If AI took away my job and I cannot return to software engineering, I cannot imagine a fit for me at any place yet. I was wondering if anyone else had the same thought and what would you do?
I was President and CEO of my own mail order company just before the internet became the big thing. 6 to 8 employees, LARGE overhead, watched as too many competitors whittled me down to closing the business after just 6 years doing it. Went back into blue collar work, discovered the uber wealthy living on water front property needed someone reliable to install and service their lake water pumps (the submersible pumps worked best, highest performance). 15 years of it. I earned and saved more than I ever imagined, paid off my mortgage, took my son diving on vacations all over the Caribbean and even Indonesia and saved huge for retirement. The key factor was overhead - - - the cost of doing business, this gig had the lowest overhead, 1 day labor guy helped me haul the gear up and down hillsides to the lake and back for about 6 hours on one day each job, I did all the rest. I was part electrician, experienced scuba diver, part plumber, and pump engineer. I already had most all the skills from prior work. My university science degree was pretty much useless to this day.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I do agree that doing our own thing has been an overhead and requires more effort. But wearing multiple hats also helps is what I can see from your experience, Thanks for your insight.
Goto the gym. For many jobs you wouldnt hire someone who looks like a programmer.
More interesting, which would make a better entrepreneur in the long run, someone with limited business logic skills who knows how to code or someone who cant code but knows a thing or two about running a business?
A friend of mine competes with a company with a huge office and 200 enployees. He hired a 14 year old who speaks the main suppliers language. Customers place orders, she checks the agenda, she calls the supplier, negotiates the price, calls the clieint and plans the job in the schedule. 10 million euro materials, 5 people for 3 weeks. Etc
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[ 5.9 ms ] story [ 77.6 ms ] threadHandyman? One of my neighbours used to be a senior sales director. Now he paints fences and assembles flatpack furniture. He seems happy enough.
Or get out of town, buy a shack with some land, try live cheapy off grid, wreck my body hacking turnips from the frozen waterlogged ground.
Retire, try to live off an inadequate pension, hang out in the local public library where its usually warm.
lol that sounds like a solid plan though
> Or get out of town Yea I wonder if everyone would take the same turn
More interesting, which would make a better entrepreneur in the long run, someone with limited business logic skills who knows how to code or someone who cant code but knows a thing or two about running a business?
A friend of mine competes with a company with a huge office and 200 enployees. He hired a 14 year old who speaks the main suppliers language. Customers place orders, she checks the agenda, she calls the supplier, negotiates the price, calls the clieint and plans the job in the schedule. 10 million euro materials, 5 people for 3 weeks. Etc
Move quickly though, drone delivery and robotaxis will soon erase those jobs too.
I was a software engineer but AI made the job miserable according to friends.
I would like to work for Digital Service or CityLab Berlin. The job is cool, the people are cool and I think I'd be helpful there.
It would be significantly worse than my current occupation, but it would still be fun.
Plan C is to coast for a few years where life is cheap, and keep tackling whatever small problems I find interesting.