A Forty Year Career(lethain.com)
lethain.com
A Forty Year Career
https://lethain.com/forty-year-career/
37 comments
The question is though, if I know what I am doing now is not sustainable (vacations are meaningless because "pre-monday dread" hits on day 1 no matter how long I'm taking off for), but I know I'll be out in 9 years vs if I switch to something "sustainable" it will take 20-30 more years to be out: which do I pick? Lots of people say try to do something you like (sustainable), but the rub is I don't like anything that will pay me a livable wage and definitely not anything that will pay me enough to opt out of the working world at some point before I'm like 60-70. Also, I used to really like programming. Like a lot. But now I hate it because I've been forced to program stuff I don't care about all day, every day for a decade. Why would the next time be any different if I switched to a career I enjoy now?
> Also, I used to really like programming. Like a lot. But now I hate it because I've been forced to program stuff I don't care about all day, every day for a decade.
Alternative approach: Find something that you care about and also that the business needs, and program that.
Downside is you have lots of uncomfortable conversations with your manager about how you're not doing what they said to do. You might get bad reviews, or fired, or threats of either. But you probably won't actually get fired because net positive programmers are surprisingly hard to come by.
Upside is you get to enjoy your work. Your skills grow instead of atrophying (or failing ever to develop at all). After a decade or two it's the difference between becoming a powerhouse senior IC, vs being an eternally junior programmer forced into management because you're too useless to justify a senior salary and anyway nobody trusts an old programmer who works for cheap.
For me there's only one possible choice. Autonomy, mastery, purpose, gotta have it.
Alternative approach: Find something that you care about and also that the business needs, and program that.
Downside is you have lots of uncomfortable conversations with your manager about how you're not doing what they said to do. You might get bad reviews, or fired, or threats of either. But you probably won't actually get fired because net positive programmers are surprisingly hard to come by.
Upside is you get to enjoy your work. Your skills grow instead of atrophying (or failing ever to develop at all). After a decade or two it's the difference between becoming a powerhouse senior IC, vs being an eternally junior programmer forced into management because you're too useless to justify a senior salary and anyway nobody trusts an old programmer who works for cheap.
For me there's only one possible choice. Autonomy, mastery, purpose, gotta have it.
This is pretty much what I used to think. If it works out for you, then great, but I think you might find its unrealistic.
I suspect that your 9 year plan is an unrealistic, best-case scenario, that won't come to pass.
Also, 9 years is a long time to survive if you're miserable. I think you may find that at some point, your employer and coworkers notice it, get sick of working with you, and replace you with someone else that really likes programming. Like a lot. But right now, not N years ago.
I suspect that your 9 year plan is an unrealistic, best-case scenario, that won't come to pass.
Also, 9 years is a long time to survive if you're miserable. I think you may find that at some point, your employer and coworkers notice it, get sick of working with you, and replace you with someone else that really likes programming. Like a lot. But right now, not N years ago.
"I know I'll be out in 9 years."
Guessing you FIRE hard? The rule is that people in this field upgrade their lifestyle, the exception is FIRE.
Guessing you FIRE hard? The rule is that people in this field upgrade their lifestyle, the exception is FIRE.
FIRE?
Financial Independence/Retire Early.
One forum: https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/
Travelling instagram minimalists.
I found a lot I could resonate with in that post. My father was in the Air Force and retired at 40 after 20 years in the service. It seemed to me like he had a great deal, a retirement check to cover expenses and time to do what he wanted to do[1]. I wanted to do something like that as well so I resolved to retire at 40 :-). But what I was missing was the understanding of skills that would be useful while "retired."
Thinking about that only came later and so I have spent time (and money) on creating space for lots of exploratory activity. The result is a fairly complete lab where I can work on things and learn new stuff. The goal being a space that is fun and engaging to work in until I die[2]. It wasn't what I expected I would be working toward when I was a kid.
[1] I later learned that money was pretty tight during that period but as a kid I didn't have any visibility into that.
[2] EDIT: It goes without saying that the lab has a low cost to operate so it isn't a drain on my funds over time. My wife commented "You're life's work is to build a fun play room eh?" Which isn't too far from the truth :-)
Thinking about that only came later and so I have spent time (and money) on creating space for lots of exploratory activity. The result is a fairly complete lab where I can work on things and learn new stuff. The goal being a space that is fun and engaging to work in until I die[2]. It wasn't what I expected I would be working toward when I was a kid.
[1] I later learned that money was pretty tight during that period but as a kid I didn't have any visibility into that.
[2] EDIT: It goes without saying that the lab has a low cost to operate so it isn't a drain on my funds over time. My wife commented "You're life's work is to build a fun play room eh?" Which isn't too far from the truth :-)
Military used to be a plumb deal, growing up I knew families where mom and dad were both in the National Guard, they did their one weekend a month, and easily doubled their income. But then the first Iraq war happened, and they started deploying the National Guard, and suddenly kids were left alone with both parents in active war zones, and that killed the deal.
Found this interesting and read up on it a bit.
While war is a terrible thing, I appreciated that the irony wasn't lost on the National Guardsmen :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_weekend_a_month,_two_weeks...
While war is a terrible thing, I appreciated that the irony wasn't lost on the National Guardsmen :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_weekend_a_month,_two_weeks...
I'm in the process of creating such a space for myself. How much space should I dedicate to such a lab? I'm interested in IoT, robotics, databases, wood and metal working.
I'm designing the house around the room. I basically want to build a research lab where I could make any idea a reality -- within reason of course.
Could you offer any guidance from your experience with such a lab? I have a lot of questions like, What kind of floor should it have? How tall should the walls be? How much space do I need for each of the tasks I want to perform in the lab?
Which tools will I need and how much space does each one require? Can I make the tools movable or should the be fixed in place? Do I need a gantry crane?
I'm designing the house around the room. I basically want to build a research lab where I could make any idea a reality -- within reason of course.
Could you offer any guidance from your experience with such a lab? I have a lot of questions like, What kind of floor should it have? How tall should the walls be? How much space do I need for each of the tasks I want to perform in the lab?
Which tools will I need and how much space does each one require? Can I make the tools movable or should the be fixed in place? Do I need a gantry crane?
It kind of depends on what you're doing. Two of my friends have done the 'double decker garage' idea, which is to put the machine/wood shop on the ground floor and the office/electronics on the upper floor. My wife still believes that cars go in garages so I have yet to claim the full downstairs :-).
Things I find most useful in my space are the electronics bench, the computer "station" (3 monitors on a desk), and the "small fab" bench (3D printer, mini-mill (Sherline), various holding jigs). I've got parts and such upstairs but they could reasonably be anywhere.
My activities are primarily small circuit design/build/test, small mechanisms (robot) design/build/test, and algorithm research. These things don't have a lot of consumables per hour of engagement so they can go for a long time on relatively low additional investment.
For larger fabrication having a garage door and a concrete floor are essential. But the kinds of things you want to work on and create is pretty intensely personal usually. A friend who likes to build airplanes built an assembly hanger that was roughly 40' x 60'. I have never found the space I have above the two car garage (and the same size square feet wise) to be an issue.
What I have done over the years is look at the projects on the queue, and the things I want to learn, and then built to support those efforts.
Things I find most useful in my space are the electronics bench, the computer "station" (3 monitors on a desk), and the "small fab" bench (3D printer, mini-mill (Sherline), various holding jigs). I've got parts and such upstairs but they could reasonably be anywhere.
My activities are primarily small circuit design/build/test, small mechanisms (robot) design/build/test, and algorithm research. These things don't have a lot of consumables per hour of engagement so they can go for a long time on relatively low additional investment.
For larger fabrication having a garage door and a concrete floor are essential. But the kinds of things you want to work on and create is pretty intensely personal usually. A friend who likes to build airplanes built an assembly hanger that was roughly 40' x 60'. I have never found the space I have above the two car garage (and the same size square feet wise) to be an issue.
What I have done over the years is look at the projects on the queue, and the things I want to learn, and then built to support those efforts.
Awesome!@ Thank you. I didn't realize there were benchtop mini-mills like that. That's perfect for what I want to do.
I think I'll have enough space! I'm pretty much interested in the same things.k
I think I'll have enough space! I'm pretty much interested in the same things.k
Another problem with retiring early from the military is that they retire you at that point because you’re going to be broken - knees, back, etc.
So you get time and a pension but you’re hobbling around.
So you get time and a pension but you’re hobbling around.
Depends on what you're doing for the military. The further you get from infantry the less likely it is.
I've actually seen evidence of a dipper-scooper: at work, one car has a retired military sticker (Army, IIRC) and a retired from NASA sticker. Whoever it is has three income streams.
Something I've thought about lately is that money in itself is rarely the end we really have in mind, despite our focus on it. Money is usually the means to achieve some end (like financial security).
But more often than not I've realized that while all of my friends are working toward this idea of financial security, very few of them have defined what that actually means. What lifestyle do you want to lead and how much money will that specifically require?
The more I've thought about that, the more I've realized that "financial security" is actually achievable on a fast timescale if we're willing to focus on things like budgeting and perhaps relax some constraints (I want to have a boat, nice car, live in California/NYC, etc).
The things that make me the happiest are having fun (which doesn't require much) and spending time with my family. I could easily find a way to do that indefinitely without needing a post-IPO payday.
Now I'm left wondering where I got the crazy idea that I needed one in the first place.
But more often than not I've realized that while all of my friends are working toward this idea of financial security, very few of them have defined what that actually means. What lifestyle do you want to lead and how much money will that specifically require?
The more I've thought about that, the more I've realized that "financial security" is actually achievable on a fast timescale if we're willing to focus on things like budgeting and perhaps relax some constraints (I want to have a boat, nice car, live in California/NYC, etc).
The things that make me the happiest are having fun (which doesn't require much) and spending time with my family. I could easily find a way to do that indefinitely without needing a post-IPO payday.
Now I'm left wondering where I got the crazy idea that I needed one in the first place.
It’a amazing how much more freedom of choice you get if you limit your spending to necessities. You can choose only jobs that you enjoy, work part time, take sabbaticals, save money/retire early... I honestly think reducing your standard of living can be one of the best ways to improve your quality of life.
> how much money will that specifically require?
A general rule of many in the "financial independence" is 20x annual expenses saved for a sustained life without work.
https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-si...
You sound like a burgeoning F.I.R.E'r. Join us!
A general rule of many in the "financial independence" is 20x annual expenses saved for a sustained life without work.
https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-si...
You sound like a burgeoning F.I.R.E'r. Join us!
The big caveat for this is that it assumes your expenses are flat over your lifetime, and the idea is to drive down your expenses, and can then be happy with your reduced expenses.
It does make some sense, but the simplification sort of drives you in the wrong direction IMHO.
FIRE stands for “Financial Independence Retire Early” (I think it is a good practice to explain acronyms, since those you are trying to inform are the least likely to recognise the acronyms you use!)
It does make some sense, but the simplification sort of drives you in the wrong direction IMHO.
FIRE stands for “Financial Independence Retire Early” (I think it is a good practice to explain acronyms, since those you are trying to inform are the least likely to recognise the acronyms you use!)
It's not clear what is financial security. Many things can go wrong (financial crisis, health problems). If we can earn some money now, maybe we should take it because our skills may not be worth much in a few years.
Money is also used to measure success, and this can have a huge impact on our self-esteem and happiness. It's very common that people choose a lucrative career simply to please their parents, and this makes them happy in return, even though their aren't materialistic.
Money is also used to measure success, and this can have a huge impact on our self-esteem and happiness. It's very common that people choose a lucrative career simply to please their parents, and this makes them happy in return, even though their aren't materialistic.
> Many things can go wrong (financial crisis, health problems).
A developed (personal) definition of financial security should take that into account. You can't control all uncertainty but there are certainly things you can control for.
> It's very common that people choose a lucrative career simply to please their parents, and this makes them happy
Kind of irrelevant. And I personally don't think you should be making major lifestyle choices simply to please one's parents (perhaps a western view), but to each his own.
A developed (personal) definition of financial security should take that into account. You can't control all uncertainty but there are certainly things you can control for.
> It's very common that people choose a lucrative career simply to please their parents, and this makes them happy
Kind of irrelevant. And I personally don't think you should be making major lifestyle choices simply to please one's parents (perhaps a western view), but to each his own.
Been programming since 1965. Still loving every minute of it. If I "retired", I couldn't think of anything more fun to do than programming. Lucky to be self-employed. Still learning.
Yeah, but I'm now learning twelve different ways to spell the same damn thing that junior programmers were doing when I started in 1990. (My career in actually interesting things flamed out by the mid 90s. Don't work for IBM, folks.)
> ”Each day I walk into work, and this slot opens up above my head, and money falls out ... the next day I come back, and the slot reopens; more money falls out.” This is a surprisingly dark way to view your life’s work.
This is a very realistic and nice way to look at money and finances. You were paid to do a job. Take what comes out and put it into all of the appropriate places, then you’ll be ready when you come back to work and — wouldn’t you know it — nothing comes out.
This is a very realistic and nice way to look at money and finances. You were paid to do a job. Take what comes out and put it into all of the appropriate places, then you’ll be ready when you come back to work and — wouldn’t you know it — nothing comes out.
It would be nice if managers read books and cared about managing people effectively. But at nearly every software shop, it's all feel good politics. The director hires his/her bootlicker manager from the previous gig. Nobody cares.
How did we get to the point where, after the introduction, the first point of advice in a guide like this is on avoiding burnout?
If I were to produce a movie with the tag "based on true incidents", this will be it - connects almost every one in my network. Thanks a ton for drafting that.
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It’s really unfortunate to see someone take stock of how the world has changed around us, how it’s no longer possible to get a good job out of high school or buy a house with any kind of reasonable income, and decide that the way the workers have adapted to the situation is to become short-sighted fools.
Amen!