Ask HN: If you quit your computer job, which non-computer craft would you pick
I spend 99% of my work time using computer and I'm considering abandonig this career/business completely. I'm thinking of picking a physical craft. I'm looking for something useful, sonething I could make a living with even if internet ceased to exist. Because I have to feed my family the criteria I must also consider are margins, market need and some scaling capacity (not huge, I don't want to get rich) ...
111 comments
[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 157 ms ] threadBut I already spend a lot of time doing board game design and used to be better about writing. I can do both to an extent without a computer, but I can type a lot faster and with less stress on my hands than with pen and paper, and at some point with board games I have to do graphic design, design/type up a manual, sell sheets, how to play videos, a Tabletop Simulator version (so publishers can test with their teams, that are often not all local anymore, or so I can utilize online playtest groups), and that's just for me pitching the game to a publisher, I'm not even manufacturing the game.
So ideally I'd probably be doing board game design supplemented with writing. Although it's super difficult to make good money with those (not impossible, but very difficult).
I just read a tweet this morning from a pretty well known game designer in the hobby board game industry (Jonny Pac), and he made $22k doing it full-time last year (and $10k! the previous year). And his business and travel expenses were $10k (you have to go to a lot of conventions to network and pitch to publishers if you want a decent chance at having your games signed), so he netted $12k last year[1].
So yeah, don't choose board game design if you care about making money to support your family.
[1]: https://twitter.com/jpaccantin/status/1647455444884156417
Especially considering the restaurant industry is exhausting. Have a few friends who are chefs and they do genuinely enjoy it and are passionate. not sure if I could do that though.
But then again, you can try your luck at the creator lottery with any other topic as well.
But as another commenter said, making a youtube channel or something of the sort could be a great idea - but no sure profits.
And going to culinary school is an absolute pleasure - I highly recommend it for your own knowledge only.
I quite enjoy woodworking, but I don't know how feasible it would be to turn that into a career.
Also if Union gives you work a large amount goes to them. So a lot of people don't go through them.
As a software developer, I get by with a combination of Adderall / Vyvance, software tests, and the freedom to take a day off if I'm feeling particularly flaky.
But I'd imagine that doesn't work with e.g. industrial / commercial electrical work. Partly because schedules assume you're rarely out sick, and partly because making a mistake can kill you or other people.
Already doing it (to a limited degree) for my hobby electronics projects, e.g. to make custom heatsinks.
I'd imagine that depends on where you teach. My sister is a public-school science teacher in a U.S. city, and it's been a horrible experience.
She has very little control over the curriculum, and some students are so disruptive that the rest of the class learns little.
Can you just politely ask them to… go away? My high school teacher did this and it was very pleasant for us that actually wanted to learn.
I presume it was pleasant for the disruptors too since they always seemed more than happy to spend an hour doing something pointless instead.
(One person I know became a middle school teacher at a public school and described it as “easy” compared to her previous job, which was informal education. There is a lot of variability in this profession.)
If I could manage making less money I would probably do gardening.
I would probably go back to some aspect of geology. Part of me still misses it (though, my previous jobs were less glamorous: environmental consultant helping to do environmental remediation on land that people wanted to build McMansions on).
If it could be absolutely anything, prior experience or not: definitely wood working. I don’t know which side of a saw to use, but I’d love to learn.
When you factor in unpaid oncall and unpaid overtime, many programmers are in the same boat.
A dream of mine would be to setup a hostel of sorts, with an area for camping, a cafe, maybe food trucks in the summer?, surf/climbing options nearby and perhaps a partnership with schools/guides.
And the main thing: a big hangar to work on campervan conversions, with a ton of tools available and some staff supervision. The idea being that you bring your van, pay some sort of membership/one-time fee and work on it, with our help.
Perhaps do some in-house conversions for clients, but that would be just a side business to help keep things going.
Just an FYI, but if it’s at an airfield, the FAA can come after you if you don’t also use it for some kind of aviation. I forget the exact wording, but it’s basically to help protect hangar prices for people who fly.
Don't know if Tim has retired, but was a ton of fun to stay there:
https://www.timsplace.com.au/
I imagine any role in the service industry must be way more stressful than most IT gigs.
Post covid things were crazy but hoping it will be normal by end of this year.
- gardening
- assembling lego for Legoland
The worst part is the money... but it's not all about money, right?? :-)
Just trying to understand: when you say "make my schedule Fri-Mon as much as possible", is that for your 'primary' computer-y job or your moonlighting piloting job? How you do prevent conflicts?
Can you 'dictate' the availability for your pilot job? Wouldn't airlines want people that were reliably available rather than 'part-timers'? Or do they like having a pool of 'spares' to fill in gaps for short notice unavailability?