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I lost my job as a software developer some time ago. Flipping burgers is WAY more demanding than I ever imagined. That's the danger of AI: It takes jobs faste

I lost my job as a software developer some time ago. Flipping burgers is WAY more demanding than I ever imagined. That's the danger of AI: It takes jobs faster than creating new ones PLUS for some fields (like software development) downshifting to just about anything else is brutal and sometimes simply not doable. Forget becoming manager at McDonald's or be even good at flipping burgers at the age of 40: you are competing with 20yr olds doing sports with amazing coordination etc

Borg3 8mo ago
Ugh.. sorry to hear :( I am myself unemployed right now. Its really hard to land a job in tech.. Luicky, I dont need to flip burgers for now...
- fragmede 8mo ago
  Who's gonna play you to flip burgers with no experience doing it and everyone else needing a job as well?
  - ddtaylor 8mo ago
    There is a huge demand for low-skill labor in other industries. Stuff like plumbing, HVAC, and a ton of other traditionally unsexy jobs that can barely keep enough people in a town to perform these jobs at higher costs than normal.
    - uxcolumbo 8mo ago
      I wouldn’t call plumbing and other trades low skill.
      - ddtaylor 8mo ago
        I agree. I didn't mean to disparage anyone. I have a massive appreciation (and some involvement!) in these trades. The amount of knowledge these guys have about their trade is impressive.
    - paulryanrogers 8mo ago
      Those jobs don't often pay well until you graduate out of journeyman / apprentice, or are a business owner. They usually require some training and testing ahead of time. They also carry a higher risk of serious injury or death.
      - ddtaylor 8mo ago
        The average salary for a software developer in Montana is $88k/yr. The average salary for an HVAC technician in Montana is $58k/yr. The average salary for a software developer in Oregon is $118k/yr. The average salary for an HVAC technician in Oregon is $74k/yr. It's for sure less, but the gap is smaller than some might think. I think some markets (SF) distort the cost a bit.
        iberator 8mo ago
        you will not land job as plumber or HVAC without piór experience or similar experience. People shun software developers at once im because THEY KNOW that you simply don't fit as typical candidate. Also: people doesn't want to hire someone who got 'better' education than them... :/
  - wombatpm 8mo ago
    Who’s buying $6.00 burgers when the old customers have been replaced by AI?
ddtaylor 8mo ago
I have worked in the restaurant industry within the last 5 years and I'm probably older than you.
parpfish 8mo ago
There’s the issue of the job itself being more demanding, but also the managers in “low skilled” jobs being ultra-demanding petty dictators. As a white collar computer guy, I can waste some time on Reddit. Or go for a walk and grab coffee. Or let people know that I’m heading out for a couple of hours to go to the doctor. There are a LOT of little freedoms tha you take for granted if you haven’t worked a shitty minimum wage job. Getting on trouble for punching in one minute late, not being allowed to sit down, socializing too much when you’re not on a break. I’m pretty sure that most tech employees would just quit when encountering a manager like that
sarchertech 8mo ago
> Forget becoming manager at McDonald's or be even good at flipping burgers at the age of 40: you are competing with 20yr olds doing sports with amazing coordination etc I have no idea what in the world you are talking about. Most 20 year olds working at McDonald’s are stoned and move at half a mile an hour whether it’s a lunch rush or it’s 2am. I worked retail for years before I finally switched full time to programming. It’s certainly not full of amazing motivated athletes with excellent coordination. You’re lucky if most of them can show up to work on time more than half the time.
- booleandilemma 8mo ago
  Do you really wanna be competing with those people though? I'll be honest, I don't even want to be in the same room as them.
  - sarchertech 8mo ago
    No, but I’m over the absurd pessimism.
    - ddtaylor 8mo ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_fallacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_fallacy
- ddtaylor 8mo ago
  > It’s certainly not full of amazing motivated athletes with excellent coordination. You’re lucky if most of them can show up to work on time more than half the time. Every once in a while a 16-year old from Ukraine shows up and acts normal and all the other 16-year olds make up rumors about him being 30+ because "how he do that" - very amusing to watch.
- iberator 8mo ago
  I am not in USA. here we got swarms of Ukrainian immigrants who are super slim, fast and motivated. Very hard to compete. Obisity doesn't exist in them heh

Borg3 8mo ago

Ugh.. sorry to hear :( I am myself unemployed right now. Its really hard to land a job in tech.. Luicky, I dont need to flip burgers for now...

fragmede 8mo ago
Who's gonna play you to flip burgers with no experience doing it and everyone else needing a job as well?
- ddtaylor 8mo ago
  There is a huge demand for low-skill labor in other industries. Stuff like plumbing, HVAC, and a ton of other traditionally unsexy jobs that can barely keep enough people in a town to perform these jobs at higher costs than normal.
  - uxcolumbo 8mo ago
    I wouldn’t call plumbing and other trades low skill.
    - ddtaylor 8mo ago
      I agree. I didn't mean to disparage anyone. I have a massive appreciation (and some involvement!) in these trades. The amount of knowledge these guys have about their trade is impressive.
  - paulryanrogers 8mo ago
    Those jobs don't often pay well until you graduate out of journeyman / apprentice, or are a business owner. They usually require some training and testing ahead of time. They also carry a higher risk of serious injury or death.
    - ddtaylor 8mo ago
      The average salary for a software developer in Montana is $88k/yr. The average salary for an HVAC technician in Montana is $58k/yr. The average salary for a software developer in Oregon is $118k/yr. The average salary for an HVAC technician in Oregon is $74k/yr. It's for sure less, but the gap is smaller than some might think. I think some markets (SF) distort the cost a bit.
      - iberator 8mo ago
        you will not land job as plumber or HVAC without piór experience or similar experience. People shun software developers at once im because THEY KNOW that you simply don't fit as typical candidate. Also: people doesn't want to hire someone who got 'better' education than them... :/
- wombatpm 8mo ago
  Who’s buying $6.00 burgers when the old customers have been replaced by AI?

ddtaylor 8mo ago

I have worked in the restaurant industry within the last 5 years and I'm probably older than you.

parpfish 8mo ago

There’s the issue of the job itself being more demanding, but also the managers in “low skilled” jobs being ultra-demanding petty dictators. As a white collar computer guy, I can waste some time on Reddit. Or go for a walk and grab coffee. Or let people know that I’m heading out for a couple of hours to go to the doctor. There are a LOT of little freedoms tha you take for granted if you haven’t worked a shitty minimum wage job. Getting on trouble for punching in one minute late, not being allowed to sit down, socializing too much when you’re not on a break. I’m pretty sure that most tech employees would just quit when encountering a manager like that

sarchertech 8mo ago

> Forget becoming manager at McDonald's or be even good at flipping burgers at the age of 40: you are competing with 20yr olds doing sports with amazing coordination etc I have no idea what in the world you are talking about. Most 20 year olds working at McDonald’s are stoned and move at half a mile an hour whether it’s a lunch rush or it’s 2am. I worked retail for years before I finally switched full time to programming. It’s certainly not full of amazing motivated athletes with excellent coordination. You’re lucky if most of them can show up to work on time more than half the time.

booleandilemma 8mo ago
Do you really wanna be competing with those people though? I'll be honest, I don't even want to be in the same room as them.
- sarchertech 8mo ago
  No, but I’m over the absurd pessimism.
  - ddtaylor 8mo ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_fallacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_fallacy
ddtaylor 8mo ago
> It’s certainly not full of amazing motivated athletes with excellent coordination. You’re lucky if most of them can show up to work on time more than half the time. Every once in a while a 16-year old from Ukraine shows up and acts normal and all the other 16-year olds make up rumors about him being 30+ because "how he do that" - very amusing to watch.
iberator 8mo ago
I am not in USA. here we got swarms of Ukrainian immigrants who are super slim, fast and motivated. Very hard to compete. Obisity doesn't exist in them heh