5 ms·

If software engineering and carpentry paid the same, I'd be a carpenter.

by fasteddie31003 4y ago

thfuran 4y ago
I might get RSI at work but it's very unlikely that I'll cut my fingers off in a mousing accident.
- oh_sigh 4y ago
  Carpenters get RSI all the time too - or neuralgia e.g swinging a hammer 1,000 times a day for 30 years will take a toll on your elbow.
  - kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
    You realize hammers are a last resort tool these days when you can't get a nail gun somewhere.
    - Ygg2 4y ago
      Still, for a computer programming to maim you, you really need to be creative. Carpentry is by comparison easy to get maimed.
    - oh_sigh 4y ago
      For most modern guys, yes, but there are still a lot of other uses for a hammer. Whether it's just not worth it to break out the nailer, or light demolition, or aligning framing elements, etc. Personally, since I moved into my property a few years ago, I frame about 50 linear feet per year, which is next to nothing, and I still preemptively went out and bought an electric nailer. No clue how the old school guys did it and maintained feeling in their arm.
    - baremetal 4y ago
      you realize hammers are used all the time in carpentry still. what do you do if your gun doesnt sink the nail? or the boards didnt fasten tight together after nailing. or you need to pull a nail. or wedge or lever or...
melony 4y ago
Maybe go work for Etsy? Dogfood your own product.
- code_duck 4y ago
  That's the story of Etsy's original founder/CEO, actually - he was a woodworker who wanted a better way to sell online. Same with me, too - I was a glassblower selling on Etsy and founded a successful startup based on their site, because I wanted a better way to manage my shop.
Ygg2 4y ago
Having done some light home renovation, I would prefer installing printers over carpentry. And I hate printers.
- maccard 4y ago
  no, nobody deserves to have to install printers. Thats a human rights violation
trinovantes 4y ago
Yea but then you'd have to be interviewed like a software engineer http://www.jasonbock.net/jb/News/Item/7c334037d1a9437d9fa6506e2f35eaac http://www.jasonbock.net/jb/News/Item/7c334037d1a9437d9fa650...
eftychis 4y ago
My great-grandfather and uncle (retired) were carpenters. While carpentry is a great hobby they definitely preferred/liked my professional direction -- at some point lungs, legs, hands, and wood do not like each other.
- davemp 4y ago
  Well considering the culture on most job sites includes ridiculing people for wearing safety glasses and dust masks, there’s definitely room for improvement.
  - baremetal 4y ago
    every job site ive been on, no one ridiculed me for wearing safety glasses or dust masks. quite the opposite.
blackgirldev 4y ago
Ha. I joined the Navy in the 90s and when I got out I tried to get into auto mechanic school. They wanted me to sign up for an apprenticeship at a car dealership and were happy to take my tuition money. But no one would allow me (female) to apprentice. They would say "sure...wait a bit for a start date" then I would call to ask when to come in and they would always have given the spot to a male student. Even after getting into the IT field, I tried to learn carpentry. I went to local shops that had the tools. No one was receptive to me for some reason. They were either closed during the times I could go after work, or defunct, or only wanted people who already knew carpentry (WTF). Anyway, I entered software development because it was the only field that would hire me entry level. Aaaaaandd the only field I could actually self-teach. I am grateful for that fact...that you can teach yourself through books (back then no StackOverflow haha) nor Youtube, nor Udemy, etc. Just plain push yourself through the text books available. I spent a LOT of time at Borders books and Barnes and Noble, trying to figure things out. You can't really do that with carpentry. Maybe you can self-teach auto repair. But as a woman, not even my family members would spend time to teach me (I had a cousin that was embarrassed to have me help out at his auto shop). I got away with self-teaching IT as a black woman because it is not nearly as sexist or racist as other fields, with Indian and other immigrants showing the way to enlightenment to a great degree (in my personal experience).
- phaedrus 4y ago
  Huh. That is an interesting point about carpentry not being as easy to self-teach. I don't think it's entirely impossible to do so, the Youtuber Mr. Chickadee being a counter-example: he's mentioned in interviews learning techniques from books, such as Japanese joinery. But then if you watch channels like Essential Craftsman it's clear there's a great deal of know-how that has to be passed on by someone who knows the trade. Stuff about how to work efficiently and tricks you wouldn't think of. Even if it were in a book or videos exist, you don't necessarily know to go looking for it. It is definitely possible to self-teach auto repair. I did, out of necessity. Things you try either work or they don't, but there's logical reasons for it that can be derived from first principles. However the computer is in a class of its own when it comes to self-teaching. Instant feedback and infinite capacity for experimentation. Carpentry doesn't have a built-in objective critic like that. Auto-repair is somewhere in between.
quickthrower2 4y ago
If carpentry paid more I would stay as a SWE

If software engineering and carpentry paid the same, I'd be a carpenter.

thfuran 4y ago

I might get RSI at work but it's very unlikely that I'll cut my fingers off in a mousing accident.

oh_sigh 4y ago
Carpenters get RSI all the time too - or neuralgia e.g swinging a hammer 1,000 times a day for 30 years will take a toll on your elbow.
- kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
  You realize hammers are a last resort tool these days when you can't get a nail gun somewhere.
  - Ygg2 4y ago
    Still, for a computer programming to maim you, you really need to be creative. Carpentry is by comparison easy to get maimed.
  - oh_sigh 4y ago
    For most modern guys, yes, but there are still a lot of other uses for a hammer. Whether it's just not worth it to break out the nailer, or light demolition, or aligning framing elements, etc. Personally, since I moved into my property a few years ago, I frame about 50 linear feet per year, which is next to nothing, and I still preemptively went out and bought an electric nailer. No clue how the old school guys did it and maintained feeling in their arm.
  - baremetal 4y ago
    you realize hammers are used all the time in carpentry still. what do you do if your gun doesnt sink the nail? or the boards didnt fasten tight together after nailing. or you need to pull a nail. or wedge or lever or...

melony 4y ago

Maybe go work for Etsy? Dogfood your own product.

code_duck 4y ago
That's the story of Etsy's original founder/CEO, actually - he was a woodworker who wanted a better way to sell online. Same with me, too - I was a glassblower selling on Etsy and founded a successful startup based on their site, because I wanted a better way to manage my shop.

Ygg2 4y ago

Having done some light home renovation, I would prefer installing printers over carpentry. And I hate printers.

maccard 4y ago
no, nobody deserves to have to install printers. Thats a human rights violation

trinovantes 4y ago

Yea but then you'd have to be interviewed like a software engineer http://www.jasonbock.net/jb/News/Item/7c334037d1a9437d9fa6506e2f35eaac http://www.jasonbock.net/jb/News/Item/7c334037d1a9437d9fa650...

eftychis 4y ago

My great-grandfather and uncle (retired) were carpenters. While carpentry is a great hobby they definitely preferred/liked my professional direction -- at some point lungs, legs, hands, and wood do not like each other.

davemp 4y ago
Well considering the culture on most job sites includes ridiculing people for wearing safety glasses and dust masks, there’s definitely room for improvement.
- baremetal 4y ago
  every job site ive been on, no one ridiculed me for wearing safety glasses or dust masks. quite the opposite.

blackgirldev 4y ago

Ha. I joined the Navy in the 90s and when I got out I tried to get into auto mechanic school. They wanted me to sign up for an apprenticeship at a car dealership and were happy to take my tuition money. But no one would allow me (female) to apprentice. They would say "sure...wait a bit for a start date" then I would call to ask when to come in and they would always have given the spot to a male student. Even after getting into the IT field, I tried to learn carpentry. I went to local shops that had the tools. No one was receptive to me for some reason. They were either closed during the times I could go after work, or defunct, or only wanted people who already knew carpentry (WTF). Anyway, I entered software development because it was the only field that would hire me entry level. Aaaaaandd the only field I could actually self-teach. I am grateful for that fact...that you can teach yourself through books (back then no StackOverflow haha) nor Youtube, nor Udemy, etc. Just plain push yourself through the text books available. I spent a LOT of time at Borders books and Barnes and Noble, trying to figure things out. You can't really do that with carpentry. Maybe you can self-teach auto repair. But as a woman, not even my family members would spend time to teach me (I had a cousin that was embarrassed to have me help out at his auto shop). I got away with self-teaching IT as a black woman because it is not nearly as sexist or racist as other fields, with Indian and other immigrants showing the way to enlightenment to a great degree (in my personal experience).

phaedrus 4y ago
Huh. That is an interesting point about carpentry not being as easy to self-teach. I don't think it's entirely impossible to do so, the Youtuber Mr. Chickadee being a counter-example: he's mentioned in interviews learning techniques from books, such as Japanese joinery. But then if you watch channels like Essential Craftsman it's clear there's a great deal of know-how that has to be passed on by someone who knows the trade. Stuff about how to work efficiently and tricks you wouldn't think of. Even if it were in a book or videos exist, you don't necessarily know to go looking for it. It is definitely possible to self-teach auto repair. I did, out of necessity. Things you try either work or they don't, but there's logical reasons for it that can be derived from first principles. However the computer is in a class of its own when it comes to self-teaching. Instant feedback and infinite capacity for experimentation. Carpentry doesn't have a built-in objective critic like that. Auto-repair is somewhere in between.

quickthrower2 4y ago

If carpentry paid more I would stay as a SWE