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Comment by clnq | Hacker News Reader

Perhaps it's a case of "the grass is always greener", but before I became a software engineer, I felt much healthier doing a physical job.

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It may feel better at the time but repetitive motions in most physical jobs will eventually catch up with your body. In an office job you can exercise on your own terms and without long term chronic pain.

I don't know, when I used to work on farms, the old guys were a lot healthier than most of the people I see in tech nowadays. Although, most of that work isn't unhealthily repetitive, like jack-hammering or something, so perhaps not a great example. But, use-it-or-lose-it is a real thing.

>when I used to work on farms, the old guys were a lot healthier than most of the people I see in tech nowadays.

Right, I think you would need to check stats on how many people dropped out over the years due to health issues leaving behind these super healthy old guys to get an accurate picture.

I think that's a bad comparison. Farm work is a lot more varied than the repetitive tasks that most trades work involves. It's not like jobs requiring, for example, wearing a hazmat suit and/or respirator all day, or constantly being around extremely loud noises.

Nah you've got it right and there are a shitload of studies that prove it: the most effective way for a human being to wreck their health is sitting on their ass all day.

Maybe a balance can be achieved.

Someone can be a part time office worker, part time tradesman.

This part-time aspect was one of the appealing aspects of ride-sharing apps when they first appeared. People with cars could have 9-5 jobs and before and after the job, exactly during rush hour, give a lift to a few people. Of course, they turned into the new taxi but controled by multinational corps and almost impossible to hail without a smartphone.

We are speedruning Tolkien's law of decay.

In theory. But in practice, the tradesman hours would be so underpaid compared to SWE hours that I'd either want back into SWE full-time or to have those hours completely free of work as personal & family time. The opportunity costs here don't work out. Spending time away from my family for less money is not a good deal.

Health is the opportunity cost otherwise, but it's hard to price health. And I don't mean that it's priceless; the price is ambiguous - is my health worth less or more than what half my salary buys me?

For software engineers, this is a difficult question to answer. If I were working an entry-level job, my health would be more valuable to me. If I were at the peak of professional development (a figurehead at a massive company or someone whose work changes the world), my work would be more important. SWE work makes a lot of money, but somewhere in the range of where I value my health.

How much $ a year is your health worth to you? Not a rhetorical question, would be interesting to see some answers if anyone can come up with a figure.

You are correct and that is why what I suggested doesn't broadly happen. There is value in specialization. Yet we can't help but ponder whether there might be a better way and what it might involve.

I would be interested in reading such studies.

Please don't take that as "Citation needed!" but rather genuine interest.

I worked on a hay farm for a few years, and I constantly had injuries to my back muscles. Other employees had constant knee pain and neck pain. Nobody that worked there looked healthy. I was always tired and hated going to work. I feel way healthier working in tech.

I'd believe it. The Amish are very healthy.

https://time.com/5159857/amish-people-stay-healthy-in-old-ag...

Could one of the factors for the Amish be teamwork? Tradesmen are often competing with their peers and working very fast, sometimes too fast and at risk of injury. All of the documentaries I have seen watching the Amish work, they work as a team following the mantra slow and steady wins the race. They work hard, but as a group.

Are you sure they were "more healthy" rather then "good muscle and I don't know whether they had health issues"?

There have been studies about Amish. Granted they have some other lifestyle factors involved, but it seems like this is as close as you can get.

https://time.com/5159857/amish-people-stay-healthy-in-old-ag...

Survivorship bias.

IIRC it's not so much repetitive motions (RSI is a misnomer) but constant tension and constraining of blood vessels and nerves. Carpal tunnel syndrome for example is nerves being constrained from permanently swollen tendons.

Ideal career would be a split between office and physical work. 3 days coding, 2 days carpentry etc.

the 'chess boxing' of careers.

I lift weights, walk, or hit some golf balls at the golf range every day during the week, about ~1h / day. Over the weekend I'll play some golf, go for a walk or squeeze in an extra workout.

It might not compensate all the sitting and typing fully but it's pretty good - I don't miss doing a day of physical labor.

Or cycle commute 20 miles a day to work.

It’s cold and I work from home :/

Literal Utopia.

I felt healthier stacking boxes but I really felt better when I moved close enough to work to cycle every day.

I do bjj 4 days a week with two of those days being on my lunch break, the other three days I walk my dog during lunch, I do 6 sets of push ups, squats, or pull ups on work days, and I using a standing desk in the morning. Just bought a little floor tredmill that I can walk on during meetings as well.

I would probably be in better shape if I was moving all day everyday but I'm pretty sure my body would start to break down as well. I know not everyone has as much freedom but if you work from home it isnt that hard to squeeze in a pretty decent amount of exercise during the work day.

As a >20y software engineer who feels a lot of my age and several years of very physical burnout symptoms, I get a lot of relief from the more active parts of my life (mostly having fun with my pup, but I feel similarly about just physical chores and whatever manual labor comes along).

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