Ask HN: You have to switch professions tomorrow, what do you choose and why?

Schoolteacher. I'd be doing it already if the pay and respect gap to software wasn't so huge. I still might switch eventually after reaching some reasonable savings goal.

A little concerning how politics in the US seem to be targeting teachers so much though. I wouldn't dare practice outside of the northeast US, where education is still somewhat decently respected and funded, for this reason, but I wonder where we'll be even here in ten years time.

If I'm in dire straights and need cash right away - doordash or medical courier. A bit longer-term, any product role since it's incredibly easy and also readily available. Worst case, if I didn't want to do something in tech I'd train to be an electrician (while attempting to remember my 1/2 of an EE degree) or start selling a few specific niche areas on eBay (which I currently do as a side hustle).

Plumbing, because I can fit into tight spaces and it sucks hard so there is lots of work.

Something related to mental health since the subject matter is interesting, there's a demand for it and you end up helping actual people.

Game dev, because it's creative and it's what I've spent most of the last 20 years of my life doing in my spare time anyway.

i'd go back to being an auto mechanic like I was earlier in life if my body would cope with it. it's hard work but it's fairly well paying and rewarding if you find the right position.

maybe a marine mechanic -- same thing except the clientele tend to be a bit more pushy, but you get some beautiful ocean views when working on boats out on moorings.

Baker or mathematician. Maybe both because baking might be a good time for my brain to rest and wander a bit.

Small grocery store worker. I get to walk more and people are interesting.

Is this assuming I need to step in and start making money right away? If so... hmm... That's a dang good question. I would say the obvious choice would be to become a career firefighter, but I'm too old and have too many health issues for that. I could possibly re-up my Instructor certification and related qualifications and look for something in the Training division of a dept. that has a dedicated Training division, or teach extension classes for a community college. But even that would take some effort, since I let my Instructor certification lapse.

As for the "why" on this one - because I was previously a volunteer firefighter for a long time, and already hold or have held a lot of the relevant certifications, including Firefighter II, Instructor II, Hazmat Awareness, all the common ICS certifications, etc. And I genuinely love the fire service. I never wanted it to be my career though, so I only ever volunteered in the past.

Otherwise, in terms of making money short-term, does just becoming a freelance developer count as a "new profession?" If not, I might be reduced to working retail or some kind of manual labor or something.

If I have more time to ramp up, then I could see going into product management, project management, or maybe becoming an electronics technician or even a full fledged electrical engineer. If I really had time (or we're assuming some magic ability to acquire new knowledge and skills) then maybe something in synthetic biology, biochemistry, or pharmacology / drug discovery.

Why? I have a lot of general interest in electronics / electrical engineering and already dabble with a lot of electrical stuff at a hobby level. And on the biology side, I have always been interested in (but don't know much about) biochem, synthetic biology, drug discovery, and related fields. I've been trying to self-study a bit in my "spare time" but "spare time" isn't something I have a lot of due to all of my other interests and projects. The product management / project management stuff is just an interest I've picked up over the years being involved in software projects.

I would also not rule out a "blue collar" job like being an auto-mechanic, electrician, or machinist.

Why?

I grew up in an environment where my dad built and raced stock cars and did a lot of street drag racing from the time I was a young child. Many of my formative memories are of being in the shop with my dad working on cars. I grew up doing a lot of my own mechanic work, all the way to the level of replacing engines, transmissions, etc. I enjoy wrenching on cars, but it was never something I wanted to do full-time. But if I had to pick something to do, I can imagine worse things.

As for being an electrician - I've had a number of family members of the years who were electricians, so I've been around that trade a lot, and I always had a strong interest in electricity and electronics from a young age. Wiring houses isn't necessarily something I'd do as a hobby, but I think I could find it a passably acceptable career.

My interest in machining dates back to my childhood as well, and relates to the car thing. Hot-rodding cars entails machine work (over-boring cylinders, surfacing/matching heads and engine blocks, port-smoothing on heads, etc.) and so I've always found the machine shop a fascinating place. Having some vague awareness of modern CNC stuff and combined with my overall interest in computing, it makes sense to me that I'd find working with modern machining equipment interesting.

Restaurant reviewer for the Michelin guide. Why is self-explanatory.

Software engineering. ;)

(I'm a librarian.)