Ask HN: What occupation or field would you take if money wasn't a concern? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What occupation or field would you take if money wasn't a concern?

*Asuming that you would take an occupation or a field.

I like what I do today, but I can tell you there are a few other things that I considered pursuing over the years, and fall into the bucket of other things I could see myself doing.

1. Private Detective

2. Strength & Conditioning Coach

3. Explorer / Adventurer

4. Firefighter

Writer.

I don't know, though. I actually have running code out in the field. If I wrote, would I have books that anyone read? The odds are against me.

Outdoor guide - I've spent most of my adult life exploring the Rocky Mountains, and would love to show them to people for a living.

Same. Teaching curious people respect and ethics for the outdoors, and passing on the things that make me feel most “alive” would be amazing.

I'd be teaching kids Maths, Science and Computer Science.

Amen

Running an intricate, possibly multi-part escape room. I love them but lament that once you go through one it has little replay value. Engineering a real world game framework that allows for both modularity in changing the puzzle and emergent game solutions would be a large part of what I’d strive for.

There is a human maze located in Panama City, FL that is built to be modular. They change the layout once every three months or so. Although I'm sure a modular escape room would be much more difficult to construct!

I'd use my unlimited funds to go to school and eventually be able to land a position working on a team pursuing Space Exploration and what not.

EDIT

Assuming money wasn't a concern, I'd likely work for free as well as find ways to profit from my work so that I could hire more people, pursue larger goals, etc...

I've found a couple interesting open-source/non-profit related sites I'm going to be looking into. Thanks for the inspiring Ask HN post.

https://libre.space

https://code.nasa.gov/

https://essr.esa.int/

http://www.planetary.org/get-involved/volunteer/

http://www.spaceenterpriseinstitute.org/

https://www.spacefoundation.org

I'd do precisely what I'm doing now, which is a mix of open source and contract work.

I can't really think of a time beyond my first job in which money was anything other than an academic point scoring exercise. It didn't feel that way at the time, but to be honest, if you just work and don't spend it all, a few years later you're basically immune to money issues.

I don't think that it makes sense to do a job primarily for the money. I think it leads to a boring life. Then again, I don't want to live in London/NY/whatever, so that's just like, my opinion, man.

Your contract work would likely be different though, right? Why do work for some marketing company when you could do work for a local nonprofit.

I've never worked for a marketing company and I hope never to! I probably work a lot less than I theoretically could as a result.

Re nonprofit work - actually I should probably push harder on that. I reckon I could do some work on the side for free or at a reduced rate, but identifying local businesses that need that help is difficult (I'm not the kind of person to just rock up and be like, 'hey, want some computer stuff guys?') :P

Which brings me to a good point, actually. I personally think that - in the social circles I'm in anyway - the barrier for most people to doing stuff like all of the potential job ideas people have posted here - is not money, but will.

Because it's actually really hard. I have enough savings to not really need to think about immediate profit. But formulating a plan, getting up every morning, working towards it, having enough fun that you don't burn out, eating well, doing all of that stuff at the same time is actually _really difficult_. The structure of a stable career, as stifling and frustrating as it can be, is really helpful to a lot of people.

#1 developer, I only choose projects which are challenging and interesting, with usually short term contracts. I would have said research, but I feel like this occupation already encompasses that since I gravitate toward projects which have some domain I want to research more.

musician - have a lot to learn/practice there, so it may not be so fun to actually work in the field yet.

athlete or trainer - since I want to spend more time on that anyways, would be great to spend all day on it for work.

Gardener Game developer Musician (It changes by the day, sometimes by the hour. Were I not limited by money, I'd definitely be limited by time)

> Were I not limited by money, I'd definitely be limited by time

We’re all limited by time, we don’t have all the time in the world. I often get depressed/scared by this simple realization. I don’t have the time required to read all the books/comics I want, see the films/series/documentaries I’d like to see, hear all the music or play the games I like and so on...

Returning on topic, I’d love to be a photographer traveling around the world :-)

Pure Mathematician.

Physical therapist. I get to help people recover their dignity while learning how I can maintain my own self sufficiency as I get older

Same here. And actually you can make really nice money with it (maybe not top level engineer/manager, but certainly enough for a decent living), so it's not even entirely a matter of income. ;)

I'd design electric motorcycles and cars.

* Small farm animal rescue owner.

* Full time life simulation developer (likely living either on a small farm to combine with the above or in a camper van, travelling wherever I please while working on my life simulations)

* Fiction book author (Same as above, living on a farm or in a camper van)

I'm trained as a visual artist. I'd love to be doing that but it's not realistic for everyone.

A primary/secondary school teacher.

Well, if I had lots of money, then I would do whatever I want.

Feeling like playing music? Music then is!

Feeling like writing a blog post? No worries, consider it done.

Ah the memories...exactly as I was as a college student; those were the days of my life!

1. Sci-fi concept artist

2. Sci-fi writer

None. Be unemployed and do what I feel like doing at that moment. I think it would mostly be traveling, living in lavish hotels and sleeping with high end hookers.

I'd be an independent computer science researcher who would hold an adjunct professorship to have an academic affiliation and also to occasionally teach.

Screenwriter/Director/Cinematographer - It would take time & money to get good but I would enjoy it on day one if money wasn't a concern.

Cooking, Gardening and anything that involves birds.

The problem is more than money. I would love to be a teacher, but the pay is not great and your time isn't respected.

Pilot. It is a very poor way to make money, but I love airplanes. If i didn't need the money I'd be a pilot.

Upfront costs aside, you can make a living as a pilot. There is a shortage of pilots!

Make a living != Live the life I like

For me it works out that writing software and paying to own and fly a plane leaves me with more spending money than flying for a living

Physicist probably. Maybe work in a national lab? Not sure if I’d like being a professor.

Physics or math are probably likely for me.

I'd be a Chauffeur. Drive rich folk about, learn how they live their lives, would be easy and fascinating.

I think you would be surprised to learn that most would not even want to talk to you, they just want you to shutup and drive so they can fiddle with their phones in peace. Besides, even if they were open I can't see how the novelty doesn't wear off really quick, you'd end up hearing the same themes over and over again.

I assume that would get boring fairly quickly. And all the negative aspects of listening to those sort of people would get more and more annoying as well.

I suspect you've not known many rich people. Most that I've encountered are spectacularly dull, isolated, and self-centered.

Also, if they've hired a chauffeur, it's because they've decided that the time they'd otherwise spend driving is better spent doing something else... And that something is almost certainly not talking to "the help". Unfortunately.

Inefficient market seeker --> disgruntled market grinder --> paradigm shifting market disruptor

Doing research would be pretty cool

Gardener/mechanical sculptor/independent researcher

Something in Design or the Arts broadly.

Musician, Mattress tester, Twitter influencer

No one here wants to be a programmer?

I do.

I’d likely work on open source or stuff for charities but otherwise not much would change.

I assume that programming would play a decent part in whatever roles most people pursued. It would for me. Although the main role might not be a Software Developer. Doesn't mean software can't/won't get made!

I'd get back into game dev.

Lion tamer. I already have the hat.

Grasslands restoration researcher

Pastry chef

would the organizer of the biggest metal festivals

definitely would be an airline pilot or flight attendant

Pontificator

- Musician

- Technical Writer

Farming

researcher

painter, artist

librarian

zoo keeper

national park ranger

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