Ask HN: Would love a physical job, any ideas?

Great suggestions so far. Here are some of my ideas:

Landscape designer: There is a lot to learn about various plants, climate zones, etc. I am learning for our home but feeling overwhelmed. We are considering hiring a consultant and probably would do actual yard work myself. But there are a lot of landscaping companies that will do everything for you.

Realtor: I have real estate license, you meet a lot of people, explore new areas, learn about so many things. It was really enjoyable experience without being pushy salesperson as I didn’t need money. I stopped as most of work happen in evenings and weekends, and as a dad I felt it was not fair to my kids.

Handyman: Along the same lines as landscaping but probably more in demand. I personally rather do work outside.

Portrait photography: It has a lot of competition but also very rewarding and not as stressful as wedding photography. You get explore new places for the shoots. And it is very fulfilling to make people happy with your photos.

Maybe start some sort of trade / manual labor business, and do it with the grace and elegance of a software engineer.

E.g., offer as much in the way of online signup / online service requests as possible. Don't make horrid, bizarre websites. Don't make people call you on the phone -- or worse, wait for you to call them -- in order to get a decent estimate of cost and/or when you're going to show up. Include things like DoorDash, to show me on a map where you are when you're headed to my house, so that if I have to meet you, I don't have to putter around for an hour wondering when you're going to show up.

And then, of course, do the actual work well and with excellence.

Could be any number of specific lines of work -- lawn care, plumbing, heating/cooling, water services. If you want to leave California, snow removal.

Thank you tjr, I really appreciate this comment. Hope you have a wonderful day.

You are in a unique situation. You're both financially free and without domestic ties. Your best bet is to try a few different things first before you decide where you want to land. Don't think it too long. It's possible to overthink it and do nothing. Try different things but don't be quick to quit. One of the issues with your situation is that if you get a bit frustrated you'll be quick to quit. All jobs have their points of frustration but that does not mean you should quit and move on. Before you start, decide how long you'll try something before you quit and stick to your decision.

Job satisfaction is key. I hear good things about Physical Therapist. Think about it.

Just became recently single myself and have been lost, though during my lost phase, I acquired two properties and turned my home into a rental. I've been successful with tenants at my two properties, but have yet to get great tenants into my home.

I'd suggest not doing anything rash like quitting your job or switching careers unless you are at a crossroad and ready to make the switch, such as a job that just let you go. Therapy was a great option. I wish I opted for it but instead, I had family and friends and up until today, which is the last day I will be "related to her by law", I didn't want to let her go, but I've come to peace since it is now a reality.

You are a free man currently and can do anything you want. Don't rush into another relationship. Learn more about who you are, what you want, and what you don't want. Make time to exercise.. commit to an hour a day. I have to admit, I haven't been great at it, often having severe anxiety, and I think it was because I was left in a house full of memories for the past 2 years, just drowning in reminders, while fearing going outside.

My brother called me with an opportunity to run one of his businesses across the country, so I'm headed to try that out for a few months and hoping it goes well. He's a bit of a hardass and wants everyone to be exactly like him, so I'm hoping it does last, but we'll see!

Go to a movie. See what events are around your town and go to them. Call up friends you neglected while you were in your relationship and ask if they'd like to catch up and actually plan a date. Life is not over. It's still going on.. with or without you.

Do what you can to keep your mind off her. Understand you'll go through your series of pain, depression, and acceptance moments. Have a person or two you can trust. You aren't alone in this either.

How about mountaineering, there are qualifications to take and you can take groups hiking and camping as the job. With experience you can also join the mountain rescue. You'll be in nature a lot. Congrats on your project income that is admirable.

I'm a bit younger than you, but I have had a similar realization. I love programming, but sitting around all day at a desk does not seem fun for the next several decades, and really doesn't do my social/mental health much good, despite the amount of money.

So, I'm working to become a pilot instead. It's expensive, time consuming, competitive, and probably won't see six figures for half a decade or more. But, it's a heck of a lot more meaningful than sitting at my desk all day.

Just thought I'd share my situation and solution since it's relatively similar. All the best.

I wish you all the best kind friend.

Also a long time programmer. I worked in a maintenance shop for 7 years. I loved it; welding, fixing appliances, operating equipment. I've also jumped on small fishing vessels for friends who are fishermen in various fisheries.

Maintenance shops are everywhere and give you a 9-5. Fishing is on the coast and gives you a highly a non-standard mostly summer/fall schedule.

Both are an absolute blast when you're with the right people. But then again, nearly everything is like that.

Thank you Matt!

1) Hopefully your income stream will last, but just remember that monthly $5K you're counting on might not be around forever. You're probably going to have re-invent yourself multiple times in your life.

2) Pick a profession that you might be able to meld with your technical/computer skills and interests in the future. Maybe you'll have an idea for a future startup that combines your job that other people without the tech background haven't recognized.

I once spent a couple months building houses with a construction crew, and that was both physical and educational. I still enjoy walking into houses and buildings, looking around, and knowing how they're put together. It's like I can see through walls now, to the frame and studs. Getting out in the sun and doing physical labor was also refreshing and renewing, if also tiring. And no one will tell you it sounds like you've got a case of the Mondays.

SkyMarshal, how does a 31 year old programmer get into something like this? With little to no experience of construction?

First you'll have to do a little bit of research to find local construction companies that seem professionally run and are actively hiring entry-level construction crews. Use the phone book, google, yelp, or local conventions or trade groups. Also ask people you know if they have any connections to local construction companies and would be willing to intro you.

Second, just be straight up with them - you've been working a sedentary desk job plugged into a computer building software apps for all of your twenties, and now want to spend some time learning how to build real world things and doing some actual physical activity. You're not sure how long you plan to do it, but at least long enough to learn the basics of the craft of building houses and similar sized buildings, maybe six months or so. You're inexperienced at construction, but are smart, have an engineering and problem solving mentality and experience, and can learn fast.

With luck you'll find one willing to take you on and assign you a crew that will mentor you. They'll start you on easy tasks, teach basic things like professional hammering technique, how to use power tools safely, etc. All things you can get a jump on just by searching on Youtube.

That's the gist of it. There will probably be more than one firm willing to take someone smart and reliable and train them up, even if you're up front about not knowing how long you intend to do it.

PS - it also occurs to me another interesting kind of company to work for would be a local machining and manufacturing company, if any are in your area. There are all sorts of cool videos on Youtube about precision machining and manufacturing that might appeal to a programmer. Same process as above.

I work in structural steel fabrication and construction, qualified boiler-maker here in Australia (Tasmania), 20 years in the game and 5 years in IT (up to remote-hands for the likes of Akamai and Google), and now driving a 4kW fiber laser cutter.

SkyMarshal's advice is sound. If you turn up, wearing steel cap books, an something resembling the appropriate clothing, and say something like "I can start now", I think you're in with a chance.

Here in Australia, particularly Tasmania, it's been so hard to find people willing to turn most days of the week I'd say you could get a job here tomorrow (okay, maybe not Saturday) for any number of construction companies.

My contact details are in my profile. I could potentially flick you some drawings for you to study so you'd be able to walk in and say "I can read a fabrication drawing and a marking-plan".

Adding to what Spice said, the starter equipment is:

1. Steel-toe boots

2. Safety glasses

3. Professional grade hammer *

4. Professional toolbelt

Show up with those four things and they'll take you seriously.

* practice with the hammer a bit first. There's actually an art to holding the hammer at its Point of Balance (PoB), flipping it with your wrist not your arm/elbow, and letting its weight and momentum do most of the work instead of your arm muscles. I can't find a video on this on YT atm, but will post one if I find it.

Go to a local job center. You will see tons of postings for plumber assistant or factory worker or call center worker. Talk to a councillor and they will place you.

Another option is temp companies.

Get your forklift license or trucking license if you want more of a career.

Physical jobs involve hands-on work and direct interaction, which can be satisfying. However, they can be tiring and limit flexibility. Online jobs offer freedom in terms of location and hours, but they might lack personal interaction and require self-discipline. Your choice depends on your preferences and lifestyle. And i would prefer physical job over online job as the physical job is full of entertainment and adventure, if you are on a good position.

in your experience programming, how much of that has been solopreneuring versus working for an organization in an office?

entrepreneurship can be energizing and empowering and liberating and all those great things, but it can also be isolating. there are certainly downsides when it comes to working for another company, but a few upsides too:

- more social by default -- especially if you're actually in an office

- easier to casually experiment with moderate changes to job focus, e.g. "hey manager i've been doing heads-down engineering a while and i'd like to transition into product management"

- secure, compartmentalized base: $5k/mo without much input is killer, but it's not enough to obviate financial concerns (especially in southern california). you could easily be making more than double that on salary, and with that kind of base it's much easier to finance even fairly expensive social and physical activities in your off time (which could include volunteer firefighting, tutoring, a couple shifts waiting tables on weekends, etc)

being a fisherman would be awesome, but is it conservatively worth seven figures over the next two decades? for some, yes. for you?

if you're simply not going to be happy/fulfilled/<insert personal success metric here> doing work that leverages your current skillset, you probably have to find work that does. but your current skillset is quite high value, you're young, and compound interest is no joke. i would make a serious effort towards finding a compromise between current earnings and social/physical outlets before throwing the baby out with the bathwater and becoming a mechanic.

that said, spending a few months bartending on a tropical island somewhere might help you figure it out either way.

moomooskycow, thanks for such a thoughtful response. I've read it and re-read it.

The vast majority the last decade has been solopreneuring. I've had a stint at larger companies, but usually as a consultant.

It's likely immature of me, but I gravitate strongly towards "meritocracy" and the simplest purest form of that - for me - has been to work almost entirely alone. And I am acutely aware of all the things I'm giving up in an idealized situation: working alongside great people who are smarter and more passionate than me, cool benefits, money, etc.

I deeply believe that I'd be incredibly valuable to the right company, for the right job, and that the salary and social benefits and such could change my life and lives of my family (and future family!).

But, I've failed as far as finding that just right job.

Here is immature Mike's train of thought regarding this, perhaps someone else can relate?: "I don't want to go do the thing that so many of my peers have done: get a job at a largish tech company, work super hard for 6 months and then fade into a passive state of not really doing anything besides fielding slack notifications and collecting large pay checks. Idk it just feels so lame. It feels immoral. But those people seem to be killing it, they have the money and their girlfriends feel secure and stable, they have friends and get sent on cool business trips. Maybe I'm the one who has it all wrong, and I'm going to slowly age into irrelevance with nothing but my misplaced pride...etc etc etc"

-----

All that to say, perhaps it's fear of rejection that is keeping me from reaching out and finding that "just-right" job that leverages my "economically valuable" skills.

Your words have struck a chord, and I will make the aforementioned serious effort towards finding a compromise between earnings and outlets.

Thank you, and I hope to keep in touch. - Mike

fully agree with pretty much everything you're saying. the wrong job can be pretty hellish and should be avoided with extreme prejudice. but i think there are options between total avoidance and complete immersion that achieve reasonable compromise between earnings and fulfillment.

part-time consulting work seems like a pretty solid way to make good money and maintain lots of free time, but you've done it and it didn't stick. what drawbacks outweighed the pay/flexibility benefits in your experience?

in my experience working for smaller companies and startups is also way better than working for big companies. i understand why people work for big companies and all the perks they provide (sometimes i just browse openai job postings and read all the compensation sections), but you're more flexible and have more impact at small companies and that's huge. especially for entrepreneurs: more flexibility means it's easier to build stuff in your free time. and more impact means it's easier to creatively express yourself on a larger scale by leveraging company resources.

the other point i want to make here though is: if you've been solopreneuring for a decade and you've built multiple revenue-generating businesses on your own already, i would not bet against that track record. if you've got runway to last you a while, maybe just maximize your free time and your wellness. you'll probably start something new.

Wait tables. You don't need much experience, it can be fun, your glutes and hamstrings will thank you, and it's not bad money if you can manage to get into a good place. And it will make you cooler, as service industry types are one of the hippest slices of society. The downside is that it can suck you into a nightcrawler lifestyle.

Ted, Thanks! Come to think of if, something along the lines of bartending or waiting tables does check both the [x] physical and [x] social boxes! Good idea!

Look at fedex/ups/maybe usps jobs near you. Package handling at a sorting facility is a physical job, and should be easy to get with no experience. Let them know you can type, and you might get on SWAK (scan, weigh, and key), which is a bit easier.

Doing deliveries is more social, but there's a lot of deadline stress.

I am a programmer, outdoor plumber and currently training to go to selection for Wildland firefighter.

If you like being active and more physical - just look at what interests you in terms of what you want to do physically and try to match it with something that can yield an income or trade.

When/if I leave tech, I intend to become a union electrician.

Pay and benefits are reasonable. They seem to be in high demand in my area (Pacific NW) and the work is physical without being so grueling that it destroys one's body.

Have you thought about becoming a mechanic? It's physical enough, a highly useful skill for your own use, and engages problem solving that isn't too dissimilar from debugging.

Maybe take up a team sport, or martial art. Or do some physical labor part time, to see if you actually want to do it full time, or if this is just an itch you can scratch on the weekends

Engine mechanic on a yacht in the Mediterranean. It may just change your perspective on life, and the golden tan won't hurt.

Tour guide? Mountain guide? Personal trainer in a gym?

go volunteer for habitat for humanity or similar, perhaps.

but I want to make a bunch of money like the San Francisco AI people.

That rules out fire fighter, pool guy and teacher.

haha well said!

You wouldn’t even get that with most white collar knowledge work.

Arborist?