I am unsure what working with "things" means, but when the OP got out of tech, she went into policy journalism. "So I went to business school, and eventually I

I am unsure what working with "things" means, but when the OP got out of tech, she went into policy journalism. "So I went to business school, and eventually I landed myself in the kind of career that I was happy to do on weekends, and nights, and most of my other time... My field, policy journalism...." So for whatever reason, it seems that in her mind, journalism is less about working with "things" than tech work is.