I retired from my career in tech in 2021 into actual retirement (which I'm enjoying very much).
I continue to write a ton of software, contributing to open source projects I appreciate. I also cosplay as a system administrator for a home network that's more complicated and involved than many of the networks I worked on during my career. I still love tech and I'm appreciating my current relationship with tech that's entirely about the tech and never requires me to be on a zoom call or participate in agile project management.
I burned out on all the non-tech parts of a tech career, but not on the tech at all.
My neighbor retired from tech this year, and is basically doing the same thing. He and his family do travel a lot and takes extended vacations, and the other day I had to pick up three very large UPSs off his doorstep for him while he was out of town.
I’m 61 and probably only have a few more years of all-day work left in me. When I retire I know I’ll keep coding for fun (creating open source stuff) and also keep playing music and writing fiction.
My dad, a hardware engineer, worked until he was 76, then was pushed into retirement and died within three years. I don’t think it was the idleness that killed him but I think it contributed.
Wow. Very real and eye-opening. Sorry for your loss. I definitely have (and probably continue to) underestimate the value/utility of purpose and "being needed".
I am actively thinking on this, after a good run of 26 years so far. I expect to leave the tech industry but no where close to leaving some of the activities that industry pays me for (programming, running systems, etc).
My current expectation when I leave the industry will look like a combination of:
Work on foundational OSS I think the world needs, I find technically interesting, but which does not have a good business model to support as foundational (ie, things that tend to get rug-pulled).
Go back to teaching part time (I used to teach high school, prior to this career -- I loved the teaching aspect, hated the work aspects around the teaching) so escaped into tech in 2000. Interesting times.
I know several people who taught in high school and college. One friend was an English high school teacher who left to become a plumber (family business). As he said, "it was less bullshit to deal with." Another friend was a college instructor (also English) and I used to hear horror stories about his students all the time. And a third friend is still a high school English teacher, and for more of her stories, I tend to sympathize with her students, with the occasional thought of "hey! We survive high school without a cell phone, much less a smart phone!"
I'm a bit burnt out. Years ago I used to program a lot outside of work. I now rarely do. I have about 20 years left until I'll hit the UK retirement age. I am struggling to imagine keeping up the current situation for that long.
If I could retire today, I would play more music. Maybe take up gardening? I don't particularly enjoy it, but my garden needs it.
I feel the same as you. I'm not close to burning out; I'd happily keep working in tech until I die. I was contributing to open-source before my first job, and I'll (probably) be doing that after I'm unhireable.
Speaking of unhireable, I've been in tech for 30 years; we don't hire old people. In fact, I can't remember the last time I saw a new hire who was clearly 55+. I've also never celebrated anyone's retirement (well, one person in 30 years).
Maybe you disagree, but there's clearly an employability clock in the technology industry that's narrower than in many other industries. I submitted this post because most people haven't thought about it or don't talk about it, and I'm interested in seeing what others think and have planned.
At my previous job there were several people who were over 55 who were hired. On my team, there were at least two people over 55 who were hired while I was there, but the team had rather unique requirements (telephony networking, SS7, that type of stuff). So it does happen, but I gather it's not common.
I actually don't mind AI-assisted, even AI-driven, but I would love/prefer it if our field remained human-centered. It seems like some technology leaders are chomping at the bit to go full cyberpunk dystopia.
I love and hate it. I'd be lying if I said it didn't make some of the really tedious, boring parts of the job way easier and faster for not a lot of money/overhead, but there are definitely downsides. I find siloing in my team being worse than ever and even find that systems where I'm ostensibly the author feel foreign to me.
I think I'm more exhausted by the discourse and resulting instability than anything else though.
I'm a little lucky 'cause I have lots of options. I enjoy teaching. I am not terrible with machinery and electronics, and could get better at it. I could maybe go back to doing geology, somehow, or more likely get certified in GIS or something where I get to look at pretty satellite photos and maps. I can always go into IT, 'cause I don't see glorified autocomplete systems handling that any time soon, at least not well. I am reluctantly considering going in to politics.
Only become an AI researcher if you love AI and you love research. I went to grad school and worked in a research lab afterwards and discovered that I really don't love research, I love building things. And I super don't love academia, which is its own problem that AI slop isn't going to make easier or less dysfunctional.
Maybe instead become a consultant for AI researchers, so you can take money from companies that want to solve all their problems with AI even when AI is not a good way to solve their problems.
That's an excellent idea. I kinda love this in the most megalomaniacal way possible (sigh, I'm a flawed character).
That said: Even though I've been fortunate in my tech career, I've always thought that a pure R&D job was my dream, i.e., there's no wrong answer/outcome, and the definition of done well is simply well-reasoned research.
I'd be interested in hearing more about your time in the research lab and in academia.
there's no wrong answer/outcome, and the definition of done well is simply well-reasoned research
In a perfect world, yes. In reality there is a correct answer, and it's "whatever gets you another grant". And grants are granted via papers, so the correct answer is "whatever produces a paper". And papers saying "we tried stuff and it didn't work" are unfashionable, so you have to do everything possible to a) write a paper that b) says you did something important and c) did it successfully. And if you don't manage this, you get fired and replaced with someone who does. Then if you're really really good at it, you get tenure or a chair at a research institution, where you get to spend all your time being a project manager at a lab instead of doing research. Oh and also now you're 50 and don't have the energy or vigorous mind for the fun stuff anyway.
tldr, becoming a scallop farmer instead of a scientist sounds great.
I watched the video. It's hilarious and interesting.
The entire academic research enterprise seems silly and bureaucratic. After everything he said, he never mentions why it's ultimately worth it (i.e., pursuing the PHD and/or doing the academic research).
Much of the content was about how performative academic research can be, and ironically, sadly, I took him much more seriously because he was wearing a lab coat the entire time. Lol.
Tech is building stuff for customers to buy and thus mostly project based, IT is making machines do what humans internal to the company need them to and thus mostly operations based.
Mining would be cool but the idea of living somewhere in the ass-end of nowhere is less appealing now than it was a decade ago. I'd also be starting basically at the bottom, which is apparently more appealing to me in theory than in practice. If I had an easy in though? I'd still be tempted.
If I still have to work I think I'd look into being a postie delivering mail in my region. Otherwise my plan is to retire in the next 8 years or so and fill my time with whatever projects or activities take my fancy.
I'll probably always be in tech in some capacity. Right now I think I want to effectively retire and sit around making games. I don't have any desire to do it for income but would rather like to see other people playing the things I make.
I'm not sure there is an "after" for me. I've been programming since high school, but due to some circumstances wasn't able to career swap into tech until my late 20s. I went through a burnout phase a while ago, but stayed working and recovered. I really like what I'm doing now.
If I'm ever able to retire, I'll try to find a plot of rural land to so my wife can open a rescue for Scottish Terriers.
My wife is an avid knitter and especially loves to work with alpaca fiber. She also finds them adorable. We also talk about alpaca farming, though not very seriously. I can think of worse things...
Same here. I hold latent hope that AI will make my software engineering skills unmarketable, and I become able to justify starting a career in education.
Starting to work on some stuff for animal care. Have some ideas that could meaningfully contribute to well-being of rescued animals that I've been working on for the last few years.
This happens to me (err, my dog, Madison) all the time. We usually just accept that she has to get most of her hair cut off. She hates being bald, lol.
Dematting without cutting or damaging the hair would be like finding a cure for a disease, lol. Let me know where/how to invest! We're gonna be rich :)
My father left the software industry in the early 2000s to become a poet. I don't know if poetry is my game but I will probably do the same someday with some kind of art, if I can make it work.
For the retirement question, I have seen a few people do it. One just recently after years of working on CAD software, and at a job ~10 years ago where a couple of guys on an old project were retiring in their 60s as the project they worked on (for decades in one case) was being decommissioned and replaced with a newer system. But I have seen a lot more people quit tech and switch careers.
For your first question: I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do. I never thought I'd say it, but as I get older I feel like I'm in the "burn out and go do something else" camp. I'll probably never stop coding for fun, but doing it for work is increasingly unsatisfying. I've thought about opening a bike shop, or doing mobile bike maintenance, or something with bikes, but the economics of it are brutal.
I'm retiring at the end of this year. I'm going to go try my hand at the apartment/house rental business. I think I can add some value there and I want to build stuff with my hands again. I'm connecting with my local government and the SBA/SBDC to hopefully minimize the amount of big mistakes I make.
Congratulations. I've always fancied real estate, but never enough to take the plunge. Actually, once upon a time I rented out my house (in the suburbs, after moving to an apartment in the city), and I ended up with a tenant who stopped paying rent (whom I eventually had to evict; it took several months).
Indeed, that's never fun. Depending on the state, the rules around how to get them out varies, but as you found out it's pretty much always a PITA process(on purpose).
I've been struggling with this lately. I still like tech itself but I'm... tired of the industry. I've gotten what some might consider lucky breaks as of late, but it's also meant working in some very fast-paced orgs kind of by accident. And every company hiring wants to breathlessly tell me about the breakneck speed they're growing and shipping at; that's not new, but the AI boom has only accelerated the trend.
So, been toying with taking a break from tech whenever I leave my current thing, but I don't really know what I'd do instead. That being said, I feel blessed and privileged that would even be an option for me at my age. But the vague ideas I have (become a barista? get some crossword puzzles published?) ain't gonna pay the bills long term, especially in NYC.
Freelancing has some allure, but I've never done it and it requires a pretty different skillset. Also, I like having health insurance that doesn't suck.
I've felt this way before too. It's not tech per se, but the industry has gotten crazy and the type of characters leading the industry are no longer the kinds of folks I agree with or align with or even want to work for/with. The hyper bros, the VCs, the anti-human leadership, etc.
Fwiw, I do think freelancing is still viable. I have to keep reminding myself that even though AI makes much of what we do dramatically easier, most people still have zero desire to do it.
If money wasn't an issue, I could totally be a barista. A barista is like a respectable bartender, lol.
I want to retire/exit tech as soon as I'm able to afford it financially. This also includes switching to a not-a-smartphone so I can reclaim some mental space for... probably reading or helping out some local climate initiatives. I'd love to open a cat shelter.
I know a few folks who've retired. I know a few who've moved on, some intentionally, some after hitting a wall of not being able to find a job that was suited to them due to various trend changes.
I'm about a decade away from retirement, so who knows if I'll make it another decade in tech or not? Not me, certainly.
Assuming an actual "retirement" retirement, my plan is to volunteer at a cat shelter or for some other worthy non-tech activity that brings me joy, and to read a lot, spend a lot of time intentionally listening to music, and perhaps write a few books unrelated to tech. I also want to spend time as much time as I can with my family, my cats, my dog, and just generally putter around like the old curmudgeon that I am.
I've actually been in management for the last few years and I think there's a solid path for me to move into consulting/software design/architecture within the family of companies that own my company. Other than that, I have a real love and passion for audio production and would like to try and get a record label off the ground and work more with podcasters, filmmakers, and stand up comedians.
Realistically: Whatever menial, physical labour a disabled guy can do cheaper than a robot?
I strongly doubt that there will be any labour market demand left for any skill of mine (tech or otherwise) in a decade, given where AI is going. It feels to me like it's not merely my skillset, but my entire type of person, that is living on borrowed time in the economy.
It's highly unlikely that I'll live to legal retirement age, so I'm not really thinking about actual retirement. I make payments to the pension fund, but I fully expect that all of it will end up in some pension fund executive's back pocket anyway.
nugget | 13 hours ago
I retired from my career in tech in 2021 into actual retirement (which I'm enjoying very much).
I continue to write a ton of software, contributing to open source projects I appreciate. I also cosplay as a system administrator for a home network that's more complicated and involved than many of the networks I worked on during my career. I still love tech and I'm appreciating my current relationship with tech that's entirely about the tech and never requires me to be on a zoom call or participate in agile project management.
I burned out on all the non-tech parts of a tech career, but not on the tech at all.
lorddimwit | 4 hours ago
Teach me your ways. I'm hoping that I'll be able to retire in about ten years, when my youngest kid finishes college. I can't freaking wait.
andrewsledge | 11 hours ago
My neighbor retired from tech this year, and is basically doing the same thing. He and his family do travel a lot and takes extended vacations, and the other day I had to pick up three very large UPSs off his doorstep for him while he was out of town.
snej | 13 hours ago
I’m 61 and probably only have a few more years of all-day work left in me. When I retire I know I’ll keep coding for fun (creating open source stuff) and also keep playing music and writing fiction.
My dad, a hardware engineer, worked until he was 76, then was pushed into retirement and died within three years. I don’t think it was the idleness that killed him but I think it contributed.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 11 hours ago
Wow. Very real and eye-opening. Sorry for your loss. I definitely have (and probably continue to) underestimate the value/utility of purpose and "being needed".
laat | 12 hours ago
Environmentalism. The are many opportunities to reduce human impact on climate and biodiversity.
brianm | 12 hours ago
I am actively thinking on this, after a good run of 26 years so far. I expect to leave the tech industry but no where close to leaving some of the activities that industry pays me for (programming, running systems, etc).
My current expectation when I leave the industry will look like a combination of:
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 11 hours ago
Solid list. Teaching high school seems sad to me. I don't know why. Maybe I'm thinking in "stereotypes".
spc476 | 11 hours ago
I know several people who taught in high school and college. One friend was an English high school teacher who left to become a plumber (family business). As he said, "it was less bullshit to deal with." Another friend was a college instructor (also English) and I used to hear horror stories about his students all the time. And a third friend is still a high school English teacher, and for more of her stories, I tend to sympathize with her students, with the occasional thought of "hey! We survive high school without a cell phone, much less a smart phone!"
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 9 hours ago
Lolol. "I tend to sympathize with her students". Shaping young minds, especially part-time, could be enjoyable (possibly).
tomhukins | 10 hours ago
I have flagged this as spam because the author habitually ignores the self-promotion guidelines.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 9 hours ago
That's true, but is this post self-promotion or spam?
elobommart | 12 hours ago
Oil painting. And writing novels.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 11 hours ago
Yeah, because those are things famous for paying the bills, lol.
stig | 11 hours ago
I'm a bit burnt out. Years ago I used to program a lot outside of work. I now rarely do. I have about 20 years left until I'll hit the UK retirement age. I am struggling to imagine keeping up the current situation for that long.
If I could retire today, I would play more music. Maybe take up gardening? I don't particularly enjoy it, but my garden needs it.
louwers | 14 hours ago
I love tech. Probably going to do tech my entire life, but may shift to more of a management role at some point.
A much better discussion would be what are you doing that you feel like you are going to burn out?
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 13 hours ago
I feel the same as you. I'm not close to burning out; I'd happily keep working in tech until I die. I was contributing to open-source before my first job, and I'll (probably) be doing that after I'm unhireable.
Speaking of unhireable, I've been in tech for 30 years; we don't hire old people. In fact, I can't remember the last time I saw a new hire who was clearly 55+. I've also never celebrated anyone's retirement (well, one person in 30 years).
Maybe you disagree, but there's clearly an employability clock in the technology industry that's narrower than in many other industries. I submitted this post because most people haven't thought about it or don't talk about it, and I'm interested in seeing what others think and have planned.
spc476 | 11 hours ago
At my previous job there were several people who were over 55 who were hired. On my team, there were at least two people over 55 who were hired while I was there, but the team had rather unique requirements (telephony networking, SS7, that type of stuff). So it does happen, but I gather it's not common.
ngp | 12 hours ago
I'll probably keep doing it. I don't love AI-assisted coding, but it seems that's what's required to be competitive these days.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 11 hours ago
I actually don't mind AI-assisted, even AI-driven, but I would love/prefer it if our field remained human-centered. It seems like some technology leaders are chomping at the bit to go full cyberpunk dystopia.
ngp | 10 hours ago
I love and hate it. I'd be lying if I said it didn't make some of the really tedious, boring parts of the job way easier and faster for not a lot of money/overhead, but there are definitely downsides. I find siloing in my team being worse than ever and even find that systems where I'm ostensibly the author feel foreign to me.
I think I'm more exhausted by the discourse and resulting instability than anything else though.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 9 hours ago
Truer words have never been spoken. Also, yes, the "discourse and resulting instability" is both exhausting and unsustainable.
One suggestion to prevent siloing is to share context via a memory system or at least a Git repo with Markdown files.
icefox | 14 hours ago
I'm a little lucky 'cause I have lots of options. I enjoy teaching. I am not terrible with machinery and electronics, and could get better at it. I could maybe go back to doing geology, somehow, or more likely get certified in GIS or something where I get to look at pretty satellite photos and maps. I can always go into IT, 'cause I don't see glorified autocomplete systems handling that any time soon, at least not well. I am reluctantly considering going in to politics.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 14 hours ago
That sounds nice tbh. Something in science or tech-adjacent wouldn't be so bad.
I love the modern web technology field, and I couldn't imagine doing something else and being as happy. But the reality is I'm getting older.
Maybe I should think about becoming an AI researcher. I know a guy who became a scallop farmer (I didn't know that was a thing).
icefox | 14 hours ago
Only become an AI researcher if you love AI and you love research. I went to grad school and worked in a research lab afterwards and discovered that I really don't love research, I love building things. And I super don't love academia, which is its own problem that AI slop isn't going to make easier or less dysfunctional.
Maybe instead become a consultant for AI researchers, so you can take money from companies that want to solve all their problems with AI even when AI is not a good way to solve their problems.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 14 hours ago
That's an excellent idea. I kinda love this in the most megalomaniacal way possible (sigh, I'm a flawed character).
That said: Even though I've been fortunate in my tech career, I've always thought that a pure R&D job was my dream, i.e., there's no wrong answer/outcome, and the definition of done well is simply well-reasoned research.
I'd be interested in hearing more about your time in the research lab and in academia.
icefox | 13 hours ago
In a perfect world, yes. In reality there is a correct answer, and it's "whatever gets you another grant". And grants are granted via papers, so the correct answer is "whatever produces a paper". And papers saying "we tried stuff and it didn't work" are unfashionable, so you have to do everything possible to a) write a paper that b) says you did something important and c) did it successfully. And if you don't manage this, you get fired and replaced with someone who does. Then if you're really really good at it, you get tenure or a chair at a research institution, where you get to spend all your time being a project manager at a lab instead of doing research. Oh and also now you're 50 and don't have the energy or vigorous mind for the fun stuff anyway.
tldr, becoming a scallop farmer instead of a scientist sounds great.
Recommended watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CbdVkcr-Nw
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 8 hours ago
I watched the video. It's hilarious and interesting.
The entire academic research enterprise seems silly and bureaucratic. After everything he said, he never mentions why it's ultimately worth it (i.e., pursuing the PHD and/or doing the academic research).
Much of the content was about how performative academic research can be, and ironically, sadly, I took him much more seriously because he was wearing a lab coat the entire time. Lol.
veqq | 6 hours ago
What sort of geology? Mining is absolutely booming right now.
How do you distinguish IT from tech?
icefox | 6 hours ago
Tech is building stuff for customers to buy and thus mostly project based, IT is making machines do what humans internal to the company need them to and thus mostly operations based.
Mining would be cool but the idea of living somewhere in the ass-end of nowhere is less appealing now than it was a decade ago. I'd also be starting basically at the bottom, which is apparently more appealing to me in theory than in practice. If I had an easy in though? I'd still be tempted.
wezm | 5 hours ago
If I still have to work I think I'd look into being a postie delivering mail in my region. Otherwise my plan is to retire in the next 8 years or so and fill my time with whatever projects or activities take my fancy.
Relax | 13 hours ago
I'll probably always be in tech in some capacity. Right now I think I want to effectively retire and sit around making games. I don't have any desire to do it for income but would rather like to see other people playing the things I make.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 12 hours ago
Maybe you should start on those games now. That way, when the time comes, you'll have created some momentum.
pyj | 4 hours ago
I'm not sure there is an "after" for me. I've been programming since high school, but due to some circumstances wasn't able to career swap into tech until my late 20s. I went through a burnout phase a while ago, but stayed working and recovered. I really like what I'm doing now.
If I'm ever able to retire, I'll try to find a plot of rural land to so my wife can open a rescue for Scottish Terriers.
hawski | 13 hours ago
I have a small group of friends from a job a few years back. We have an inside joke that we will open an alpaca farm.
I like to say that I live near a bus depot and maybe I could become a bus driver in my city.
I bought a laser engraver a few years ago thinking I will make a small shop using it, but so far I didn't do anything worthwhile with it.
I also think about running or buying a small service business or a shop. Maybe with some Internet front. This idea is not really well thought out.
Other not well thought idea is to buy a property somewhere nice and make a small hotel.
Although currently I am trying to make a web service and hope to make a living out of it. I am not a webdev, but it is still within my expertise.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 12 hours ago
Lol. Back in the day, there used to be late-night infomercials selling people on the idea of Emu and Alpaca farming.
All of your ideas presuppose having non-trivial amounts of discretionary income/savings. I do hope it works out that way for you.
jzb | 10 hours ago
My wife is an avid knitter and especially loves to work with alpaca fiber. She also finds them adorable. We also talk about alpaca farming, though not very seriously. I can think of worse things...
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 9 hours ago
Lol. ... I mean, that might actually, possibly, be the happiest ending of them all.
jacky | 13 hours ago
Education for me! High school students would be it.
dsschnau | 12 hours ago
Same here. I hold latent hope that AI will make my software engineering skills unmarketable, and I become able to justify starting a career in education.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 11 hours ago
Gross, lol.
addison | 12 hours ago
Starting to work on some stuff for animal care. Have some ideas that could meaningfully contribute to well-being of rescued animals that I've been working on for the last few years.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 11 hours ago
Interesting. Is it technology-related? i.e., Neuralink for pets.
addison | 11 hours ago
It is, but it's not so dystopian :D For better cleaning of animals with severe fur matting.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 9 hours ago
This happens to me (err, my dog, Madison) all the time. We usually just accept that she has to get most of her hair cut off. She hates being bald, lol.
addison | 8 hours ago
And that is the precise scenario I'm working on :)
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 8 hours ago
Dematting without cutting or damaging the hair would be like finding a cure for a disease, lol. Let me know where/how to invest! We're gonna be rich :)
mtset | 6 hours ago
Coconut oil is the secret!
mtset | 12 hours ago
My father left the software industry in the early 2000s to become a poet. I don't know if poetry is my game but I will probably do the same someday with some kind of art, if I can make it work.
jlarocco | 10 hours ago
For the retirement question, I have seen a few people do it. One just recently after years of working on CAD software, and at a job ~10 years ago where a couple of guys on an old project were retiring in their 60s as the project they worked on (for decades in one case) was being decommissioned and replaced with a newer system. But I have seen a lot more people quit tech and switch careers.
For your first question: I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do. I never thought I'd say it, but as I get older I feel like I'm in the "burn out and go do something else" camp. I'll probably never stop coding for fun, but doing it for work is increasingly unsatisfying. I've thought about opening a bike shop, or doing mobile bike maintenance, or something with bikes, but the economics of it are brutal.
zie | 14 hours ago
I'm retiring at the end of this year. I'm going to go try my hand at the apartment/house rental business. I think I can add some value there and I want to build stuff with my hands again. I'm connecting with my local government and the SBA/SBDC to hopefully minimize the amount of big mistakes I make.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 13 hours ago
Congratulations. I've always fancied real estate, but never enough to take the plunge. Actually, once upon a time I rented out my house (in the suburbs, after moving to an apartment in the city), and I ended up with a tenant who stopped paying rent (whom I eventually had to evict; it took several months).
zie | 7 hours ago
Indeed, that's never fun. Depending on the state, the rules around how to get them out varies, but as you found out it's pretty much always a PITA process(on purpose).
oneirine | 13 hours ago
I've been struggling with this lately. I still like tech itself but I'm... tired of the industry. I've gotten what some might consider lucky breaks as of late, but it's also meant working in some very fast-paced orgs kind of by accident. And every company hiring wants to breathlessly tell me about the breakneck speed they're growing and shipping at; that's not new, but the AI boom has only accelerated the trend.
So, been toying with taking a break from tech whenever I leave my current thing, but I don't really know what I'd do instead. That being said, I feel blessed and privileged that would even be an option for me at my age. But the vague ideas I have (become a barista? get some crossword puzzles published?) ain't gonna pay the bills long term, especially in NYC.
Freelancing has some allure, but I've never done it and it requires a pretty different skillset. Also, I like having health insurance that doesn't suck.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 12 hours ago
I've felt this way before too. It's not tech per se, but the industry has gotten crazy and the type of characters leading the industry are no longer the kinds of folks I agree with or align with or even want to work for/with. The hyper bros, the VCs, the anti-human leadership, etc.
Fwiw, I do think freelancing is still viable. I have to keep reminding myself that even though AI makes much of what we do dramatically easier, most people still have zero desire to do it.
If money wasn't an issue, I could totally be a barista. A barista is like a respectable bartender, lol.
lorddimwit | 4 hours ago
Hopefully retire, which means becoming a perpetual student. Just give me classes and more classes. I want to learn it all.
Probably still write some code.
One day I might get to be a grandpa, that sounds rad.
zofx | 2 hours ago
I want to retire/exit tech as soon as I'm able to afford it financially. This also includes switching to a not-a-smartphone so I can reclaim some mental space for... probably reading or helping out some local climate initiatives. I'd love to open a cat shelter.
jzb | 10 hours ago
I know a few folks who've retired. I know a few who've moved on, some intentionally, some after hitting a wall of not being able to find a job that was suited to them due to various trend changes.
I'm about a decade away from retirement, so who knows if I'll make it another decade in tech or not? Not me, certainly.
Assuming an actual "retirement" retirement, my plan is to volunteer at a cat shelter or for some other worthy non-tech activity that brings me joy, and to read a lot, spend a lot of time intentionally listening to music, and perhaps write a few books unrelated to tech. I also want to spend time as much time as I can with my family, my cats, my dog, and just generally putter around like the old curmudgeon that I am.
dsh | 9 hours ago
I've actually been in management for the last few years and I think there's a solid path for me to move into consulting/software design/architecture within the family of companies that own my company. Other than that, I have a real love and passion for audio production and would like to try and get a record label off the ground and work more with podcasters, filmmakers, and stand up comedians.
Managing developers really just pays the bills.
dhruvp | 15 hours ago
I would just head for a government job - if tech ever gets me going crazy.
[OP] iamalnewkirk | 14 hours ago
Not unreasonable, but it also sounds like a massive salary cut and eventual obsolescence.
jaculabilis | 2 hours ago
Unless your tech exit plan is going into finance or becoming a VP somewhere, most jobs are going to be a massive salary cut, no?
datarama | 12 hours ago
Realistically: Whatever menial, physical labour a disabled guy can do cheaper than a robot?
I strongly doubt that there will be any labour market demand left for any skill of mine (tech or otherwise) in a decade, given where AI is going. It feels to me like it's not merely my skillset, but my entire type of person, that is living on borrowed time in the economy.
It's highly unlikely that I'll live to legal retirement age, so I'm not really thinking about actual retirement. I make payments to the pension fund, but I fully expect that all of it will end up in some pension fund executive's back pocket anyway.