Ask HN: What Are My Options? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What Are My Options?

16 pointsmorjom19 comments

Hello HN. I'm early in my life, still living with my mother, finished vocational school with a basic degree in information technology, and I have type 1 narcolepsy.

I haven't done any programming after finishing the vocational school in 2018. I don't know if I'd even qualify as a script-kiddie anymore either since I've forgotten most of what I was taught.

I like fiddling with things (Rainmeter, ReShade, Addons and Plugins for games, previously set-up a pi-hole, have set-up YogaDNS w/ NextDNS, I've rigged and weightmapped models for VRChat, use GrapheneOS)

My only job experience is in physical IT support (printers, broken PCs, setting up new laptops, backing-up laptops to external drives or clonezilla over network) but I burnt myself out and had to recover for close to 8 months, and I already had super flex short hours..

What I guess I'm asking is what the hell can I do other than become my own employer and hope I can figure something out (3D printing service? Hosting??)

I am sorry if this is out of place somehow.

working for yourself, will likely be more hours more stress, more cause for burnout than working for someone else. I'm not saying it's not worth it, it obviously depends on the individual and various factors in and out of your control. But I'm just cautioning that being your own boss isn't the rose petal life you may hope for.

Yeah it would put a lot of other things on my shoulders that other jobs/careers perhaps wouldn't.

There's this thing called "kevytyrittäjyys" [1], Direct translation to "lite/light entrepreneurship" which is supposed to make it easier, (don't need your own company, billing is easier etc)

[1] https://www.ukko.fi/en/lightentrepreneurship/

You are young and not tied down by anything, so you are probably not lacking for options, you just don’t have an obviously optimal one staring you in the face.

The best thing to do is try some things that interest you.

You burnt out quickly doing traditional IT, so use that experience to learn about yourself and actually work on yourself. What mindsets and behaviors caused you to burn out? What changes would you need to make to be successful? IT can be at fault in this situation, but you can still learn from it.

Every job is this way, there will be things to learn in unexpected places.

Since you are young, it is a good time to take some risks. Maybe take a job in a completely different field? Deck out your resume as best you can and apply, apply, apply!

Have a backup plan for if you start to feel burnt out. Look at jobs at a golf course or arboretum, doing something easy and outdoors, but only as a short term thing while hunting for your next thing.

Try to show your value even in places like that. Take yourself seriously and do excellent work even in trivial things. Take pride in your work ethic, while also drawing boundaries and taking pride in healthy hobbies (preferably outdoors).

Meet people, ask about what they do. Bad with names? Add them on LinkedIn.

As I said in the beginning, you aren’t lacking for options, so you will need to get good at making decisions. Don’t worry about what’s the best, just look for things that sound interesting and give it a shot.

Thank you for replying!

I answered many things in other comments, but

I've sort of figured out main points why I burned out, mostly overambition with no regard to my condition. So I would work and then basically sleep the rest of the day.

I've been thinking of applying for a supermarket job just for the sake of it. Seems chill. Probably not what you meant though.

Not a terrible idea for short term. I did 3 months in a deli while in college. It will be stable and free up your mental state for other things, just make sure you do those other things.

Also you can hone some customer service skills that are generally useful everywhere.

Yeah partial reason for a job like a shelfing job at a supermarket (atleast for me) would be the fact that I'd have an income in a not that exhausting place (or atleast it seems like that for me).

I don't think I am that bad with people it's just that I think very slowly (deeply?) and I have a somewhat impaired work memory so it makes me feel super awkward because people expect a more fluid conversation.

I'd recommend you get a degree in engineering or CS, you can get good education even from more affordable state schools esp if you are living at home and can save on housing costs. Unsure about the severity of the narcolepsy, but could also consider the military if looking for a kick start in your life. Good luck!

I've considered CS degree but idk how flexible they can be and the closest institution is 1hour away so that'd take 2 hours of commuting from my already diminished day.

As for military I am not viable for said type 1 narcolepsy (type 1 means "with cataplexy"). For same reasons I can never get a driving license.

Also I forgot to mention in the main post that I am in the EU, Nordic.

Mid-life here - I can appreciate you're probably feeling frustrated and a bit lost. I think this is normal at times, especially early on in our careers.

Working in tech / IT can be grueling, particularly entry-level roles. Operations is often 24x7. People only call when they have problems. Incidents are rarely convenient. The work can be repetitive. It's a good job, but a bit like being a plumber, and you have to accept a certain amount of that.

You list a lot of different domains; specializing in an area will help you get past the entry-level physical work. Pay attention to the subjects that don't burn you out. Is there one specific type of "IT work" you really enjoy?

If so, focus there. Figure out the certifications which matter in that space (e.g. the CCNA/CCNP/CCIE track in networking) and pursue them.

I went to college for one thing (bioinformatics), burned out, took a year to recover and pivoted into network engineering, which ended up being a great decision that ultimately led me to a FAANG. Don't lose hope.

Long-term, I also suggest some inner work on your burnout, ideally with a therapist or other professional. Burnout rarely happens only once, and often it has more to do with our mindset and worldview than it does with the specific work. Took me a very long time (and some months with a great therapist) to recognize that about myself.

Be well!

Thank you for sharing this advice!

Biggest part of burning out was mainly due to just trying to do as "normal" hours as possible which in hindsight was a terrible idea since I'm basically at half-capacity.

The things I didn't like in IT were the printer cartridges, troubleshooting projectors. I liked setting up devices, setting up user credentials through the AD, that sort of thing.

With fiddling I've come to appreciate FOSS and well light weight well working stuff.

One thing I have had problems with is doing things that others have solved (was thinking of making a website tracking app thingie but apparently I shouldn't bother and just run a node server and plop this thing in it). It's a bit discouraging but I know it's probably better I still do it regardless to gain experience. My languages of interest are JS and Lua if I ever start doing that.

I've worked with a therapist for unrelated reasons for 6 years and this has been one of the topics for the last year since I crave more independence. I've been the happiest in my life this year all things considered.

Sorry if my response isn't very coherent English is not my native tongue.

Your English is great! It sounds like you liked authentication/authorization; perhaps consider IT security / CISSP?

You will have to endure some degree of printer cartridge-type work in your early years, no matter what, especially since you're the new person. But if the role exposes you to the work you enjoy, put in the hours and you'll get noticed.

I remember my first years in networking - I never enjoyed climbing into ceilings, pulling cable etc. But I got it done, and worked hard in the areas I really enjoyed. Pretty soon an engineering role opened up; I was able to move into it quickly, as management had seen my potential.

You talk about "doing things that others have solved" - this is the "make vs buy" problem and, to a degree, it's fine to build things yourself. But you can probably appreciate that it isn't just about building the thing, it's about maintaining it. In a professional setting, you have to choose the optimal solution for the business.

On your personal time, build stuff! Whether that means assembling FOSS solutions or writing things from scratch, it's valuable experience.

Earlier this year and late last year I had a dilemma(?) about security vs privacy (overlap but in the end they're kind of separate, right?). I am interested in security and even figured out where I can get some certifications (need a bit of money for that though).

I guess my ideal course of action right now is get a slightly more mundane job with things I like in it while I try to build things and learn. (Sounds like that's what you all have went through aswell).

You have the chance to learn/study while you are young. If you miss that now you'll regret it later.

If you are not sure take a shitty job for a while and reconsider later.

To get a decent job (programming or whatever) you need some skill. Take the time to develop your skills.

Yeah I think my best course for now is to get a mediocre job, build and learn on the background to get more chances at something else.

Of course, being so young and still out of the job market in any measurable capacity, you need to try and bite at a number of available opportunities before finding your place. That said, if you really want to develop a skill that might afford you both money and time, would you consider sales maybe? No office hours, no burn out, your own pace… You just need to develop your social skills and become an attentive extrovert, starting from a theatre acting course, maybe, or a customer facing role if arts are too far away your current set up and inclinations. Good luck!

Hi, thanks for commenting!

I'm not entirely sure what you exactly mean by sales? Like a sales person? How does it not have office hours, is it not just another office worker title?

Yeah, sales person! An introductory or formative period will be surely needed, possibly keeping you busy for a few months or even a couple years in order to have that job growing into you… but once you are at ease with the attitude, the techniques and the tricks, you will have a looooot of margin to accommodate any assignment as you like, because any employer will reward you for sales, not billed hours. Salesmen are the most paid people in any industry, and they often carry a leisure life through events (fairs, conferences, meetings) and networking.

Hmm I never really considered this but I will definitely look into what kind of possibilities I have in Sales and/or what courses I can take possibly.

Thank you!

Too many white collar graduates, too few carpenters.

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