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Ask HN: Have any former developers successfully changed careers?

4 points by leet_thow ↗ HN
I've come to realize that 15 years of experience, a body of work used by hundreds of thousands of people and solid references don't count for anything in this industry if you can't or refuse to solve puzzles in an interview while a junior developer watches and judges you.

I'm thinking of changing careers and living a peaceful and quiet life. I'm wondering if anyone has done so and how it turned out for them.

5 comments

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bsg75
This is a question regularly on my mind, and I can say that the traditional transition to management is not always the solution.

The puzzle mindset, tendency to ignore pragmatic approaches, desire to build solutions that satisfy the requirements 5 years in the future while ignoring those of today can make it very difficult.

Without the correct leadership from the very top-down, middle management can be a daily test of wills, instead of being a role where one makes sure projects get done.

leet_thow
Yeah, no way I want to go into middle management if I don't even receive respect when I come in to interviews for a IC position.
yohann305
once i was in a bar in South Florida and talked to a random guy. He owned a small business mowing city lawns and gardening. He was very heavy so in my mind I couldn't understand how someone that's always working physically outdoor can be this fat. (sorry there aren't any other word in my small English vocabulary pool). It turns out when i told him i'm a software engineer, to my surprise he told me he used to be a DBA and couldn't take this lifestyle any longer and wanted to be outdoors. He successfully transitioned.
throwaway2114
I have similar mindset. My manager is helping me transition to leadership positions but I don't know yet if this is right move for me.

However, I am also looking into software sales. I have introvert personality, and never done sales before. But I have friends who are about as introvert as me and they are doing pretty good in it. As a sales engineer, you make mostly proof of concepts for clients. You might even earn commission at some companies. Requires a lot of travel.

tim333
I've got a friend who was a developer and has moved more to landlording - buying a couple of places on mortgages and renting out. It's gone pretty well. It's something you kind of build up over time.