Ask HN: What jobs can I escape to outside of tech?

6 points by ericyd 12 days ago | 1 comment

I’ve found myself increasingly apathetic and depressed about working in tech. I don’t need to elaborate, it isn’t really relevant, and probably many people can guess why or relate.

I’ve started to seriously look at escape plans to get out of tech. Matching the salary for a US engineer is hard, but I’d be willing to take a bit of a pay cut for less apathy and frustration. I want to avoid additional schooling/credential-gathering if possible (short certificates would be fine), but mostly I’m looking for ways to apply my core skillset to another industry (things like systematic problem solving; deep focus and critical thinking; a focus on building quality, durable solutions to problems). I’m not looking for a silver bullet because I have a list of ideas already but I’m curious to crowdsource this question and see if there are any intriguing ideas I hadn’t considered.

saidnooneever 12 days ago |

i like the environment of NGOs. it doesnt even need to be outside of tech perse, but working with humans and aid work can be very rewarding. doesnt really matter the internal job ususally, the atmosphere is very different.

I got really anxious and depressed from big corporate. I work at an innovation NGO now and its night and day. its still tech, trying to push boundaries, but there is none of the stress or anxiousness. lovely environment with ppl who chose lower pay to try n do something "good". the good/bad doesnt really matter. its just different environment , less pressure and weird politics etc. because ppl aint chasing bonusses. ofc, mileage may vary, every organization is different.

Anyway, working with humans can be really nice change, if ur willing to take a hit on the pay, im sure in tech you learn enough skills to be useful somewhere in an organization and get to a place of learning to grow there in a different domain.