Ask HN: If you didn’t have to work for money, what would you be doing full time? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: If you didn’t have to work for money, what would you be doing full time?

21 pointsnotoriousarun39 comments

Pursuing research in different fields (especially computational physics, bioinformatics) in personal capacity.

I had once asked the same question to a scientist friend who actually wanted to switch back from research to engineering to find some practical implementation of the things he had been working. I guess it was partly because organizational research does confine you within certain bounds and most of the times its taxpayer money so you have that in the back of your head to make sure you do not abuse it and actually perform relevant research which is "useful". This is why I have explicitly mentioned "personal capacity".

Working on my art, drawing comics, going to art-conventions, teaching, producing music, creating games, traveling the world, participate in more social events (playing mtg, dnd, music-festivals, theater, etc.), learn more about psychology, watching & reading & playing a lot more games, books, movies and everything else. Shameless plug for my art and everything else (i hope the server doesnt crash, warning, there is a tiny bit of artistic nudity): https://hapsam.com/

I would become a full time ski instructor or ski patrol in the winter, and probably a teacher of something during the rest of the year.

Coding, which funnily enough is what I did for money.

I've only got a three month garden leave and I thought I'd spend it playing golf and reading, but it turns out I want to write code.

A bunch of different things:

1) Spending more time with people I love.

2) Traveling.

3) Low-impact hobby farming and forestry with horses.

4) Learning to do new things.

5) Connecting with new people in my community. Volunteering.

The same thing I do on nights/weekends now: writing sci-fi novels.

Have you published anything I can get my grubly little eyeballs on?!

Playing with my kids.

I mean that seriously, but in the spirit of the question I would (and am, since I’m in this position) still working part-time on labors of love, and going back to school for my PhD.

Once you commit to your PhD work, you won't have time to play with your kids. Believe me, I've gone down that path. It was an 8 year journey with lots and lots of roadblocks, challenges, mental and physical health issues, etc.

For your own and your family's sake, read up (a lot) about other people's experiences with a PhD. It almost never is plain sailing, no matter how optimistic you are about it at the outset.

There’s a part-time PhD program I am looking at which would take a little longer but not compromise work/life balance. Lucky that it just happens to be the program I’m interested in anyway.

My kids are in school from 9am-3pm every day anyway (or at least will be again when the pandemic is over), so I look at that as my work time anyway. Time outside of those bounds is sacred though.

I can relate to your optimistic view. I was there once. By all means do the PhD if it is in an area that you are passionate about. You should remember that getting tenure is extremely difficult, so a career in academia is a very long shot. Like many others, I have found that having a PhD has had a negative impact upon my career.

So if you do decide to go ahead. Agree with your partner under what circumstances you will unconditionally abandon the programme. Without that you run the risk of falling into the sunk cost fallacy. A part-time PhD will easily take 10 years of your life. Your kids might be graduating from high school and daddy is still in school!

You might want to take a look at: http://phdcomics.com - it is truer to life than it might appear.

I am not working towards tenure or any kind of academic career. It’s just something I want to do, and my partner is supportive. Thanks for your concern though!

Thanks for engaging in the dialogue. With the clarifications you have given, I empathise even more with where you are coming from. Yes, in your specific circumstances the P/T PhD does look appealing and achievable.

I made the mistake thinking that a F/T PhD was doable with some P/T consulting on the side. It wasn't. The expectation and requirement to have several papers accepted and published was probably the biggest challenge.

Wishing you lots of success and enlightening research.

Thanks, same to you!

Edit window has elapsed on my other comment, sibling to this, so I'll add to it here.

I've been through a very tough, life-consuming job before. I founded and ran a startup that would take nearly $200m in funding and grow to around 80 employees. During the ~5 years I was involved in that my kids were born, bought and maintained a house, and other such life epochs were passed. It was insane... working 80 hour weeks, traveling every other week, and working equally long hours when away, always feeling like I wasn't doing enough.

I only realized how messed up this was when I was packing to leave again, and my 4yo asked "Why is Daddy leaving? Does he not like me?" On the plus side, being a startup founder is why I'm now financially independent. But I wouldn't want to put my family through that again.

So I've heard that getting a PhD can be a brutal experience... but I wonder how bad it is in comparison to the hustle of a startup. Still I imagine that it is a different kind of work and will take some getting adjusted to. And it is usually not something that can be restricted to the usual 9-5. So that's part of why I'm looking at doing a "part-time" PhD program, although I won't actually be doing another job on the side.

Asssuming I had enough money, working on my various useless but fun side projects. A little bit of venturing in various other things, trying random hobbies / jobs / etc. seeing what I like and what I don’t like. Going out, sometimes to random places and just talking with people about their life stories and passions. I would be lying if I didn’t admit I’d spend time playing games or other unproductive tasks as well.

Great question! Writing and producing electronic music, continuing to explore and develop that perfect analog/digital setup, DJing loud dance music for anyone who will listen, and probably continuing to explore the intersection of electronic music and neuroscience (I.e. what’s happening to your brain when you rock up with 10k other folks to all focus on and experience the same show).

I would be a full time artist. I create concrete sculptures. Have gotten amazing validation over the years and would really love to do it full time. If you're curious how this stuff looks like, check https://www.instagram.com/jurgenwerk/

Your work is beautiful. The MX6 piece reminds me of the Silicon Graphics (SGI) logo. Unfortunately I don't have an Instagram account so it's hard to navigate that site. It blocks you after a few views.

Is the concrete reinforced? Can you talk about how you use compression and tension in your pieces?

Thanks!! Means a lot. I reinforce but only if needed. If it's a more monolithic shape, then it's not really needed, but if there are parts that seem more breakable (thin) or bear significant weight, then I use glass fiber or steel reinforcement or even both. Regarding compression and tension -- I never think about these things. Maybe I would if I did larger sculptures!

I didn't realize the scale when I first saw them. I thought they were several meters.

Beautiful work.

- teaching STEM to local communities.

- Join some RnD lab where I can usr my dev experience to solve science related problems. I can make website, write automation tools in python and data analysis.

PS: if anyone read this and willing to discuss some opportunity then mail me at kadnan@gmail.com Check my site given in profile to learn about me.

I know nobody would be working on maintaining infrastructure. Or at least not enough people to keep civilization afloat.

Raising sheep and bees, brewing mead, making Manchego, and writing software/building hardware to automate some aspects of the homestead.

I'd probably still sell my wool, mead, and cheese, even if I didn't need the money - at or near cost. No reason to not contribute to broader society.

Write a book, go on long bike rides, become a master at cooking, drawing, painting, and meditation.

Probably hobbies, a small farm, and some sort of limited charity/volunteering.

Do you do these things now, just to a lesser degree?

I do. I get very little time to pursue hobbies. I do grow a garden, grow mushrooms, and do beekeeping. I don't get much time to work on those things either. I donate to charity a little now, but don't really have the time to volunteer.

Relaxing, mostly. There are many things I would like to do if I had all the time in the world. Rock collecting in a mine. Get my private pilots license. Build a carbon neutral home. Learn more chemistry.

Restoring old vehicles (trucks / cars) and spearfishing.

I would be collaborating in academic research projects half the time and helping in an animal shelter for the other half.

Coding computer games, writing books, giving lectures, spending more time with my friends and family.

stream. I've been having a lot of fun streaming the games I play anyway, and although I still don't have many viewers I do find great joy in the conversations that happen in chat.

This is an existential question for me. I am afraid to answer it.

probably work for the police at some capacity

but its way underpaid as compared to my hitech salary ,i dont see myself surviving this hard a hit to my savings

That depends on your current job and where you would be working for/as the police. You could make 50k-60k and higher with promotions and overtime. Then you have to factor in the pension and other benefits (this can be huge).

Archeology - discover new stuff Travel

"doing full time" would go away.

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