I don't want to work on computers any more

"Nibbles" (nibbles)
10/31/2013 at 19:19 • Filed to: worklopnik, bad ideas, BEER is goof

I want to do something meaningful with my life, like brew beer. The problem is I've been doing this shit for my entire adult life (and a good chunk of my young life) and I'm not certain that jumping ship for something else that may or may not ever work out is a good idea. Conundrums abound.

DISCUSSION (13)

Anon > Nibbles
10/31/2013 at 19:28

Life is too short to do what you don't want to. Go find something that you want to do, even if it pays less. If it doesn't work out? You go the computer thing to fall back on. 95% of successful people get high up in the world because they do something that they love, not because it makes them money.

davedave1111 > Nibbles
10/31/2013 at 19:33

Retire early, retire often. Best advice anyone ever gave me.

In my experience, having a track record of being good at lots of things opens as many doors as specialism in one thing, and the jobs are more interesting.

I'm only thirty, but I've worked as, amongst other things, a journalist, a chef, a house builder, loads of IT stuff, and project management in various fields - not counting all the short-term stuff. If I'd gone into accountancy ten years ago, they'd probably be about making me partner by now - family connections - and I'd be earning at least twice as much. On the other hand, I'd probably be doing twice the hours, too.

desertdog5051 > Nibbles
10/31/2013 at 19:37

Keep day job for now. Work on perfecting brewing in spare time. Then make move.

TheOnelectronic > Nibbles
10/31/2013 at 19:38

I don't know nothin' bout your life/career, but I feel like Beer Brewing is something you can do in your off time, allowing you to see if you can do it well enough to take on the role of "main occupation."

As someone who is considering moving IN to working on computers, I'm curious; what about it makes you want to abscond? Is it just that you want to do something else, or is there something specific that has sort of... chased you away?

(sorry, my word parts aren't happening today)

Nibbles > TheOnelectronic
10/31/2013 at 19:48

I'm just jaded is all. I'm really good at what I do. I've been desktop support, R&D for server architecture, systems admin and systems engineer. Both of my wrists suffer from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and I can't really stand staring at monitors any more.

The field can be very rewarding. Pay can be awesome as well. It can get rather redundant though.

zx6rob > Nibbles
10/31/2013 at 20:09

I've worked in the technology field for, oh, about seven years now, give or take, and this is a conundrum that I've come up against a couple of times. I've never really had a job that I "love," but I'm fortunate enough to have one that I like, which is, I suspect, as close as most people get. Every now and again, I'll get to thinking, "Is this what I want to do for the rest of my life? Is this truly making me happy? What would I be doing if I could?"

After thinking for a while, though, I'm inevitably drawn back to a single conclusion, and it's become a conviction in which I believe absolutely: never let your passions become your job. See, the thing I really like about my job is that, on-call weeks notwithstanding, I can leave it behind. I can take an entire weekend and do something I really love. If I, instead of being a software engineer, was an auto mechanic, working on cars day in and day out for forty hours a week, I'm not sure how much enthusiasm I could muster up for doing that same thing at home in my off time.

To me, it's a little like reading a book. There are some novels that I have found to be simply incredible, and one of my favorites of all time is Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut's most famous work. I really enjoyed that book, but part of the reason I did so was because I felt no particular obligation to read it; it was purely an act of pleasure, with no schedules dictated to me or demands by anyone or anything outside of my own desire to continue reading. By contrast, I've met other people who had to read the book as part of a course or a class. Some of these people, voracious readers though they were, came away with a very sour impression of Slaughterhouse Five, but it wasn't necessarily because they didn't like the story, or Vonnegut's terse style of writing, or the themes underlying the narrative — it was because they had to read it, because it became an obligation. Even if their initial impressions of the book were favorable, having to continue to read it on someone else's schedule sapped the fun from the act, reducing it to a rote activity: push this many words into your head before you go to sleep so you can pass the test tomorrow.

That obligation to other people is a difficult obstacle when it comes to following your own passions. You want to do the things that you enjoy on your terms. After all, when I daydream about working on cars for a living, I'm thinking about meticulously restoring old Mustangs and Camaros, not listening patiently as an overstressed mother-of-four with high blood pressure explains at high volume that her Honda Odyssey "makes a noise like EEERR-REERRR-REERRRRHHH" when she turns the wheel to the left.

Ultimately, what I ended up deciding was that my job, my stable, boring, sometimes-frustrating job, was the penance I paid, the cost I had to be willing to give up in order to have the resources necessary to pursue my hobbies and passions according to my own whims. After all, it's forty hours a week (give or take); even after my atrocious commute, there's still plenty of time in the week left to live my life for myself.

I'm not sure if you feel the same way about your job; maybe you work more hours, or have greater expenses, or just more commitments outside of work. Regardless, I know from experience that two full-time college students with whom I was acquainted were able to brew what was, by all accounts, a pretty tasty beer by using a cobbled-together setup in a dorm room closet and working in between classes, so if you want to brew beer, you certainly don't have to quit your day job to do it.

In fact, it may be much easier for you to keep your job; if your beer-brewing takes off, if you manage to sell it and start making some money off doing what you really love, you can always quit the computer business for good. If it never progresses beyond a hobby, or if you begin to lose interest, no harm, no foul; your less interesting job is your safety net.

I know this post ran kind of long, but I do hope that you figure out what you want to do; like I said above, I've definitely been at that crossroads before, trying to figure out if I was truly satisfied with my work. As far as I know, no one is ever really certain about that, but you certainly don't have to throw the crankshaft out with the oil pan (because this is a car website, get it?!); start devoting a bit more of your free time each week to doing something that interests you. If you feel like you want to take the jump after that point, go for it.

TheOnelectronic > Nibbles
10/31/2013 at 20:17

Ack wrists :X

Thanks for the input, though. I can see where you're coming from, for sure.

Bad72AMX > Nibbles
10/31/2013 at 21:27

I'm young, but in my opinion the key is doing something related to your interests, but. to your interests. I love cars, but more specifically I love working on cars. Been doing it since I was 11, making money doing it since I was 12. When I was in school for automotive, I was also a tech at a used car lot then a Chrysler dealer. It made me despise working on cars. I got great at it and amassed a tool collection most backyard mechanics would kill for. But I didn't touch my Javelin project that entire time. It also made me hate my job that I couldn't get away from cars. Now, I am an area manager for Chrysler. I spend my days consulting service departments, helping get the resources needed to fix cars, and selling parts. My service managers and techs respect my background and involve me, which keeps my tats for modern cars satiated. And, on the weekend I can work on my cars and relax and enjoy it. It is fantastic.

Nibbles > zx6rob
10/31/2013 at 21:40

I've been fixing computers since I was 9 and getting paid for it since 14 - well over 2/3 of my life has been dedicated to it. Maybe it is my current position. It does really suck (SQL all day long for less money than I've made my entire career). I've been looking around and the IT job market in this area is completely stagnant.

I've been brewing for a few years now. My current setup is in storage, but I'm hoping to pull it out in the spring. I love brewing and I think I may have a knack for it. My best bud has a lot of restaurant experience and we have been kicking around the idea of starting up a brew pub. Maybe it's time to start realizing that dream?

JEM > Nibbles
11/01/2013 at 09:49

I've been working in tech/computers for about 20 years now and I've had this thought before. Graduated college with a Civil/Environmental Eng. degree and wanted to work in water/wastewater treatment and truly make a difference but the tech boom had other plans for me. Did support for awhile, then QA. At some point, I think most (like 80%) people need to leave support and do something else, you get burned out, it's simply just a burnout field. Sure, some people do it for decades but not most.

My last job (5.5 years) was testing video games on graphics cards. Which, I know, sounds awesome to people but it really, really, sucked after a couple years. There was no challenge, no joy, I was doing nothing for society (heck, prob making it worse, I would have rathered work at a firearms manufacturer) and I felt like my brain was rotting. I was in the same place as you basically, desperately needed to make a switch.

Luckily, I got laid off and found a great job doing QA and other stuff for a CAD company where I get to occasionally help customers with stuff. I get to troubleshoot or at least fiddle with rocket designs, plane designs, F1 designs, etc.. and while I might not be saving the planet, I do feel like I'm having a positive influence on the world. Sure, I'm still stuck in front of a monitor (err... 6 monitors actually) but it's metric fuck ton more rewarding and satisfying.

Summation: You sound like you need to make a change of saddle, don't get rid of the whole horse though.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Nibbles
11/01/2013 at 11:40

Destroy your debt ( including your mortgage , if you have a house), by whatever means necessary, save as much as you can, and get your monthly expenses as low as you can.

Do this, and many more options will become viable for you.

Nibbles > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
11/01/2013 at 11:44

In order to do this, I'll need to return to my previous salary. I'm currently making 46% of what I was three months ago. The job market is stale around here, too, but I did just get an invite to a career fair with VMware. I think I'll look into that.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Nibbles
11/01/2013 at 12:11

Sorry to hear it, mate. All the best.

My plan is to sock away as much as I can for the next decade or two, and then start figuring out what my second career will be (more creative and rewarding, making just enough to cover expenses).

I have a BFA in graphic design, but am currently working for a big O&G company as a GIS software specialist.