Hacker News Reader

As you get older, if you have a good career the opportunity cost of going back to school is just too high. As I have aged I also realize that the value of pursuing dreams is not quite as important as I previously thought. If I am providing for my family and have some money left over and my job is good, I’m not going back to school just so I can have a different career that in the end isn’t going to make me that much happier.

View on HN

I don't know about that. I left civil engineering for finance a couple of years ago. Changing was actually a lot less painful than I thought it would be (I might even say it was fun), and I'm way happier now. There was a couple of years as I found my feet where the pay wasn't quite as good, but that reversed pretty quickly and I'm ahead now again.

Transferable skills are a real thing. Also, the amount of people who can do the everyday work in any industry is endless, so don't worry too much about that. It's the ability to come at things from a different perspective that's rare and it really sets you apart.

How did you go about switching careers?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com