I am a R&D Engineer for a small company and while I love what I do, it definitely can drive me crazy. I never imagined that I would be in the field that I’m in, but it’s led me to some fantastic...
I am a R&D Engineer for a small company and while I love what I do, it definitely can drive me crazy. I never imagined that I would be in the field that I’m in, but it’s led me to some fantastic places and allowed me to meet some brilliant people. Now that my company is shutting down and I’m starting to look for a new job, I’m so thankful to have been given the opportunity I had. There are not very many positions that excite me while I scroll through page upon page of job postings.
This one is pretty straightforward to attain, it just requires a lot of effort and time (and probably some sacrifice for a career change). Why won't you pursue it?
I want to a researcher. I want to push up against the boundary of human understanding, and discover new knowledge.
This one is pretty straightforward to attain, it just requires a lot of effort and time (and probably some sacrifice for a career change). Why won't you pursue it?
Space Merchant, going to little flea markets outside of the primary shipping routes and selling wares, curios and bespoke merch that would be hard to come by in the outer colonies.
Space Merchant, going to little flea markets outside of the primary shipping routes and selling wares, curios and bespoke merch that would be hard to come by in the outer colonies.
Well currently I am a career Chef. Ideally I would like to run a gourmet food truck. Have a small prep kitchen that supports the truck and then do events and catering and weekend nights park near...
Well currently I am a career Chef. Ideally I would like to run a gourmet food truck. Have a small prep kitchen that supports the truck and then do events and catering and weekend nights park near popular venues and bars. It might sound like a silly dream, but the freedom that comes with it would be wonderful.
My brother just recently quit his job as Chef du Cuisine at a nice restaurant in a tourist town on the beach to pursue his dream of starting his own catering company/ personal chef service. He...
My brother just recently quit his job as Chef du Cuisine at a nice restaurant in a tourist town on the beach to pursue his dream of starting his own catering company/ personal chef service. He started working part time as an electrician to make ends meet for the first two months, but now is so busy that he has been turning down jobs. It also helped that he started doing personal dinners via Instagram where he would give post a dinner in the morning and they would order by noon. He would then fully prep the food so all people had to do was throw it in the oven after they picked it up. He says he’s never been happier and can now schedule his time around his family’s schedule and is making more money than he did as a chef.
Yup, that's the dream. I am currently a Sous in fine dining, in a nicer upscale area. I want to throw it all away for a food truck. But I know once the business is stable I will not only be...
Yup, that's the dream. I am currently a Sous in fine dining, in a nicer upscale area. I want to throw it all away for a food truck. But I know once the business is stable I will not only be happier I will make loads more money (and more importantly be working for myself).
Not in my area actually. I live in a mountain resort community and over the last few decades food trucks have basically all been outlawed. On the one hand, the Ski Areas in the region dont want...
Not in my area actually. I live in a mountain resort community and over the last few decades food trucks have basically all been outlawed. On the one hand, the Ski Areas in the region dont want them undercutting their food profits and most of the towns think it would be a negative impact on their "image". If I can get enough support and get permitted I will have very little real competition. I grew up in this community and I live in an area where being a "local" is pretty valued, so I have that on my side. Plus I was serious when I said "gourmet" food truck, I work in fine dining currently and have no intention of going back to cooking burgers. Higher quality items at a fairly reasonable (while still being cheaper than the resorts) price.
I love a good food truck. I'm from a small ski town as well (or at least it used to be small) and I find it hard to imagine having a thriving food truck. We have one restaurant that pulls one out...
I love a good food truck. I'm from a small ski town as well (or at least it used to be small) and I find it hard to imagine having a thriving food truck. We have one restaurant that pulls one out for big events now and then, but it mostly does its business in the bigger city nearby. Now maybe the town setup is really different where you're at, but who do you imagine would make up your customer base? If it were my town, I'd imagine it would be tourists and the busiest time and place would be near the resort when the lifts close, but apres ski and dinner plans are always a big deal and the temptation for a quick bite, as awesome as it will be, might not be enough to compete. And like you said, resorts might not be too excited about your presence, so being close enough to those potential customers could be a challenge. Outside of the resorts, the only other place that generates enough foot traffic during any part of the day has restaurants all over the place. As for locals, they can be spread out and arent always in the resort/touristy areas, so finding them during lunch could be a challenge. Most resort towns I've been to have a similar layout - outside of the resorts and the main street everything else is spread out with neighborhoods or fields in between. Is there a place in your town where you think you can set up and be successful until you get a loyal following and enough buzz to be a place people actively seek?
Ideally I would start things off in autumn, it's our slowest time of year but we still have some tourist traffic from "leafers". That would allow me to have a soft opening in the slow season to...
who do you imagine would make up your customer base?
Ideally I would start things off in autumn, it's our slowest time of year but we still have some tourist traffic from "leafers". That would allow me to have a soft opening in the slow season to test things out and get a feel for how it will fit into the community.
My mountain town sounds a bit larger than what you might be thinking. I live in Summit County, CO (specifically Frisco, CO.). So just in my area I have the busiest resorts in North America (Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mtn, Arapahoe Basin, Loveland and Vail are all nearby) and while we do have a base population of around 50,000 in peak season our population booms to well over 200,000
I wouldnt have a set location, but multiple regular spots. Maybe even a schedule set up so people can find us. We have a few (3-4) breweries in the area that dont serve food, so those would be great locations to park. Then there is always parking in/near the resort parking lots. While it wouldn't be ideally what I want to do food wise coffee/coco/breakfast would sell amazing while people are on their way to ski first thing in the morning. Then Friday/Saturday nights would be the truck bar hopping, basically start at the breweries that dont serve food early on, then move late night to the local bars where everyone tends to finish their evenings (for late night drunken munchies). Throughout the week sales would be primarily tourism/catering and maybe a regular spot off the main drag in my specific town (head up to the resorts to serve breakfast, be back on mainstreet in time for lunch).
I know how I would do it, I even have a rough menu planned out and since I have been in the restaurant industry in this area for about 15 years I have the support of the local restaurant owners (and plenty of employees I can steal).
My biggest issues is permitting. I want to be able to roam, or at the very least have 5-10 locations where I can park. For it to work out I would need to be able to move (different locations for Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner/Latenight, or else I might as well just open a restaurant. I will have to work through permits and ordinances for 4-5 different towns, the USFS, the county, state and deal with backlash from the resorts (Vail Resorts will not be ok with it).
Where I stand now, I have a very great plan, I am the first to do it, I have potential staff, a general idea of the menu and route. I just dont have the capital to start the legal process. They say getting permits can cost more than the truck.
Thanks! Yea, I live in a nicer area that is very obsessed with the "mountain town" image (lots of awful HOAs and town ordinances). Hopefully I can find a way around it and get community support.
Thanks! Yea, I live in a nicer area that is very obsessed with the "mountain town" image (lots of awful HOAs and town ordinances). Hopefully I can find a way around it and get community support.
I would like to be either a musician or a writer. Neither is likely to happen. Writer is the most likely option. But I quite simply do not have the self discipline and concentration to actually...
I would like to be either a musician or a writer. Neither is likely to happen.
Writer is the most likely option. But I quite simply do not have the self discipline and concentration to actually write a novel. I have actually been thinking about pivoting to journalism as a career because there is a lot of structure and accountability, relatively speaking. It's just a matter if I can motivate myself to write about things I couldn't care less about.
Making a living as a musician is just plain impossible, though. I have no talent and I wasn't lucky enough to have anyone to encourage me to practice when I was a kid. More than anything I just want to write music. I don't want to bother with self-promotion, which I hate. But I guess that means the performer part of the dream is unrealistic in yet another way.
I actually have one of my dream jobs! I work as an English teacher in China. The kids are adorable, I make enough to have a nice quality of life, I have no stress from work and rarely take it home...
I actually have one of my dream jobs! I work as an English teacher in China. The kids are adorable, I make enough to have a nice quality of life, I have no stress from work and rarely take it home with me, and I've been able to visit 10 countries since starting 18 months ago! I always wanted to teach and this job satisfies that itch while also taking away most of the challenges and bullshit that grind people down and steer them away from the profession. Still, I never thought I would love working with young kids this much, and now I wish I started sooner.
If I could do anything else, my other dream job would be a writer, producer, or showrunner for a television comedy. 30 Rock premiered when I was in high school and from the moment I saw it, I wanted Liz Lemon's job. I just think it would be so much fun to work in a creative environment with a bunch of funny and talented people. My favorite class in high school was TV productions where the students would put on the morning announcements and sprinkle in a few student-made videos. I loved every aspect of it and would make videos that a lot of people enjoyed. Fear basically kept me away from ever admitting that I wanted to work in television, so when I graduated and decided my major, I didn't even consider something that could help me get in the insustry. At the same time, however, I also got really political and idealistic, which lead me toward teaching, so I don't have any regrets about the path I chose.
I’d love to quit my job and get out of the software industry and get into something more with my hands or manual. I like the company I currently work for a lot and love my team members, but in...
I’d love to quit my job and get out of the software industry and get into something more with my hands or manual. I like the company I currently work for a lot and love my team members, but in general I find the average male software engineer I meet to be just exhausting and not someone I really want to be around. The work is pretty meh but I find the parts of my day I enjoy the most are manually racking/unracking servers and data center clean-up days. But the cost of living in this city is bonkers and my partner and I depend on my salary to make ends meet so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’m not miserable so itll do, I just don’t see me ever finding another company I like working for like this one. I would love to do something more labor-based if it was feasible.
Actually if we get to dream big: I’d love to be able to spend my time working to save the ocean. I fucking love marine life and the way we treat the ocean is just... terrible. I do what I can in my free time but I’d love to be able to spend all my time out there working to clean it up. Or I guess environmentalism in general.
Partially off topic, how would someone (without formal schooling in the subject) pursue a job in software? I don't know if I'd ever actually change fields but it's something I've always wanted to...
Partially off topic, how would someone (without formal schooling in the subject) pursue a job in software? I don't know if I'd ever actually change fields but it's something I've always wanted to do since I read my first HTML how-to and dabbled in my first qbasic program (both were about 18-20 years ago).
Hey! Sorry to have not responded to this. Part of the reason I was hesitant is because I don't think I'm a great source to ask for this. 100% of my computer science knowledge is from formal...
Hey! Sorry to have not responded to this. Part of the reason I was hesitant is because I don't think I'm a great source to ask for this. 100% of my computer science knowledge is from formal education or from learning something on the fly for work. It often feels like I'm one of the few people in software who doesn't spend time outside their 9-5 studying programming. @Deimos and others around here who are way more invested in software as a field and as a hobby have lots of really good advice that I would suggest taking over mine. If you have time and some disposable income, I have been told linuxacademy is the best place to go for learning anything computer science based. Without knowing more about what you like about software and your goals with a possible transition would be I wouldn't want to give too specific of advice. I think software is way too diverse a field for me to feel comfortable giving too many specific suggestions.
You should be able to search tildes and find some threads where people discuss this. I know they've come up in the past but I rarely pay much attention to them. Sorry I can't be of more help to you :/
Yeah I should clarify: These things apply to myself as well, the important difference being that I view this traits and negatives that I want to grow away from, whereas many in the industry (at...
Yeah I should clarify: These things apply to myself as well, the important difference being that I view this traits and negatives that I want to grow away from, whereas many in the industry (at least those I have encountered) wear it more as a badge of honor/embrace it/are proud of it. Idk. I have become friends with people on my commute home who are blue color/union/trade/hourly employees at various places (the train is really hit or miss so we sometimes get 20-30 minutes to talk and get to know each other) and I just feel so much happier and better talking to them. I still catch myself acting the way I say I hate sometimes, but for the most part I feel way more relaxed and like I'm just talking to people who want to shoot the shit and hang out and I like that version of myself more and like being around people who are like that and encourage that behavior more. It's why I have been looking at and posting on tildes less. I dislike the way I feel when I get into arguments here. I'm sticking around for now to see if I can be a better person on tildes, but if not I'm probably going to drop the site before I go back to being the person I dislike.
I think it is really important that people interact with other industries. It drives me up a wall listening to software engineers talk about jobs and lifestyles they've never lived but love to be critics of or look down on. But that's not only a software problem. Sorry, I meant to respond to this comment and somewhere it turned into my current crisis of poverty, classism, and the labor force.
I’m an “imagineer”. I sit in a comfortable chair all day long and come up with ideas for movies, video games, novels and TV Shows. I have a team of competent writers, developers and filmmakers...
I’m an “imagineer”. I sit in a comfortable chair all day long and come up with ideas for movies, video games, novels and TV Shows. I have a team of competent writers, developers and filmmakers that execute my ideas to perfection, as well as publishers and marketers that turn all my projects into world wide successes.
Idea: a man with maladaptive dreaming quite literally finds the woman of his dreams. But she is not what she appears. I want a 105min movie by Denis Villeneuve, a 75'000 novel by Stephen King and...
maladaptive dreaming
Idea: a man with maladaptive dreaming quite literally finds the woman of his dreams. But she is not what she appears.
I want a 105min movie by Denis Villeneuve, a 75'000 novel by Stephen King and a series of comic books by Allan Moore at my desk by Monday.
Some part of me is still clinging on to my early-twenties dream of being a touring musician. I toured with several bands in my younger years but bills and a job got in the way. There's something...
Some part of me is still clinging on to my early-twenties dream of being a touring musician. I toured with several bands in my younger years but bills and a job got in the way. There's something about sharing a van, hotel, stage, etc. with a few other people for like a month straight, and I really enjoy meeting new people who take time to see my/our shows.
Probably working professionally in game design/development or some type of software development. I don't know if I'd be good at the latter, but I think I'd be good at the former. If not those,...
Probably working professionally in game design/development or some type of software development. I don't know if I'd be good at the latter, but I think I'd be good at the former.
Honestly, mine has been very similar where I've wanted to pursue multiple interests, from working as a journalist/photojournalist and getting the stories that need to be told, being a rocket...
Honestly, mine has been very similar where I've wanted to pursue multiple interests, from working as a journalist/photojournalist and getting the stories that need to be told, being a rocket engineer or astronaut, and generally a bunch of things. I used to dream about doing all of these things when I was young, and I guess I'm too stubborn and too scared to let my dreams die. Which does lead into my current conundrum about my dissatisfaction with the major I'm studying, yet also realization that nothing would probably satisfy my desires.
However, the one thing that I want to do the most is probably be a designer at a firm like IDEO, to be able to work with people from all different disciplines and majors to solve some of the most pressing issues worldwide. I've always been interested in how all of the pieces connect, and how to attack the root of the issues that we face worldwide and even nationally (in the US, at least). In a way, it's kind of the fufillment of that dream of exploring it all, and kind of becoming a renaissance man to do real lasting good for the world. To work and collaborate with others while we all learn and feed off of each other feels like the perfect place to be. It is what keeps me going in my current major, and I seriously hope that one day I get the chance to really apply and have an interview for there. I know they are insanely hard to get into, my career advisor literally put it along the same level as becoming an astronaut, so I obviously have a ways to go.
Still, I'm kind of one to dream big, and ambitious enough to try to catch them all. To chase that dream I'm generally always trying to learn and grow and better myself every day. I don't watch TV anymore and almost everything I do online is with the intent that I'm trying to learn further. I'll especially go on little research periods where I'll study things like UBI, or Media Studies, or City/Urban Design, or how the Google Glass works.
Sorry I kind of went longer than the topic of the post, but it has been something that has been on my mind for over a year now. Life kind of has a way of doing everything it can to take away our dreams, and turn us into little boring grey squares, and I'm absolutely terrified of becoming one of those. Keep the dream alive folks, it seems to be getting harder every day to do so, but I will if you do to.
It's quite fascinating, I wasn't aware such organizations even existed. I'm like you in the sense that I am enamoured with the idea of being a renaissance man, seeing it seemingly accomplished by...
However, the one thing that I want to do the most is probably be a designer at a firm like IDEO, to be able to work with people from all different disciplines and majors to solve some of the most pressing issues worldwide.
It's quite fascinating, I wasn't aware such organizations even existed. I'm like you in the sense that I am enamoured with the idea of being a renaissance man, seeing it seemingly accomplished by groups like this is very interesting and alluring. Thanks for sharing.
I want to have unlimited time for things that interest me and never have to worry about keeping a schedule or performing tasks on behalf of a company. I would be able to do whatever I want...
I want to have unlimited time for things that interest me and never have to worry about keeping a schedule or performing tasks on behalf of a company. I would be able to do whatever I want whenever I want and have enough money to afford most things even if it requires saving for a bit. I want to work hard and accomplish many different things but I don't want to "work" per se.
Not sure what job that would be or how I'd get it, but that'd be my dream.
Haha, what you're describing is definitely "no job". You'd either need to have built up enough savings beforehand or some form of passive income to be able to support it. Any actual job is going...
Haha, what you're describing is definitely "no job". You'd either need to have built up enough savings beforehand or some form of passive income to be able to support it.
Any actual job is going to come with at least some responsibility or expectation that you'll do something if needed, so the only way to be free of that is to not need your money to come from someone else.
So, your dream job is... retirement. Unless you're independently wealthy or plan on marrying someone who is, your best bet is to embrace some long-term planning, study up on the core tenets of the...
So, your dream job is... retirement.
Unless you're independently wealthy or plan on marrying someone who is, your best bet is to embrace some long-term planning, study up on the core tenets of the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement, and put in the hard work today for that sweet no-work payoff of tomorrow.
Saving since 19 is great! The FIRE life can be pretty extreme, but the magic of compounding interest will pay off in time and you'll be creatively doing nothing before you know it. :)
Saving since 19 is great! The FIRE life can be pretty extreme, but the magic of compounding interest will pay off in time and you'll be creatively doing nothing before you know it. :)
I am a R&D Engineer for a small company and while I love what I do, it definitely can drive me crazy. I never imagined that I would be in the field that I’m in, but it’s led me to some fantastic places and allowed me to meet some brilliant people. Now that my company is shutting down and I’m starting to look for a new job, I’m so thankful to have been given the opportunity I had. There are not very many positions that excite me while I scroll through page upon page of job postings.
This one is pretty straightforward to attain, it just requires a lot of effort and time (and probably some sacrifice for a career change). Why won't you pursue it?
Space Merchant, going to little flea markets outside of the primary shipping routes and selling wares, curios and bespoke merch that would be hard to come by in the outer colonies.
Nice, mine would be space explorer
Well currently I am a career Chef. Ideally I would like to run a gourmet food truck. Have a small prep kitchen that supports the truck and then do events and catering and weekend nights park near popular venues and bars. It might sound like a silly dream, but the freedom that comes with it would be wonderful.
My brother just recently quit his job as Chef du Cuisine at a nice restaurant in a tourist town on the beach to pursue his dream of starting his own catering company/ personal chef service. He started working part time as an electrician to make ends meet for the first two months, but now is so busy that he has been turning down jobs. It also helped that he started doing personal dinners via Instagram where he would give post a dinner in the morning and they would order by noon. He would then fully prep the food so all people had to do was throw it in the oven after they picked it up. He says he’s never been happier and can now schedule his time around his family’s schedule and is making more money than he did as a chef.
Yup, that's the dream. I am currently a Sous in fine dining, in a nicer upscale area. I want to throw it all away for a food truck. But I know once the business is stable I will not only be happier I will make loads more money (and more importantly be working for myself).
I'm curious about how the economics look to you. It seems like there are lots of food trucks. Wouldn't there be some pretty stiff competition?
Not in my area actually. I live in a mountain resort community and over the last few decades food trucks have basically all been outlawed. On the one hand, the Ski Areas in the region dont want them undercutting their food profits and most of the towns think it would be a negative impact on their "image". If I can get enough support and get permitted I will have very little real competition. I grew up in this community and I live in an area where being a "local" is pretty valued, so I have that on my side. Plus I was serious when I said "gourmet" food truck, I work in fine dining currently and have no intention of going back to cooking burgers. Higher quality items at a fairly reasonable (while still being cheaper than the resorts) price.
I love a good food truck. I'm from a small ski town as well (or at least it used to be small) and I find it hard to imagine having a thriving food truck. We have one restaurant that pulls one out for big events now and then, but it mostly does its business in the bigger city nearby. Now maybe the town setup is really different where you're at, but who do you imagine would make up your customer base? If it were my town, I'd imagine it would be tourists and the busiest time and place would be near the resort when the lifts close, but apres ski and dinner plans are always a big deal and the temptation for a quick bite, as awesome as it will be, might not be enough to compete. And like you said, resorts might not be too excited about your presence, so being close enough to those potential customers could be a challenge. Outside of the resorts, the only other place that generates enough foot traffic during any part of the day has restaurants all over the place. As for locals, they can be spread out and arent always in the resort/touristy areas, so finding them during lunch could be a challenge. Most resort towns I've been to have a similar layout - outside of the resorts and the main street everything else is spread out with neighborhoods or fields in between. Is there a place in your town where you think you can set up and be successful until you get a loyal following and enough buzz to be a place people actively seek?
Ideally I would start things off in autumn, it's our slowest time of year but we still have some tourist traffic from "leafers". That would allow me to have a soft opening in the slow season to test things out and get a feel for how it will fit into the community.
My mountain town sounds a bit larger than what you might be thinking. I live in Summit County, CO (specifically Frisco, CO.). So just in my area I have the busiest resorts in North America (Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mtn, Arapahoe Basin, Loveland and Vail are all nearby) and while we do have a base population of around 50,000 in peak season our population booms to well over 200,000
I wouldnt have a set location, but multiple regular spots. Maybe even a schedule set up so people can find us. We have a few (3-4) breweries in the area that dont serve food, so those would be great locations to park. Then there is always parking in/near the resort parking lots. While it wouldn't be ideally what I want to do food wise coffee/coco/breakfast would sell amazing while people are on their way to ski first thing in the morning. Then Friday/Saturday nights would be the truck bar hopping, basically start at the breweries that dont serve food early on, then move late night to the local bars where everyone tends to finish their evenings (for late night drunken munchies). Throughout the week sales would be primarily tourism/catering and maybe a regular spot off the main drag in my specific town (head up to the resorts to serve breakfast, be back on mainstreet in time for lunch).
I know how I would do it, I even have a rough menu planned out and since I have been in the restaurant industry in this area for about 15 years I have the support of the local restaurant owners (and plenty of employees I can steal).
My biggest issues is permitting. I want to be able to roam, or at the very least have 5-10 locations where I can park. For it to work out I would need to be able to move (different locations for Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner/Latenight, or else I might as well just open a restaurant. I will have to work through permits and ordinances for 4-5 different towns, the USFS, the county, state and deal with backlash from the resorts (Vail Resorts will not be ok with it).
Where I stand now, I have a very great plan, I am the first to do it, I have potential staff, a general idea of the menu and route. I just dont have the capital to start the legal process. They say getting permits can cost more than the truck.
Good luck, EscReality! That sounds wonderful, and boo on the community for viewing food trucks as a negative. Food truck food can be soooo good!
Thanks! Yea, I live in a nicer area that is very obsessed with the "mountain town" image (lots of awful HOAs and town ordinances). Hopefully I can find a way around it and get community support.
I would like to be either a musician or a writer. Neither is likely to happen.
Writer is the most likely option. But I quite simply do not have the self discipline and concentration to actually write a novel. I have actually been thinking about pivoting to journalism as a career because there is a lot of structure and accountability, relatively speaking. It's just a matter if I can motivate myself to write about things I couldn't care less about.
Making a living as a musician is just plain impossible, though. I have no talent and I wasn't lucky enough to have anyone to encourage me to practice when I was a kid. More than anything I just want to write music. I don't want to bother with self-promotion, which I hate. But I guess that means the performer part of the dream is unrealistic in yet another way.
I actually have one of my dream jobs! I work as an English teacher in China. The kids are adorable, I make enough to have a nice quality of life, I have no stress from work and rarely take it home with me, and I've been able to visit 10 countries since starting 18 months ago! I always wanted to teach and this job satisfies that itch while also taking away most of the challenges and bullshit that grind people down and steer them away from the profession. Still, I never thought I would love working with young kids this much, and now I wish I started sooner.
If I could do anything else, my other dream job would be a writer, producer, or showrunner for a television comedy. 30 Rock premiered when I was in high school and from the moment I saw it, I wanted Liz Lemon's job. I just think it would be so much fun to work in a creative environment with a bunch of funny and talented people. My favorite class in high school was TV productions where the students would put on the morning announcements and sprinkle in a few student-made videos. I loved every aspect of it and would make videos that a lot of people enjoyed. Fear basically kept me away from ever admitting that I wanted to work in television, so when I graduated and decided my major, I didn't even consider something that could help me get in the insustry. At the same time, however, I also got really political and idealistic, which lead me toward teaching, so I don't have any regrets about the path I chose.
I’d love to quit my job and get out of the software industry and get into something more with my hands or manual. I like the company I currently work for a lot and love my team members, but in general I find the average male software engineer I meet to be just exhausting and not someone I really want to be around. The work is pretty meh but I find the parts of my day I enjoy the most are manually racking/unracking servers and data center clean-up days. But the cost of living in this city is bonkers and my partner and I depend on my salary to make ends meet so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’m not miserable so itll do, I just don’t see me ever finding another company I like working for like this one. I would love to do something more labor-based if it was feasible.
Actually if we get to dream big: I’d love to be able to spend my time working to save the ocean. I fucking love marine life and the way we treat the ocean is just... terrible. I do what I can in my free time but I’d love to be able to spend all my time out there working to clean it up. Or I guess environmentalism in general.
Partially off topic, how would someone (without formal schooling in the subject) pursue a job in software? I don't know if I'd ever actually change fields but it's something I've always wanted to do since I read my first HTML how-to and dabbled in my first qbasic program (both were about 18-20 years ago).
Hey! Sorry to have not responded to this. Part of the reason I was hesitant is because I don't think I'm a great source to ask for this. 100% of my computer science knowledge is from formal education or from learning something on the fly for work. It often feels like I'm one of the few people in software who doesn't spend time outside their 9-5 studying programming. @Deimos and others around here who are way more invested in software as a field and as a hobby have lots of really good advice that I would suggest taking over mine. If you have time and some disposable income, I have been told linuxacademy is the best place to go for learning anything computer science based. Without knowing more about what you like about software and your goals with a possible transition would be I wouldn't want to give too specific of advice. I think software is way too diverse a field for me to feel comfortable giving too many specific suggestions.
You should be able to search tildes and find some threads where people discuss this. I know they've come up in the past but I rarely pay much attention to them. Sorry I can't be of more help to you :/
No worried at all, friend! Thanks for taking the time to reply, regardless. 😊
Yeah I should clarify: These things apply to myself as well, the important difference being that I view this traits and negatives that I want to grow away from, whereas many in the industry (at least those I have encountered) wear it more as a badge of honor/embrace it/are proud of it. Idk. I have become friends with people on my commute home who are blue color/union/trade/hourly employees at various places (the train is really hit or miss so we sometimes get 20-30 minutes to talk and get to know each other) and I just feel so much happier and better talking to them. I still catch myself acting the way I say I hate sometimes, but for the most part I feel way more relaxed and like I'm just talking to people who want to shoot the shit and hang out and I like that version of myself more and like being around people who are like that and encourage that behavior more. It's why I have been looking at and posting on tildes less. I dislike the way I feel when I get into arguments here. I'm sticking around for now to see if I can be a better person on tildes, but if not I'm probably going to drop the site before I go back to being the person I dislike.
I think it is really important that people interact with other industries. It drives me up a wall listening to software engineers talk about jobs and lifestyles they've never lived but love to be critics of or look down on. But that's not only a software problem. Sorry, I meant to respond to this comment and somewhere it turned into my current crisis of poverty, classism, and the labor force.
I’m an “imagineer”. I sit in a comfortable chair all day long and come up with ideas for movies, video games, novels and TV Shows. I have a team of competent writers, developers and filmmakers that execute my ideas to perfection, as well as publishers and marketers that turn all my projects into world wide successes.
Almost sounds like maladaptive dreaming.
Idea: a man with maladaptive dreaming quite literally finds the woman of his dreams. But she is not what she appears.
I want a 105min movie by Denis Villeneuve, a 75'000 novel by Stephen King and a series of comic books by Allan Moore at my desk by Monday.
Creating small programmes that solve one problem and do it reasonably well. Preferably without a strict time limit.
Some part of me is still clinging on to my early-twenties dream of being a touring musician. I toured with several bands in my younger years but bills and a job got in the way. There's something about sharing a van, hotel, stage, etc. with a few other people for like a month straight, and I really enjoy meeting new people who take time to see my/our shows.
Probably working professionally in game design/development or some type of software development. I don't know if I'd be good at the latter, but I think I'd be good at the former.
If not those, then something creative.
None of those things are what I do for my job.
Ambassador... but it'll never happen unless I donate/bundle 100s of millions of dollars to a US presidential candidate. Ah well.
Honestly, mine has been very similar where I've wanted to pursue multiple interests, from working as a journalist/photojournalist and getting the stories that need to be told, being a rocket engineer or astronaut, and generally a bunch of things. I used to dream about doing all of these things when I was young, and I guess I'm too stubborn and too scared to let my dreams die. Which does lead into my current conundrum about my dissatisfaction with the major I'm studying, yet also realization that nothing would probably satisfy my desires.
However, the one thing that I want to do the most is probably be a designer at a firm like IDEO, to be able to work with people from all different disciplines and majors to solve some of the most pressing issues worldwide. I've always been interested in how all of the pieces connect, and how to attack the root of the issues that we face worldwide and even nationally (in the US, at least). In a way, it's kind of the fufillment of that dream of exploring it all, and kind of becoming a renaissance man to do real lasting good for the world. To work and collaborate with others while we all learn and feed off of each other feels like the perfect place to be. It is what keeps me going in my current major, and I seriously hope that one day I get the chance to really apply and have an interview for there. I know they are insanely hard to get into, my career advisor literally put it along the same level as becoming an astronaut, so I obviously have a ways to go.
Still, I'm kind of one to dream big, and ambitious enough to try to catch them all. To chase that dream I'm generally always trying to learn and grow and better myself every day. I don't watch TV anymore and almost everything I do online is with the intent that I'm trying to learn further. I'll especially go on little research periods where I'll study things like UBI, or Media Studies, or City/Urban Design, or how the Google Glass works.
Sorry I kind of went longer than the topic of the post, but it has been something that has been on my mind for over a year now. Life kind of has a way of doing everything it can to take away our dreams, and turn us into little boring grey squares, and I'm absolutely terrified of becoming one of those. Keep the dream alive folks, it seems to be getting harder every day to do so, but I will if you do to.
It's quite fascinating, I wasn't aware such organizations even existed. I'm like you in the sense that I am enamoured with the idea of being a renaissance man, seeing it seemingly accomplished by groups like this is very interesting and alluring. Thanks for sharing.
I want to have unlimited time for things that interest me and never have to worry about keeping a schedule or performing tasks on behalf of a company. I would be able to do whatever I want whenever I want and have enough money to afford most things even if it requires saving for a bit. I want to work hard and accomplish many different things but I don't want to "work" per se.
Not sure what job that would be or how I'd get it, but that'd be my dream.
Haha, what you're describing is definitely "no job". You'd either need to have built up enough savings beforehand or some form of passive income to be able to support it.
Any actual job is going to come with at least some responsibility or expectation that you'll do something if needed, so the only way to be free of that is to not need your money to come from someone else.
So, your dream job is... retirement.
Unless you're independently wealthy or plan on marrying someone who is, your best bet is to embrace some long-term planning, study up on the core tenets of the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement, and put in the hard work today for that sweet no-work payoff of tomorrow.
Saving since 19 is great! The FIRE life can be pretty extreme, but the magic of compounding interest will pay off in time and you'll be creatively doing nothing before you know it. :)