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Ask HN: What are some comfy/stress-free jobs a SWE can do? (LCOL country)

7 points by ejlanor ↗ HN
Been working as a SWE for almost 7 years, burned out, quit to recover. Thankfully savings are good, so doing well now, but I am starting to think of what comes next.

Living in a pretty cheap country, 20k/year would be more than enough to have a good life, anything over that would go into investments.

Any ideas what kinds I work I should seek out? Sacrificed a lot these past few years to progress my career, so I am looking to minimize stress and enjoy life for the next couple of years.

10 comments

[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 44.1 ms ] thread
FlopV
How much time are you looking to commit ? Are you looking to work remote ? How much $ you looking for a year ?

All that matters

vatican_banker
What hobbies are you passioned about? You hobbies is usually a good place to start looking.
TheCapeGreek
Woah, where is 20k buying a comfy life these days?

Genuinely curious. I'm supposed to be in the third world but COL has become ridiculous in the last few years.

I felt similarly to you not long ago, sometimes still do. Honestly right now SWE is still a valuable skill to get paid for. Leverage your network to find calmer waters after taking a break, or freelance part time instead.

Recovering from burnout in my experience is a combination of changing environment, finding tools to help with mental health, and lots of patience with yourself. If can take years to feel like your old self again, and even then your output never quite comes back the same.

ejlanor
Europe is doable if you got housing handled, not comfortable saying exact country, but my situation is similar to the commenter from The Netherlands.

Bit cheaper than NL here, don't have to pay rent but I am helping family out financially, so ending up around $20k/year too.

pillefitz
I live in Germany and spend around 20k a year, despite living in a rather large flat in one of the most expensive German cities. No car ownership though.
thorin
If you want to live in a low cost of living country you need to learn to live as the locals live. My friends that live overseas in Asia or in Eastern Europe probably spend as much as I do on rent and have servants, drivers etc so they still need to earn quite a bit.

If you don't have any family you could try somewhere relatively close by for short periods and see how you get on e.g. USA->Panama/Costa Rica, Western Europe -> Eastern Europe, or maybe consider Thailand/Vietnam.

giantg2
I'm in the process of being fired. I'll probably end up working retail or or in a warehouse. Almost any low paying jobs can be low stress if you don't give a shit about the company.
andrew_gs
Working as a contractor programming is a pretty good way of recovering from burn-out. You get paid by the hour/day, it's a super clear relationship.

As you're not a permanent staff member it's much easier to ignore all politics and decisions you don't agree with as it's not really your business. Turn-up, do the work, check-out and don't think about work after you sign-out.

You can still do good work, share your opinion on how you would approach things, but as a contractor it's much easier to accept things.

I don't work as a contractor anymore, as ultimately I like to have a stake in the place where I work, but I did enjoy my time as a contractor, and I think it can genuinely help with recovery from burn-out.

pillefitz
Depending on where you live, teaching in part-time?