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Comment by Nursie | Hacker News Reader

Opposite for me.

I have an actual shed that I spend time in, doing maintenance work, building physical items (latest one is an auto-refilling bird watering station), and making beer. Given my day job is so desk-bound, and so tech oriented, I find using my hands in my off-time to be very fulfilling and what keeps me sane.

Different strokes, as they say.

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I had to get out of tech for that reason: i need a physical good I can create and hold. Using my engineer skills to build physical things satiates my brain so much more. I don't think I can ever go back to coding as a job. I just don't care about other people's garbage code, lol.

i got out of tech/coding so i could apply my skills to more real world stuff. it's been so much better. i don't make as much but i end each day with a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. i wouldn't trade it away. my social life has gotten so much better, as well, because i'm happier in general and i talk to so many more people as a result. i smile more, i think is the main thing.

And what are you doing now? :-)

How’d you get out? For the many over-specialized readers like myself…

Surely step one is psychological. I feel like being able to accept a lower paycheck is critical to leaving tech if you’re at the over specialized part of your career

That is not merely psychological unless you're very early in your career and life, with no dependents, etc.

Technically, leaving your family to live as a hermit is also a psychological decision.

That's financial and circumstantial, not (just) psychological.

Psychological in the sense that my kids will need to psychologically accept that they now live under a bridge?

Callous, but that’s your fault for building a life that requires tech money to maintain. I don’t get the point of comments like yours, just to make one feel bad for escaping the golden handcuffs.

There are plenty of people that have children and live decent lives earning less than $200k/year + benefits.

I'm making under 200k now. If I got out of software I'm pretty sure it would still go down.

Sorry for making you feel bad.

Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

Same here. I've been trying to get more into the physical world, with a tech angle, rather than just pure software. As you said, using my hands is what keeps me sane, makes the world seem a little more real, if that makes sense?

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