Desk Free Technology Career Path? 71
nickjohnson wonders: "I realize that in business there exist many career paths out of software engineering, but in the corporate world, most of those career paths still involve sitting in front of a computer or sitting at meetings or sitting and talking on the phone a significant part of the time. I'm sure there's a number of people out there with neck and wrist pain, or aging bodies hard to keep in shape -- what career paths have you or are you considering that are interesting and rewarding for techie engineering types that do not involve so much sitting still?"
"I'm reaching out to the Slashdot community for advice on a career change for myself, a veteran software engineer who, for physical reasons, does not want to work sitting in front of a computer anymore. Actually, I really don't want to spend many more years sitting still in front of *anything* anymore. I need to move around more, and maintain a more upright position throughout the day. Short of becoming a yoga teacher or a dance teacher or I don't know a skydiving instructor, what else is out there for a techie like me?
* interesting problems to solve
* opportunities for discovery and success
* financially lucrative
* more invigorating (not tiring) than sitting still all day"
I'm not sure . . . (Score:2)
Re:I'm not sure . . . (Score:2)
Unless you're a professor.
There are an astonishing amount of CS profs who no longer actually directly use computers. Very wierd.
Other than that, yeah, you're either in technology or you're not at some point.
excerise at 30,000 feet? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:excerise at 30,000 feet? (Score:3, Interesting)
Teach (Score:4, Insightful)
Carpentry (Score:2, Interesting)
Creating moldings for plastics is interesting too because you have to visual the inverse of what the object will look like and do so in 3D. Getting something to turn out just right is difficult but makes you feel damn proud of yo
Unskilled wages have tanked. (Score:2)
I'd like to take up woodworking and carpentry. You get to be creative, use your hands, and put an idea into existence and someone gets to use the end product. You can also start simple and work up to more advanced projects. It's very rewarding when you finish a project as well.
Don't get me wrong - I love carpentry, and stonemasonry, and electrical wiring, and landscaping - the whole gamut of physical labor. But our nation's inability to resolve the question of our southern border has caused unskilled and
Re:Unskilled wages have tanked. (Score:2)
Bullshit. An electrician here can easily make $100k-- you just need to be Union. Good electricians can always find work if they are willing to move around.
Re:Unskilled wages have tanked. (Score:3, Funny)
An "electrician" making $100K (Score:2)
Bullshit. An electrician here can easily make $100k-- you just need to be Union. Good electricians can always find work if they are willing to move around.
My point is that the guy making $100K isn't pulling any cable, or bolting any nuts. He's the guy reading the blueprints [or maybe even drafting the blueprints], and giving orders to a gang of cable monkeys, almost all of whom will be illegal immigrants.
Also, in regard to the original question posed by the original poster: You don't just walk into th
You have a misguided impression of "electrician" (Score:3, Interesting)
Personally, if none of the above options were appealing enough - or I couldn't find an appropriate placement - I'd shift my fo
Ummmmm (Score:4, Informative)
You can go into teaching. I did this for about a year, teaching a linux course and this required me
- to move around alot,
- drink alot more water,
- be active, constantly on my feet,
- constant talking,
- was semi-lucrative as long as you can make this a regular gig that can pay the bills, a number of places will pay good money, and if not, you can convince them why they should, considering they get good money for the course from the student.
All the other options I was going to write, would have taken you out of technology, but considering you want to stay in it, I guess on some level, this seems like the best option, especially if you have the skills to back it up, and the ability to teach. Plus someone with years of experience is a valuable asset to any teaching institution.
Good luck.
One answer: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:One answer: (Score:2, Informative)
Re:One answer: (Score:1)
Try to travel (Score:1)
Simple: High School (Score:2)
I'd know, and I was just an asst. Admin at Legacy Highschool in Westminster, CO. Both the admin and myself would be running around too much to even catch a call in the office at a designated time.
Re:Simple: High School (Score:4, Funny)
That's UNDERAGE eye-candy BTW...
I'm sure you'd get a lot of exercise running away from your new friend "Bubba" at the place you will end up, if you should interface with said "eye-candy".
Re:Simple: High School (Score:1)
Re:Simple: High School (Score:2)
Not sure what you're smoking. Pays well compared to working at Taco Bell, sure. Pays well compared to the private sector...no. There is some compensation - usually you get more vacation, perhaps better benefits - but government work is not the place to cash in.
Re:Simple: High School (Score:2)
Get out of the chair job? (Score:4, Funny)
Army Signal Officer/ Communications Specialty (Score:1)
Seriously. Great job. Check it out.
(Not a recruiter)
-3NG
He doesn't want to die. (Score:2)
Hacking into horses' minds. (Score:2)
There's few -GOOD- tech positions that involve exercise - usually getting behind the desk is considered advancement from the lower positions - but field engineering, like working with cellular tower stations, data lines repair, monitoring cameras etc involves some movement... but they are all considered more "blue collar" jobs, so the pay isn't all that great.
One Word... No, not plastic... (Score:2)
Construction (Score:3, Insightful)
There's certainly challenging problems in building things (especially really big things =), so maybe it's something you should consider.
some options (Score:1)
Construction
landscaping/lawn maintenance
road construction,
fitness guru
Hunting guide
Re:some options (Score:2)
So, you'd like to switch a regular day behind a desk for a longer day on a tractor seat?
Re:some options (Score:2)
Re:some options (Score:2)
You know, you might have identified a niche husbandry consulting market.
Re:some options (Score:1)
He said it had to be financially lucrative, so that one is out.
Fiber tech (Score:1)
Manufacturing engineer / Maintenance engineer (Score:2)
Re:Manufacturing engineer / Maintenance engineer (Score:2)
I feel the same (Score:1)
Computing/IT used to be a hobby, but now its just boring. So I took up sailing. In a few years time I might have enough experience and qualifications to start teaching. Not much money in it, but at least it will be fun.
Integrated Systems (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Integrated Systems (Score:2)
Re:Integrated Systems (Score:1)
video camera man/woman (Score:1)
Re:video camera man/woman (Score:1)
Nuts and bolts field tech (Score:3, Informative)
Other alteratives, that I've actually done, are PLC programming. There's still lots of nights sitting at the desk at home with a test setup on the table next to me, but there's just as much time spent out at sites installing and trouble shooting the units and sensor/relay wiring. And usually the sites don't really keep having a place to sit down in mind when they allocate a cabinet for the PLC, so some of my best fixes have been coded standing up.
Any kind of experimental laboratory work (Score:2)
Deskfree Geek Life (Score:2)
Public speaking (Score:2)
Here, try a simple exercise to see if this might be the right career track for you. Stand up, and start stomping your feet and clapping your hands, while screaming "Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers!"
I'm really enjoying my job. (Score:2)
I'm working as the lab director, tech guy, sysadmin, what have you for the Design + Tech. department at a school in NYC (Parsons School of Design). I get to set the lab up, build machines, take stuff apart and put it back together, set up and build web apps, administer our servers, cart equipment around and set up projectors, maintain classroom equipment, etc. Recently I got to run all over the place helping students set up their equipment for their pieces during our thesis show (http://dt.parsons.edu/sho [parsons.edu]
Oh, and I want to emphasize-- (Score:2)
Network Cabling Tech (Score:1)
Building Automation/HVAC (Score:2)
I was in a similar boat just over 2 years ago. Fed up with sitting at a desk all day. Got hired as an apprentice and I've bee
Oil/natural gas engineer (Score:1)
Why not just stand up? (Score:2)
If you're looking for a career change, I think teaching is probably the best option I've seen here, but it seems like what you're really looking for is just a way to not spend so much time sitting down.
Something not so legit? (Score:2)
Become either a Drug Smuggler or Gun Dealer. Lots of travel, flexibel working times and varied an interesting work!
You get to see the world, meet interesting people AND it's financially lucrative. The best part is, if the goverment wants you to "retire", there's free room & board for years to come. In fact, you'd be stupid not to do it!
Systems engineering (Field) (Score:1)
Once you have more than one field under your belt, n
Easy: Machinist (Score:2)
You could always become a machinist.
Lots of standing and moderate lifting on a regular basis (loading and unloading) and you get to program a 5-axis CNC mill.
What could be more fun than that?
try India... (Score:1)
standing desk (Score:2)
At my work, the keyboard trays in the cubicles can be lifted up an extra foot or so, which is almost perfect for typing while standing. Unfortunately, I'm still looking for a way to raise the moitor.
How About Photography? (Score:2)
Lots of technical details to master, both on and off location.
Lots of moving around, etc.
Marine engineer (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm training as a marine engineer. I like computers, but not as a job.
The long periods away might not be to everyone's taste, but it means I can spend the rest of my time travelling or climbing, without the day to day worries of a job.
Re:Marine engineer (Score:1)
Of course, this is off topic - the original question was about alternate work for engineers of a certain age. Going to MM engineering school isn't a minor proposition..
Skydiving instructor (Score:1)
And think of all the exercise you'd get flapping your arms for that last thousand feet or so!
Firefighter (Score:2)
That's when I decided I wanted to be a firefighter. Exciting job, doing something new everyday, helping people, rarely sitting around. It'll keep me healthy, too, a lot healthier than sitting at a desk eating doritos and drinking Moutain Dew.
Not that I recommend going the
Buddhist monk (Score:1)
Technical Sales (Score:2)
Nothing happens in the world without someone selling something first.
You get to interact with numerous people, experience new projects on almost a daily basis, basically set your own schedule (as long as you make your target), and are rarely tied to a desk during the day.
The misconception is that all salespeople are car salespeople. While it is true you can take the path of being dishonest, a cheat, and misleading it is rarely successful. Engineers tend to see through those tact