term are:
- Get a lower paying job even if you are overqualified. Not necessarily development. Work on ridesharing or delivery if you have to.
- Raise money, ask for donations (e.g.: gofund.me page).
- See if you qualify for welfare benefits.
- Sell things.
Remember, all of the above is just a temporary, short-term compromise.
Then, once you are stable enough, take the time to look for a better job, but do it in a less committed way, e.g.: your wife first then yourself, or something like that.
Re: Ask HN: How to survive as a homeless engineer?
#90Just wanted to chime in, I'm in Utah and can totally relate. (My car will be repo'd next friday if I don't have enough, and we're struggling w/ eviction possibilities too. For me, I had an employer not pay me 2 months of wages.. 14k. The CEO is a corrupt scam-artist, and me and all other devs/ex employees have filed wage claims, but he went to jail for check fraud, and I'm assuming he's poor too, possibly a drug abus…
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