6 ms·

Why not work a service job for a while? There's no delayed gratification in bartending or waiting tables. Show up, clock in, serve drinks, go home. It's not eas

Why not work a service job for a while? There's no delayed gratification in bartending or waiting tables. Show up, clock in, serve drinks, go home. It's not easy, but the success conditions are clear, and when you're done you can completely forget about it until it's time to go in again.

epicureanideal 5y ago
I imagine that in comparison to the income from software engineering that would just feel like a waste of time.
- _carbyau_ 5y ago
  The main issues from the person comments don't seem to revolve around money. And doing nothing won't make any money. This is not something you have to do for the rest of your life. But the point is to do something, anything to avoid sinking into the swamp. Visible goals that you can mentally pick up and put down with some human interaction thrown in, might help. Only one way to find out.
  - stryker7001 5y ago
    this is what I don't get about this site. The world is software. you can code anything. and yet the majority of people sit around and complain. Its no wonder that you all are burnt out and bitter. The best is when people complain about tracking software, or windows telemetry. Software engineers wrote it! they are you're own people. its not a business guy that wrote the code. you're all weak!
    - michaelgrafl 5y ago
      The world is not software. That's a silly catchphrase. You can't code meaning, joy, health, or good company into someone's life. Software won't provide company and solace to a dying patient or make you feel blissed out when having sex. It can't give you the pleasure of talking to your six year old child or getting into the mosh pit of an aggressive rock show. Software development is a nice profession with lots of benefits. But it's easy to spend too much time in solace and inside your head. And as a human we have needs that it won't be able to meet.
    - marcus_holmes 5y ago
      >you're all weak! You have some toxic ideas about what "strength" and "weakness" are. Strength is facing your demons, being honest with yourself, admitting your mistakes, being able to change your opinions in the face of new evidence, and admitting when you're failing. Real strength is humble. Weakness is "manning up" instead of dealing with the problem, reducing all situations down to a conflict of two sides because the reality is too complex, being unable to admit that you were wrong, "pushing through" instead of working out why, and being unable to face reality when it's not what you expected. Weakness is a fragile ego full of pride. Yes, software engineers wrote tracking software. That doesn't mean we all agree with what they did. They're not "our own people" because we don't see the world as "software engineers vs business guys".
    - spfzero 5y ago
      But they're not complaining about the software, they're complaining about being forced to use it.
    - TheGigaChad 5y ago
      Suck dick idiot.
    - ttjjtt 5y ago
      This comment is incredible on so many levels.
- miej 5y ago
  time is the scarcest resource. could argue it's a waste of money, but one man's trash is another man's treasure
klyrs 5y ago
This is something I've considered, as I'm in a similar situation to OC. With a PhD, I feel certain expectations about my career haven't been met. Publications dropped off, I'm not even sure I could pass an undergrad exam in my field of expertise anymore... so I look overqualified but feel underqualified. I'm nervous about unexplained gaps in my career because I regularly see that as a reason not to interview a candidate. But a service job? All I can hear is my judgy coworkers laughing at a resume with recent non-technical work.
- ska 5y ago
  I don't know if this helps, but I've hired people in situations like this. If somethings stands out in a resume, people will ask. But the fact it's there doesn't mean it's negative - the question is what's the story. If the resume as a whole makes sense but has a curveball I'm probably more likely to have them interviewed, not less.
- robotresearcher 5y ago
  Maybe call it a sabbatical on your resume. You get to decide what is and isn’t a sabbatical for you. Then disclose the details if and when you trust the hiring manager. Most of all, don’t let worry about that damage your long term mental health.
- mlac 5y ago
  Do you want to work with those people anyway? Maybe they are part of the issue you’re facing with wanting to work.
tim333 5y ago
I've got a cousin who unsure with things got a job as a delivery van driver for a while. Worked ok for him. He now has a fairly cushy lowish level job at a pr outfit.

epicureanideal 5y ago

I imagine that in comparison to the income from software engineering that would just feel like a waste of time.

_carbyau_ 5y ago
The main issues from the person comments don't seem to revolve around money. And doing nothing won't make any money. This is not something you have to do for the rest of your life. But the point is to do something, anything to avoid sinking into the swamp. Visible goals that you can mentally pick up and put down with some human interaction thrown in, might help. Only one way to find out.
- stryker7001 5y ago
  this is what I don't get about this site. The world is software. you can code anything. and yet the majority of people sit around and complain. Its no wonder that you all are burnt out and bitter. The best is when people complain about tracking software, or windows telemetry. Software engineers wrote it! they are you're own people. its not a business guy that wrote the code. you're all weak!
  - michaelgrafl 5y ago
    The world is not software. That's a silly catchphrase. You can't code meaning, joy, health, or good company into someone's life. Software won't provide company and solace to a dying patient or make you feel blissed out when having sex. It can't give you the pleasure of talking to your six year old child or getting into the mosh pit of an aggressive rock show. Software development is a nice profession with lots of benefits. But it's easy to spend too much time in solace and inside your head. And as a human we have needs that it won't be able to meet.
  - marcus_holmes 5y ago
    >you're all weak! You have some toxic ideas about what "strength" and "weakness" are. Strength is facing your demons, being honest with yourself, admitting your mistakes, being able to change your opinions in the face of new evidence, and admitting when you're failing. Real strength is humble. Weakness is "manning up" instead of dealing with the problem, reducing all situations down to a conflict of two sides because the reality is too complex, being unable to admit that you were wrong, "pushing through" instead of working out why, and being unable to face reality when it's not what you expected. Weakness is a fragile ego full of pride. Yes, software engineers wrote tracking software. That doesn't mean we all agree with what they did. They're not "our own people" because we don't see the world as "software engineers vs business guys".
  - spfzero 5y ago
    But they're not complaining about the software, they're complaining about being forced to use it.
  - TheGigaChad 5y ago
    Suck dick idiot.
  - ttjjtt 5y ago
    This comment is incredible on so many levels.
miej 5y ago
time is the scarcest resource. could argue it's a waste of money, but one man's trash is another man's treasure

klyrs 5y ago

This is something I've considered, as I'm in a similar situation to OC. With a PhD, I feel certain expectations about my career haven't been met. Publications dropped off, I'm not even sure I could pass an undergrad exam in my field of expertise anymore... so I look overqualified but feel underqualified. I'm nervous about unexplained gaps in my career because I regularly see that as a reason not to interview a candidate. But a service job? All I can hear is my judgy coworkers laughing at a resume with recent non-technical work.

ska 5y ago
I don't know if this helps, but I've hired people in situations like this. If somethings stands out in a resume, people will ask. But the fact it's there doesn't mean it's negative - the question is what's the story. If the resume as a whole makes sense but has a curveball I'm probably more likely to have them interviewed, not less.
robotresearcher 5y ago
Maybe call it a sabbatical on your resume. You get to decide what is and isn’t a sabbatical for you. Then disclose the details if and when you trust the hiring manager. Most of all, don’t let worry about that damage your long term mental health.
mlac 5y ago
Do you want to work with those people anyway? Maybe they are part of the issue you’re facing with wanting to work.

tim333 5y ago

I've got a cousin who unsure with things got a job as a delivery van driver for a while. Worked ok for him. He now has a fairly cushy lowish level job at a pr outfit.