7 ms·

Ask HN: How many of you gave up working as a professional coder?

101 points by sillysaurus3 10y ago

What do you do now, other than management?

kd5bjo 10y ago
Earlier this year, I left my job at Facebook to play tennis all the time. When I'm not doing that, I'm either playing video games or pretending to make furniture. Only time will tell whether this is a sabbatical or a career change.
- meric 10y ago
  I have a plan like yours, replace tennis with cycling and furniture with selling mobile phone plans.
- noname123 10y ago
  Are you doing The Dan Plan equivalent for tennis?
- cylinder 10y ago
  What's your cash burn rate so far?
  - kd5bjo 10y ago
    It's pretty high at the moment, since I'm paying for a lot of 1:1 instruction (7 hrs/wk split between tennis and fitness) and am still getting used to the new area. If you take that out, I'm probably spending something like $20-40k annually.
glenr 10y ago
I did. Started in '99; started an agency in '04 where I was the lead coder with 2 partners; by 2010 I was dabbling at best. Another six years on, I don't code at all and do sales/management. I'm not sure I'd do it the same should I have my time again, I miss it.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
nickthemagicman 10y ago
Good question. Im wondering this as well.
jonsterling 10y ago
My last day is in just over two weeks! Starting my PhD in type theory at CMU.
adamkchew 10y ago
After getting the 6 figures programming job, I realized that I was already decent so I quit and started a startup. Now I'm just reading books, riding bikes, and networking.
- ikeyany 10y ago
  How did you know where to go next? Neither 'leaving a six-figure job' nor 'starting a startup' are trivial moves to make.
King-Aaron 10y ago
My current post may well be my last; I'm sick and tired of continuously working for SME's with no direction, business plan or competent management. If I lived somewhere that there was more opportunities I may feel differently.
- dublinben 10y ago
  Have you considered moving? That seems to be the obvious solution.
  - King-Aaron 10y ago
    I have considered moving, however it means moving to literally the other side of the country. While that's not strictly out of the options, I don't know if the industry as a whole is what I'm sick of or not. Part of me wants to re-tool in nursing, however at 30 that's starting to fall outside of the options too, haha.
    - jrumbut 10y ago
      It's better to re-tool at 30 than 31, and better at 31 than 32, and better at 50 than never. A few years is nothing, maybe it's different where you are but in the US it's very common to become a nurse as a second career in your 30s.
siberianbear 10y ago
I retired from my job managing a group of software engineers in Silicon Valley a few years ago. I'd been quite frugal, mostly driving old beaters I bought outright. I owned a condo outright. I ate the free and discounted food at work. I was making $300K+ a year in base salary and equity compensation, and my expenses were only about $20K a year. (My biggest bill was my monthly homeowners’ association fee of about $400.) So, I was able to save a metric ton of money and invested it all in the stock market. As a child, I loved computers. I taught myself 6502 and x86 assembly languages, as well as some other languages. When I got to the university and actually understood how digital circuits worked, I was so fascinated. When I finally landed in Silicon Valley, I felt like I was in a dream. I was good at what I did and I met awesome people who were good at what they did. Actually, the greatest pleasure was meeting and working with people who were much smarter than I was. Eventually, the thrill wore off. I’d seen so many bugs and new projects that they started all feel the same, kind of like my personal version of the film Goundhog Day. I didn’t love it anymore. And then later, I didn’t even like it anymore. At one point, I calculated my net worth at a few million dollars and realized that I could just quit my job and live off the investment interest. So I just did it. I’ve been retired for four years now. I travel a lot, which was something I couldn’t do much when I had a job that only gave me three weeks of vacation. I can also travel in a different way: taking the time in a new place to see un-touristy things, meet locals and study the language a bit. I read a lot of books, none of which are about computers. I haven’t been back to the United States in over a year. Thanks to my frugal habits and the runup in the stock market, my net worth is higher. My “burn” rate is under 2%, which means that I can do this indefinitely. I don’t miss Silicon Valley and will never live there again. In fact, I probably won’t ever live in the United States again. And I don’t miss my cubicle one bit. What I did is unusual. But the thing I don’t understand is why it is unusual: most of the professionals I worked with could have made the same choices and had the same result. I guess they found more enjoyment in the cycle of work and consumption than I did. And like most people who lived in the Valley, I knew and had friendships with people who were far richer than I was: whose net worth was $10M or $30M or more, who could retire today and have a very comfortable life anywhere in the world. But they continued to work. I can only guess that they found more enjoyment in work than I did.
- mailshanx 10y ago
lukeh 10y ago
I did it, more or less. I had a software company, now I am a full time musician.
SFJulie 10y ago
Well, I can do bread that is edible, alcohol that make your drunk without poisoning you music that people can sing repair bikes fairly well But ... I get rejected for every job I ask : I don't have diplomas. The bread I see on average are at best and as good as mine, my alcohol is cheaper than market and tasting better, my reparations are clean... but I don't have diplomas and the conforming education... So I am looking back at coding, and I still hope I will find whatever is not a modern job intoxicated with all the current hype in IT or financial or web agency or startup spirit. Wish me luck, it is tough but I am still going and as long as I can I will try.
- mywittyname 10y ago
  Could be because being a baker/brewer/bike tech has nothing to do with the jobs for which are you applying.
- trumbitta2 10y ago
  You could move to Copenhagen (or one of these other 19 cities: http://www.wired.com/2015/06/copenhagenize-worlds-most-bike-friendly-cities/ http://www.wired.com/2015/06/copenhagenize-worlds-most-bike-...) and open a bike repair shop where bikers can have a snack and a drink, listening to good music, while you repair their bikes. Just sayin'
cableshaft 10y ago
I haven't left it yet, but I'm starting to plant the seeds now that I'm hoping will eventually lead to full-time board game designer in 5-10 years. I've got several prototypes, one being evaluated by a publisher currently, and I've been going to conventions and networking with other people in the industry. If one of my designs ends up being a hit, I should have enough money to make the transition. I still enjoy programming, but there's a lot of "Keeping up with the Tech Jones's" with constant new flash in the pan API's or frameworks and not a ton of just "get shit done", and BA's/managers with minimal technical experience making decisions on what you have to do is the rule, not the exception, and it seems a little pointless after awhile. Like I could be replaced by someone else and the work would still get done, so what value am I really adding to this? At least in video games I had creative input on the look, feel, and design of the game. In corporate dev I've had almost zero input, except sometimes in how the data is structured (which doesn't excite me anywhere near as much).
- sillysaurus3 10y ago
  I just wanted to say, that's way cool. Best of luck.
- SmokyBorbon 10y ago
  Please be careful backing out of your driveway.
- bo_Olean 10y ago
  >> I've got several prototypes, one being evaluated by a publisher currently, and I've been going to conventions and networking with other people in the industry. If one of my designs ends up being a hit, I should have enough money to make the transition. Care to share more on this ? If I want to, where do I start making board game prototypes ? An email would do good, I don't see your contact info on your profile. All the best.
id122015 10y ago
The more I read the more I realise its not worth it to be employed as a programmer. I havent even started employment. Sometimes I read that programmers are not even allowed to do what they want, so I start to be content that even though I do little Im free to do what I want.
yolesaber 10y ago
I worked for a long time as a coder, then team lead / principal engineer and finally architect before reaching a point where I could exit. Now I synthesize new psychedelic drugs and sell them to rich yuppies from NYC seeking mind expansion.

101 points by sillysaurus3 10y ago

What do you do now, other than management?

Earlier this year, I left my job at Facebook to play tennis all the time. When I'm not doing that, I'm either playing video games or pretending to make furniture. Only time will tell whether this is a sabbatical or a career change.

meric 10y ago
I have a plan like yours, replace tennis with cycling and furniture with selling mobile phone plans.
noname123 10y ago
Are you doing The Dan Plan equivalent for tennis?
cylinder 10y ago
What's your cash burn rate so far?
- kd5bjo 10y ago
  It's pretty high at the moment, since I'm paying for a lot of 1:1 instruction (7 hrs/wk split between tennis and fitness) and am still getting used to the new area. If you take that out, I'm probably spending something like $20-40k annually.

glenr 10y ago

I did. Started in '99; started an agency in '04 where I was the lead coder with 2 partners; by 2010 I was dabbling at best. Another six years on, I don't code at all and do sales/management. I'm not sure I'd do it the same should I have my time again, I miss it.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

nickthemagicman 10y ago

Good question. Im wondering this as well.

jonsterling 10y ago

My last day is in just over two weeks! Starting my PhD in type theory at CMU.

adamkchew 10y ago

After getting the 6 figures programming job, I realized that I was already decent so I quit and started a startup. Now I'm just reading books, riding bikes, and networking.

ikeyany 10y ago
How did you know where to go next? Neither 'leaving a six-figure job' nor 'starting a startup' are trivial moves to make.

King-Aaron 10y ago

My current post may well be my last; I'm sick and tired of continuously working for SME's with no direction, business plan or competent management. If I lived somewhere that there was more opportunities I may feel differently.

dublinben 10y ago
Have you considered moving? That seems to be the obvious solution.
- King-Aaron 10y ago
  I have considered moving, however it means moving to literally the other side of the country. While that's not strictly out of the options, I don't know if the industry as a whole is what I'm sick of or not. Part of me wants to re-tool in nursing, however at 30 that's starting to fall outside of the options too, haha.
  - jrumbut 10y ago
    It's better to re-tool at 30 than 31, and better at 31 than 32, and better at 50 than never. A few years is nothing, maybe it's different where you are but in the US it's very common to become a nurse as a second career in your 30s.

siberianbear 10y ago

I retired from my job managing a group of software engineers in Silicon Valley a few years ago. I'd been quite frugal, mostly driving old beaters I bought outright. I owned a condo outright. I ate the free and discounted food at work. I was making $300K+ a year in base salary and equity compensation, and my expenses were only about $20K a year. (My biggest bill was my monthly homeowners’ association fee of about $400.) So, I was able to save a metric ton of money and invested it all in the stock market. As a child, I loved computers. I taught myself 6502 and x86 assembly languages, as well as some other languages. When I got to the university and actually understood how digital circuits worked, I was so fascinated. When I finally landed in Silicon Valley, I felt like I was in a dream. I was good at what I did and I met awesome people who were good at what they did. Actually, the greatest pleasure was meeting and working with people who were much smarter than I was. Eventually, the thrill wore off. I’d seen so many bugs and new projects that they started all feel the same, kind of like my personal version of the film Goundhog Day. I didn’t love it anymore. And then later, I didn’t even like it anymore. At one point, I calculated my net worth at a few million dollars and realized that I could just quit my job and live off the investment interest. So I just did it. I’ve been retired for four years now. I travel a lot, which was something I couldn’t do much when I had a job that only gave me three weeks of vacation. I can also travel in a different way: taking the time in a new place to see un-touristy things, meet locals and study the language a bit. I read a lot of books, none of which are about computers. I haven’t been back to the United States in over a year. Thanks to my frugal habits and the runup in the stock market, my net worth is higher. My “burn” rate is under 2%, which means that I can do this indefinitely. I don’t miss Silicon Valley and will never live there again. In fact, I probably won’t ever live in the United States again. And I don’t miss my cubicle one bit. What I did is unusual. But the thing I don’t understand is why it is unusual: most of the professionals I worked with could have made the same choices and had the same result. I guess they found more enjoyment in the cycle of work and consumption than I did. And like most people who lived in the Valley, I knew and had friendships with people who were far richer than I was: whose net worth was $10M or $30M or more, who could retire today and have a very comfortable life anywhere in the world. But they continued to work. I can only guess that they found more enjoyment in work than I did.

mailshanx 10y ago

lukeh 10y ago

I did it, more or less. I had a software company, now I am a full time musician.

SFJulie 10y ago

Well, I can do bread that is edible, alcohol that make your drunk without poisoning you music that people can sing repair bikes fairly well But ... I get rejected for every job I ask : I don't have diplomas. The bread I see on average are at best and as good as mine, my alcohol is cheaper than market and tasting better, my reparations are clean... but I don't have diplomas and the conforming education... So I am looking back at coding, and I still hope I will find whatever is not a modern job intoxicated with all the current hype in IT or financial or web agency or startup spirit. Wish me luck, it is tough but I am still going and as long as I can I will try.

mywittyname 10y ago
Could be because being a baker/brewer/bike tech has nothing to do with the jobs for which are you applying.
trumbitta2 10y ago
You could move to Copenhagen (or one of these other 19 cities: http://www.wired.com/2015/06/copenhagenize-worlds-most-bike-friendly-cities/ http://www.wired.com/2015/06/copenhagenize-worlds-most-bike-...) and open a bike repair shop where bikers can have a snack and a drink, listening to good music, while you repair their bikes. Just sayin'

cableshaft 10y ago

I haven't left it yet, but I'm starting to plant the seeds now that I'm hoping will eventually lead to full-time board game designer in 5-10 years. I've got several prototypes, one being evaluated by a publisher currently, and I've been going to conventions and networking with other people in the industry. If one of my designs ends up being a hit, I should have enough money to make the transition. I still enjoy programming, but there's a lot of "Keeping up with the Tech Jones's" with constant new flash in the pan API's or frameworks and not a ton of just "get shit done", and BA's/managers with minimal technical experience making decisions on what you have to do is the rule, not the exception, and it seems a little pointless after awhile. Like I could be replaced by someone else and the work would still get done, so what value am I really adding to this? At least in video games I had creative input on the look, feel, and design of the game. In corporate dev I've had almost zero input, except sometimes in how the data is structured (which doesn't excite me anywhere near as much).

sillysaurus3 10y ago
I just wanted to say, that's way cool. Best of luck.
SmokyBorbon 10y ago
Please be careful backing out of your driveway.
bo_Olean 10y ago
>> I've got several prototypes, one being evaluated by a publisher currently, and I've been going to conventions and networking with other people in the industry. If one of my designs ends up being a hit, I should have enough money to make the transition. Care to share more on this ? If I want to, where do I start making board game prototypes ? An email would do good, I don't see your contact info on your profile. All the best.

id122015 10y ago

The more I read the more I realise its not worth it to be employed as a programmer. I havent even started employment. Sometimes I read that programmers are not even allowed to do what they want, so I start to be content that even though I do little Im free to do what I want.

yolesaber 10y ago

I worked for a long time as a coder, then team lead / principal engineer and finally architect before reaching a point where I could exit. Now I synthesize new psychedelic drugs and sell them to rich yuppies from NYC seeking mind expansion.