3 ms·

I'd try the non-commercial sectors if I were you: academia, local governments, federal governments, defense, GIS, nonprofits, etc. They tend not to chase the ne

I'd try the non-commercial sectors if I were you: academia, local governments, federal governments, defense, GIS, nonprofits, etc. They tend not to chase the new shiny as much as produce a lot of the same thing over and over. There are also a bunch of semi-government entities (research labs and whatnot) that are often funded by the government in some way, but won't necessarily put you on a government pay scale. There are also consultancies that specialize in working with governments (plural because they often work with different cities/counties/states/federal branches) where you can make private-sector wages and bill the taxpayers. I worked for a natural history museum for a while as a web developer and really loved it... got to work with a bunch of awesome folks with really different backgrounds, from programmers to paleontologists to marketers to fish biologists, etc. I'd have stayed there forever if I could've! The pay was much lower than industry (I think I got $65k or so, can't remember exactly) but it was enough to live on and be happy, with a good work-life culture and balance.

burner_labrat 2y ago
> There are also a bunch of semi-government entities (research labs and whatnot) that are often funded by the government in some way, but won't necessarily put you on a government pay scale This is what my work is like, at a large independent biomedical research institute, and it's a good gig. I make probably 80-90% of what I would in industry*, work consistent 40-hour weeks, go in the office only when I feel like it, and I'm learning fascinating new stuff all the time. Maybe the best part though is that the research I'm helping with has direct application in the clinic: clinicians are using it, and I know for a fact that it's improving the lives of actual patients. (*) In terms of salary rather than TC. Given that I work for a nonprofit there's no possibility for stock or stock options. But then, I've worked plenty of long hours at startups to accumulate options, which combined sum total lifetime have made me not one penny, and the kind of large company that does outright stock grants, I'm not temperamentally suited to work in anyway.

burner_labrat 2y ago

> There are also a bunch of semi-government entities (research labs and whatnot) that are often funded by the government in some way, but won't necessarily put you on a government pay scale This is what my work is like, at a large independent biomedical research institute, and it's a good gig. I make probably 80-90% of what I would in industry*, work consistent 40-hour weeks, go in the office only when I feel like it, and I'm learning fascinating new stuff all the time. Maybe the best part though is that the research I'm helping with has direct application in the clinic: clinicians are using it, and I know for a fact that it's improving the lives of actual patients. (*) In terms of salary rather than TC. Given that I work for a nonprofit there's no possibility for stock or stock options. But then, I've worked plenty of long hours at startups to accumulate options, which combined sum total lifetime have made me not one penny, and the kind of large company that does outright stock grants, I'm not temperamentally suited to work in anyway.