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Comment by ChuckMcM | Hacker News Reader

Some folks aspire to the minimum amount of work and the maximum amount of pay. And they are shocked when they get laid off after a decade of that, that nobody wants to hire them. Like you I really enjoy the work so if I'm not getting the work I need at work I'm doing various things outside of work. (lately it is designing a 3D printer) I'm not sure when I realized that time doing nothing was just getting closer to dead with nothing to show for it, but once I had internalized that, idling wasn't really an option any more.

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"Some folks aspire to the minimum amount of work and the maximum amount of pay. And they are shocked when they get laid off after a decade of that, that nobody wants to hire them."

Wholeheartedly agree. However don't forget those who worked hard but were just got stuck doing something that was ONLY relevant in that organization. Once laid off, they belatedly find out their 'skill' isn't a skill outside of the organization.

Hence I believe you should be extra vigilant about stagnating skill set when working at a company for more than just a few years. A lesson I'm learning now.

Exactly the position I am in now. After a couple of years I am looking to move on but I am finding that no one needs the experience I have. Everything I have done for my current company is desktop development and the vast majority of the nearby jobs are web development. Companies these days don't want to hire anyone who can't hit the ground running so it's a rough situation. Better to get out now than many years from now though.

I think this article may be of some interest to you.

http://www.kalzumeus.com/2009/09/05/desktop-aps-versus-web-a...

Also, ever look into trying out micro ISV? You may not get rich but doing doing something like it will help you work on techs that are popular/relevant, not what your managers wants done. Or try working on side projects with free time?

"Hence I believe you should be extra vigilant about stagnating skill set when working at a company for more than just a few years."

I have some experience in this and some autonomy is vital. If you negotiate something approximating a consultative relationship with your boss, then you're pretty safe.

Interesting, can you talk about how this came about in your situation?

What, you're saying my 6+ years' experience in FORTE 4GL won't be relevant in the outside world???!! :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forte_4GL

I wish I was kidding about the FORTE4GL bit, but I do acknowledge the need to stay current, though it's sometimes hard to get the drive to do so.

*...time doing nothing was just getting closer to dead with nothing to show for it..."

I realized the same, however I understand and appreciate that others do not share this same view.

The question becomes "What would you do if you were financially independent?" For me, it still would be to create, build, explore, learn, and tinker - basically what I do at, and outside of, work.

You make an excellent point. I tend to think of it as "What would you do if you knew you were going to be dead in 6 months" but that tends to skew toward the 'fun' side of things rather than the 'meaningful' side.

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