I've been thinking about this, too, with teaching being my prime candidate. One of the downsides of leaving the tech industry is the reality of taking a massiv

I've been thinking about this, too, with teaching being my prime candidate. One of the downsides of leaving the tech industry is the reality of taking a massive pay cut at a time when the cost of living (especially housing) has been rising rapidly. As an aside as an American I feel very pessimistic about the state of the American economy and about the medium-term future of this country; it's getting harder for people to get ahead thanks to rising costs (especially housing, health care, and higher education), our politics has become extremely polarized, and the general mood is becoming more tense, as if we're one or two crises away from this nation completely falling apart. It seems that this nation's economy rewards rent seekers, and it's becoming harder for people to make a living through other means.