Re:Ask HN: Has anyone started over outside of tech?
by jderiksen on Friday March 03, 2023 @10:37AM
(#35010963)
I tried to switch to a different career twice:
1. Full-time musician. Too hard even if you are extremely talented and good at self-promotion. I am good at what I do but I am not a first-call instrumentalist or a charismatic frontperson.
2. Mental health field. I found that the starting pay was too low, didn't relish the idea of going to grad school again, and I found that the training process was too intense for me -- I require a lot of alone time and recharging time.
In both cases I wanted to switch because I had let myself burn out. A key to preventing burnout for me is finding a role where I don't have to sit in multiple meetings a day and where I can work less than 40 hours a week.
1. Full-time musician. Too hard even if you are extremely talented and good at self-promotion. I am good at what I do but I am not a first-call instrumentalist or a charismatic frontperson.
2. Mental health field. I found that the starting pay was too low, didn't relish the idea of going to grad school again, and I found that the training process was too intense for me -- I require a lot of alone time and recharging time.
In both cases I wanted to switch because I had let myself burn out. A key to preventing burnout for me is finding a role where I don't have to sit in multiple meetings a day and where I can work less than 40 hours a week.