5 ms·

Ask HN: What are some comfy/stress-free jobs a SWE can do? (LCOL country)

7 points by ejlanor 1y ago

Been working as a SWE for almost 7 years, burned out, quit to recover. Thankfully savings are good, so doing well now, but I am starting to think of what comes next. Living in a pretty cheap country, 20k/year would be more than enough to have a good life, anything over that would go into investments. Any ideas what kinds I work I should seek out? Sacrificed a lot these past few years to progress my career, so I am looking to minimize stress and enjoy life for the next couple of years.

FlopV 1y ago
How much time are you looking to commit ? Are you looking to work remote ? How much $ you looking for a year ? All that matters
- ejlanor 1y ago
  Flexible on time, just looking to minimize stress. Remote jobs of course, local scene is not great both in terms of salary and work culture. Money wise, my living expenses are around $20k/year. And last full time job I was making around $60k/year in a senior level role.
vatican_banker 1y ago
What hobbies are you passioned about? You hobbies is usually a good place to start looking.
- ejlanor 1y ago
  Music, programming, gaming. I feel like programming is the only one that is realistically monetizeable out of those.
TheCapeGreek 1y ago
Woah, where is 20k buying a comfy life these days? Genuinely curious. I'm supposed to be in the third world but COL has become ridiculous in the last few years. I felt similarly to you not long ago, sometimes still do. Honestly right now SWE is still a valuable skill to get paid for. Leverage your network to find calmer waters after taking a break, or freelance part time instead. Recovering from burnout in my experience is a combination of changing environment, finding tools to help with mental health, and lots of patience with yourself. If can take years to feel like your old self again, and even then your output never quite comes back the same.
- throwaway3b03 1y ago
  I live in The Netherlands and my yearly expenses are less than 20k EUR per year, and also have a car (major expense around here). But I don't pay rent. Several years ago I used to live in Romania, and similarly, had expenses a lot lower than 10k EUR per year. So I think it's possible just about anywhere in the world, if you're ready to do a lot of things yourself (don't rely on services such as a car/bike mechanic, fix plumbing, house issues yourself, don't pay a lot of money on going out etc).
  - ailef 1y ago
    Not paying rent is kind of a problem for most people.
  - giantg2 1y ago
    "So I think it's possible just about anywhere in the world" Anywhere with free healthcare.
    - throwaway3b03 1y ago
      I disagree. I spent about 2 years in Romania without healthcare of any kind. I was on a career break/sabbatical. And in the 4 years I've spent in the Netherlands, I've only went to a doctor's office once, for some abdominal pain. I was sent home by a receptionist, telling me to return the next day if it doesn't get better. And I think that's my only interaction with the medical establishment for the last 6-7 years. The one before that was for some document I needed for my driver's license. Of course, here in the Netherlands you can't avoid having health insurance, but it's technically free for low income people and not that expensive otherwise. In Romania, and I presume that a lot of other places, you can. So is it that hard to stay uninsured? I do have some gripes to pick with the medical system, but yeah, I do think taking health into your own hands is a better choice (and a lot more is psychological in nature than the medical system would suggest, which is focused on symptoms and not causes). I remember in my younger years, I would get a cold probably twice a year on average, and I would always get prescribed antibiotics by an overzealous GP. All of that stopped all of a sudden, and I haven't taken antibiotics in about a decade. I've caught a cold, maybe once every two years, but much lighter and goes away by itself in 2-3 days at most.
thorin 1y ago
If you want to live in a low cost of living country you need to learn to live as the locals live. My friends that live overseas in Asia or in Eastern Europe probably spend as much as I do on rent and have servants, drivers etc so they still need to earn quite a bit. If you don't have any family you could try somewhere relatively close by for short periods and see how you get on e.g. USA->Panama/Costa Rica, Western Europe -> Eastern Europe, or maybe consider Thailand/Vietnam.
giantg2 1y ago
I'm in the process of being fired. I'll probably end up working retail or or in a warehouse. Almost any low paying jobs can be low stress if you don't give a shit about the company.
andrew_gs 1y ago
Working as a contractor programming is a pretty good way of recovering from burn-out. You get paid by the hour/day, it's a super clear relationship. As you're not a permanent staff member it's much easier to ignore all politics and decisions you don't agree with as it's not really your business. Turn-up, do the work, check-out and don't think about work after you sign-out. You can still do good work, share your opinion on how you would approach things, but as a contractor it's much easier to accept things. I don't work as a contractor anymore, as ultimately I like to have a stake in the place where I work, but I did enjoy my time as a contractor, and I think it can genuinely help with recovery from burn-out.
ismailrohaga 1y ago
try improving DevEx. ricing. its good
pillefitz 1y ago
Depending on where you live, teaching in part-time?

7 points by ejlanor 1y ago

FlopV 1y ago

How much time are you looking to commit ? Are you looking to work remote ? How much $ you looking for a year ? All that matters

ejlanor 1y ago
Flexible on time, just looking to minimize stress. Remote jobs of course, local scene is not great both in terms of salary and work culture. Money wise, my living expenses are around $20k/year. And last full time job I was making around $60k/year in a senior level role.

vatican_banker 1y ago

What hobbies are you passioned about? You hobbies is usually a good place to start looking.

ejlanor 1y ago
Music, programming, gaming. I feel like programming is the only one that is realistically monetizeable out of those.

TheCapeGreek 1y ago

Woah, where is 20k buying a comfy life these days? Genuinely curious. I'm supposed to be in the third world but COL has become ridiculous in the last few years. I felt similarly to you not long ago, sometimes still do. Honestly right now SWE is still a valuable skill to get paid for. Leverage your network to find calmer waters after taking a break, or freelance part time instead. Recovering from burnout in my experience is a combination of changing environment, finding tools to help with mental health, and lots of patience with yourself. If can take years to feel like your old self again, and even then your output never quite comes back the same.

throwaway3b03 1y ago
I live in The Netherlands and my yearly expenses are less than 20k EUR per year, and also have a car (major expense around here). But I don't pay rent. Several years ago I used to live in Romania, and similarly, had expenses a lot lower than 10k EUR per year. So I think it's possible just about anywhere in the world, if you're ready to do a lot of things yourself (don't rely on services such as a car/bike mechanic, fix plumbing, house issues yourself, don't pay a lot of money on going out etc).
- ailef 1y ago
  Not paying rent is kind of a problem for most people.
- giantg2 1y ago
  "So I think it's possible just about anywhere in the world" Anywhere with free healthcare.
  - throwaway3b03 1y ago
    I disagree. I spent about 2 years in Romania without healthcare of any kind. I was on a career break/sabbatical. And in the 4 years I've spent in the Netherlands, I've only went to a doctor's office once, for some abdominal pain. I was sent home by a receptionist, telling me to return the next day if it doesn't get better. And I think that's my only interaction with the medical establishment for the last 6-7 years. The one before that was for some document I needed for my driver's license. Of course, here in the Netherlands you can't avoid having health insurance, but it's technically free for low income people and not that expensive otherwise. In Romania, and I presume that a lot of other places, you can. So is it that hard to stay uninsured? I do have some gripes to pick with the medical system, but yeah, I do think taking health into your own hands is a better choice (and a lot more is psychological in nature than the medical system would suggest, which is focused on symptoms and not causes). I remember in my younger years, I would get a cold probably twice a year on average, and I would always get prescribed antibiotics by an overzealous GP. All of that stopped all of a sudden, and I haven't taken antibiotics in about a decade. I've caught a cold, maybe once every two years, but much lighter and goes away by itself in 2-3 days at most.

thorin 1y ago

If you want to live in a low cost of living country you need to learn to live as the locals live. My friends that live overseas in Asia or in Eastern Europe probably spend as much as I do on rent and have servants, drivers etc so they still need to earn quite a bit. If you don't have any family you could try somewhere relatively close by for short periods and see how you get on e.g. USA->Panama/Costa Rica, Western Europe -> Eastern Europe, or maybe consider Thailand/Vietnam.

giantg2 1y ago

I'm in the process of being fired. I'll probably end up working retail or or in a warehouse. Almost any low paying jobs can be low stress if you don't give a shit about the company.

andrew_gs 1y ago

Working as a contractor programming is a pretty good way of recovering from burn-out. You get paid by the hour/day, it's a super clear relationship. As you're not a permanent staff member it's much easier to ignore all politics and decisions you don't agree with as it's not really your business. Turn-up, do the work, check-out and don't think about work after you sign-out. You can still do good work, share your opinion on how you would approach things, but as a contractor it's much easier to accept things. I don't work as a contractor anymore, as ultimately I like to have a stake in the place where I work, but I did enjoy my time as a contractor, and I think it can genuinely help with recovery from burn-out.

ismailrohaga 1y ago

try improving DevEx. ricing. its good

pillefitz 1y ago

Depending on where you live, teaching in part-time?