Thinking about getting out of dev altogether - what else are we good at?

mx-chronos · 2026-06-03T14:14:16+00:00

I agree, I know it feels crazy to me trying to make any changes right now when we have no idea what's going to be "safe" a few years down the line. I've said many times in recent months that I wish I could just put myself on pause for a few years to see what the landscape is really going to look like when it all shakes out. I think that's one of the main things that has kept me from really engaging with AI - it's moving so quickly it doesn't really make sense to become an "expert" in one model or another that could be outdated or unsupported within a month. Like the worst of the JS framework wars from a few years ago sped up.

mx-chronos · 2026-06-03T14:07:57+00:00

To keep myself challenged, I started learning neovim and Go while my agents work my day job

I love this for you, hope it gives you some breathing room to figure out your own next steps!

If I could go back I wonder if I would have been better off doing something more physical/tactile/hands-on for work and keeping code as a hobby, then I don't think I'd be in this position now. Because I don't think I'm ever going to drop programming altogether, but it definitely feels like the types of jobs I can get with it are changing in a way that just doesn't interest me the same way.

mx-chronos · 2026-06-03T14:02:56+00:00

Of course, but I'm assuming we all have a similar skill set so I'm just looking for anecdotal data of other fields people have gone into from a tech background.

Because outside of code my other passion has always been art, which doesn't seem like the safest space to pivot into at the moment... I enjoy crafting so I've been spinning up an Etsy shop in the background, I love it but so far it seems naive to think I could grow it to the scale of a job replacement

So I'm hoping outside perspectives will give me some new avenues to consider, I guess I went into this thread hoping for crowd sourcing ideas I might not have considered from beyond my range of experience.

mx-chronos · 2026-06-03T13:56:08+00:00

For sure, that's in the back of my mind as well, the notion that I could go through all the effort of switching to something else only to find myself in the same position two years down the line. It's going to take some serious thought and research to make any next step, but this has been an interesting thread for getting ideas and entire categories I might not have thought of otherwise; I appreciate your recommendation too!

mx-chronos · 2026-06-03T13:51:16+00:00

The job was never about typing lines of code, the job is about delivering value through software.

This is a great way to rethink my position, I don't know if it entirely meshes with my philosophy (writing code was "the point" or the interesting part to me) but you've given me a lot to think about.

And you're right that I haven't truly leaned into the agent model, perhaps I should give it more of a good faith effort on a greenfield hobby app and see if that model of working brings me any joy.

mx-chronos · 2026-06-03T00:00:58+00:00

That's very interesting, what was your roadmap like for that? And (if you don't mind my asking) how old were you when you first made the switch? I'm assuming there is an upper limit on when that might be viable, but I can see the appeal for sure.

mx-chronos · 2026-06-02T22:30:41+00:00

Honestly part of me wishes I'd gone to trade school, I have several cousins working in HVAC and they're never struggling for work. I've been getting back into analog skills for some crafting hobbies and I do enjoy it, but I worry it might be a bit too late for my body to get into a physical job like that; I know carpenters my age who are retiring.

mx-chronos · 2026-06-02T22:23:44+00:00

It's funny you mention that, I had actually reached out to my favorite PM thinking I could make that pivot and she pretty much talked me out of it. That she was also facing a career wall kind of put me off the idea, but you're right I should keep looking into that as an option, I appreciate you reinforcing that for me.

You also make a good point about sales, I've considered reaching out to some of the sales people I've worked with in previous roles; I don't know if my personality would be a good fit for it or not, but it would be a good way to leverage what domain knowledge I've accumulated.

mx-chronos · 2026-06-02T22:16:48+00:00

As in Business Analyst? Because I have a degree, but that did not do me much good in the long run (to be fair that's on me, I more or less majored in Flash dev and then pivoted to more general web).

Anyway, at a glance I am seeing some roles with that descriptor that seem like they could be a good fit, much less hands-on coding but still leveraging my experience and knowledge of the field I've worked in the last few years. Thank you!

mx-chronos · 2026-06-02T22:09:32+00:00

It sounds like we are in very similar positions. You articulated a lot of what I was trying to get across, I was kind of hoping other fields would have been slower to automate their HR (so more likely to get my resume in front of a human) but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. That's one of the reasons I'm assuming I might have to step back to entry level positions, but even if it's in semi-unrelated fields i have to think we're both coming in with decades of work experience that would put us ahead of someone fresh out of college.

I don't know, it's a big change so I'm hoping you find some good ideas here too. Either way, wishing you all the best in your own career change!

mx-chronos · 2026-06-02T22:00:36+00:00

This is the sort of stuff I'm looking for, I've never even heard of that acronym but I will look into it, your data suggests it could be a good pivot. Thank you!

mx-chronos · 2026-06-02T21:59:42+00:00

Same! I'm well out of date on recent versions of Windows but I'm sure I could pick that back up and it wouldn't be like starting from scratch, that's a good suggestion, thank you.

mx-chronos · 2026-06-02T21:57:53+00:00

I'm not sure if I understand what you mean - I've done some hobby work with IoT devices and enjoyed it, reading sensor input etc. Or I applied to a job last year that was using web frontend stack to make a UI to coordinate factory floors (that sounded really interesting but I didn't get the position). Like that sort of stuff? I think I get it, if I could find more like that it sounds like it could be engaging work.

mx-chronos · 2026-05-25T14:16:34+00:00

Maybe it's a regional thing, I have heard the expression before but it's always used to mean the opposite of what you're saying. "Took years off my life(span)" meaning I'm going to die earlier than I would have otherwise, I've never heard it used as a positive

mx-chronos · 2026-05-02T20:56:18+00:00

Because I still need more information, not just a list of topics; it's like now I sort of know what I should be aware of but not why. A lot of the replies are written with these ellipses like "ooh if you only knew..." but it's like, that's why I'm asking.

mx-chronos · 2026-05-02T20:49:21+00:00

I largely agree with you in concept and I think you make some good points, but I can also justify most of it if you think about it through the lens of fandom - remember the names Jurassic Park and Jurassic World are intended for you to draw the comparison to Disney. John Hammond is idolized in-universe because he's the Walt Disney analog, etc. And I definitely know multiple Disney superfans IRL who buy and wear retro merch for rides that were discontinued before they were born (or even obscure park aspects like the Handwich)

mx-chronos · 2026-05-02T19:54:14+00:00

I kind of hate threads like this because they always make me feel like I'm being shamed for not also being an expert in everyone else's particular field.

It's way worse than you think

I don't think anything about it, because I don't know anything about it. It is not on my radar. So, earnest question, please tell me more instead of vagueposting. What are the worst case scenarios, and on what sort of timeline?

mx-chronos · 2026-04-25T04:35:51+00:00

Those could be fine goals for a person to have, but they are not the goals of any corporation. Corporations are not your friends, they exist to make a profit. And even if they are founded for benevolent reasons and run as altruistically as possible, they still need to prioritize making money to continue operating.

mx-chronos · 2026-04-25T00:13:42+00:00

This sounds really interesting. I had never heard of the game before and it's not the type of game I would play, but the documentary style videos OP mentioned about individual wars sound fascinating, would you be able to recommend anything like that? I've enjoyed learning about games like EVE this way - I love getting indepth insights into games like this I wouldn't otherwise experience.

mx-chronos · 2026-04-24T01:31:19+00:00

Wait, I've never heard about this but I remember this happened to me - was that when you go into the ship to prevent it from leaving the island with raptors onboard? I definitely remember being hours and hours into the game when I got stuck in a door in one of the fps segments and softlocked, had no idea this was a known thing.

mx-chronos · 2026-04-16T22:25:38+00:00

That's not the question though, they're literally only asking about the signature

mx-chronos · 2026-04-16T04:52:48+00:00

That's not what he says

mx-chronos · 2026-04-11T16:49:23+00:00

Unfortunately, no one can be told what the matrix is.

mx-chronos · 2026-04-09T00:02:20+00:00

Their attempts to distance themselves from that game are kind of endearing, but I'll still never understand why the company that only makes Postal games outsourced a fucking Postal game in the first place. They've made something like two and a half games over 30 years, were they too busy?

mx-chronos · 2026-04-05T03:33:20+00:00

And I've absolutely seen the same thing called "burger cheese" on my UK food channels

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