Back when I was in school and choosing what university course to apply for, I was torn between computer science and law, both of which interested me a lot. One of the several factors that swayed my decision was that if I did law as a career I could still practise programming in my spare time, whereas if I did programming as a career, I was highly unlikely to practise law in my spare time. So (for that and other reasons) I went into law and became a lawyer.

Now, every now and again, when I am stuck working late on a deal and all I want to do is go home and hack on my latest project, I wonder if I made the right choice. But ultimately I know I wouldn't be so excited to fire up an IDE if I relied on it for my livelihood.

As for farming, I grew up in a rural area so never had any illusions about it. I do admire the resourcefulness and ingenuity of many farmers, but I know it's not for me. Most of the retirees I know like to do "a spot of gardening" in their retirement, and honestly I think the kind of micro-scale "farming" a lot of office workers dream of is not that distinguishable from gardening, so many of them will probably get their wish eventually.