3 ms·

A lot of people here have commented who want to be (or are) doing this when they're 50+ because they love it, but what about those who don't? I'm 29, I've been

A lot of people here have commented who want to be (or are) doing this when they're 50+ because they love it, but what about those who don't? I'm 29, I've been an engineer for 6 years and have ended up with a high income and a lot of cash in the bank (not retirement-level, but more than 98% of people my age). Yet I've realized that the main reason I've chosen this career is because it provides the fastest path to wealth. If I were choosing a career purely based on what I wanted to do it would be something in the arts, likely film or music, but the arts are a famously difficult way to make any stable income. Same for starting my own company in the tech space, I think I'd enjoy running a company more than being an engineer. It's hard to walk away from a high, stable income since I'm not from a wealthy family. Lately I've been doing some soul searching and a part of me wants to quit and start fresh doing my own thing.

prewett 2y ago
There was an article here, I think, some time ago where an artist responded to a letter a young guy wrote asking about the conflict between art and income. He said that pretty much all professional artists (musicians, etc.) do art part-time, and that is not even a problem. I think he said it helps focus the art, but I do not actually remember. Also, at some point you might find that you basically will have what need you for retirement (assuming future investment performance matches past performance, etc.) but not enough to retire now. Half-retiring is an option: work enough to pay expenses but you don't need to save, you just need to not spend the savings. (Maybe this https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38507908 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38507908 is the posting? The posted link loads a blank page for me, though, so I can't tell.)
- hn_user82179 2y ago
  I enjoyed your comment. I found that post in the Wayback machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20231203154816/https://neontomo.com/blog/permalink.html?post=letter-to-a-young-artist https://web.archive.org/web/20231203154816/https://neontomo.... though I'm not sure that's the one you were thinking of, because the post, while enjoyable, does not seem to have the same theme as what you described
  - neontomo 2y ago
    I am the author of this blog post. thanks for reading and mentioning me, but I also believe it is not the right post.
- garbawarb 2y ago
  The problem though is that there's not much opportunity for an engineer to work anything less than full-time. Especially one on a work visa like me. It seems that joining a less-demanding company but stll working full-time is the nearest option. Also, the work visa means I can't earn any income from outside of my employer.

prewett 2y ago

There was an article here, I think, some time ago where an artist responded to a letter a young guy wrote asking about the conflict between art and income. He said that pretty much all professional artists (musicians, etc.) do art part-time, and that is not even a problem. I think he said it helps focus the art, but I do not actually remember. Also, at some point you might find that you basically will have what need you for retirement (assuming future investment performance matches past performance, etc.) but not enough to retire now. Half-retiring is an option: work enough to pay expenses but you don't need to save, you just need to not spend the savings. (Maybe this https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38507908 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38507908 is the posting? The posted link loads a blank page for me, though, so I can't tell.)

hn_user82179 2y ago
I enjoyed your comment. I found that post in the Wayback machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20231203154816/https://neontomo.com/blog/permalink.html?post=letter-to-a-young-artist https://web.archive.org/web/20231203154816/https://neontomo.... though I'm not sure that's the one you were thinking of, because the post, while enjoyable, does not seem to have the same theme as what you described
- neontomo 2y ago
  I am the author of this blog post. thanks for reading and mentioning me, but I also believe it is not the right post.
garbawarb 2y ago
The problem though is that there's not much opportunity for an engineer to work anything less than full-time. Especially one on a work visa like me. It seems that joining a less-demanding company but stll working full-time is the nearest option. Also, the work visa means I can't earn any income from outside of my employer.