Working in tech without being constantly stuck behind a computer?

16 points by nicwhittle 5 years ago | 21 comments

So I’m an engineer and I guess lockdown has made me realise how much happier I am when I’m not sat behind a computer. Although I do enjoy creating things and I’m constantly told how good of an engineer I am, but I really want to step away from having to ‘hyper focus’ and be strapped to my laptop coding.

Anyone work in tech and don’t spend much time behind a computer?

quickthrower2 5 years ago |

I’ve not done this but might be worth considering:

Do calls on your phone (go walking) and todo notes and design on a whiteboard. Only use the computer when you really have to.

maps7 5 years ago |

You could become a technical architect (there's many types). It's less coding and more meetings and discussions about technical roadmaps.

nicwhittle 5 years ago | |

This sounds interesting. Do you have any links of examples etc?

maps7 5 years ago | | |

Here's some 'solution' architect examples:

https://ie.linkedin.com/jobs/view/solutions-architect-lead-e...

https://ie.linkedin.com/jobs/view/associate-solutions-archit...

And a 'cloud' architect:

https://ie.linkedin.com/jobs/view/cloud-architect-at-deloitt...

cyberdrunk 5 years ago | |

I'm an architect. During the pandemic, I'm still stuck 8 hours behind my laptop, just doing calls, presentations etc.

cpach 5 years ago | | |

Good point. Things might revert “back to normal” after the pandemic though. But who knows…

cyberdrunk 5 years ago |

If you hate sitting in front of a computer, you might retrain to be a hardware engineer (e.g. in robotics, aerospace etc.). They can sometimes spend a lot of the time building prototypes or testing the physical component in a lab (of course, there's plenty of hardware jobs where you just spend the whole day in front of a CAD, but you can filter them out during your job search). Unfortunately, this will still require a lot of focus. So, if you're tired with having to be focused all the time, then I'm afraid you need to either get used to it or stop working office jobs entirely (or maybe try to go part-time in software?).

non-entity 5 years ago | |

Wouldn't that require going back to get an entire BSEE at least?

cyberdrunk 5 years ago | | |

Probably, although maybe you can get a job in such shop as a software guy first and learn the ropes there.

Anyway, my bigger point is, if you hate focusing in front of the computer, then software engineering is not a career for you and you need to retrain for something else. But, it's very uncertain if you'll like that other thing. So, maybe it's best to just accept the drawbacks of the current career, as other careers might not be better.

2rsf 5 years ago | | |

Not necessarily, I've worked on embedded products for many years and saw quite a few "pure" software engineers doing a good job.

Not everything in embedded or robotics is related to Electronics, and many things can be easily understood at a level adequate for development.

nicbou 5 years ago |

At least you're not spending time in meetings!

I used to be a software engineer. Now I run a website. I still work behind a computer, but I work a lot less overall. This leaves a lot of time for other activities. All you have to do is somehow launch a website that makes enough money to support you, which is about as easy as winning the lottery.

You could also teach what you know or sell software.

giantg2 5 years ago |

That's nice that you get told that you do a good job.

I second the idea about becoming an architect. There are also other roles like sales engineers, help desk, security consultants, etc. It depends on what you enjoy, how much human interaction you want, and what positions are available in your area.

nicwhittle 5 years ago | |

The architect sounds interesting. Do you have any links for examples etc?

giantg2 5 years ago | | |

There are various types of architects, such as dat architects, software architects, solutions architects, etc. These also vary between companies and seniority.

For example, at my company a data architect helps a project by reviewing the data they plan to use and suggesting where to store it and how to structure the data. They might review a team's plan and provide suggestions. The data architect also might help a team if they are having trouble getting the data they need.

We also have software architects that review projects and consult for the project teams to ensure that the proposed system architecture follow best practices and be efficient. So they might recommend using SNS+SQS instead of just SQS because they see a future need for other projects to access those messages and they could all subscribe to the SNS topic then poll their own SQS that is fed by a filtered subscription to that SNS topic.

Here is a general link for solutions architect. https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/solution-architect/

totetsu 5 years ago |

You could always dictate code aloud..

https://serenade.ai/

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23497756

lazyeye 5 years ago |

Consider the van life and having a mobile office.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg37Cbx-kak

muzani 5 years ago | |

What I really dislike about this line of work is being "stuck" behind a desk. A van sounds even more cramped. I think a lot of us need to commute to maintain our sanity, hence co-working spaces.

totetsu 5 years ago |

+1 for wanting examples of this.

wolco 5 years ago | |

When I did help desk I rarely sit.

When I worked in a factory moving computers I was rarely in front of a computer.