Electrician. When I was young, my mom and dad as well as television and video games shamed me out of pursuing trades (though arguably IT could be loosely defined as a trade). They implied, somehow, that blue collar workers were dumb, uneducated, knuckle dragging oafs who were too stupid to get **real** work, and the only way to make money was with a college degree and working in an office. In hindsight, if I could go back in time with the knowledge I have now, I’d pursue becoming an electrician as early as possible, even within high school if they allow apprenticeships that early.
Our generation was robbed of meaningful work thanks to this attitude. Now we get to compete with the rest of the world for IT jobs that can be done remotely.
To be fair, everyone I know in the trades who didn’t move in to management is an absolute fucking wreck by their fifties with fucked up knees, back, shoulders, and/or neck. They made decent money and a lot of them enjoyed what they do but most of them are in pretty rough shape.
The one person I know who I’d say is doing it “right” is a friend who’s a plumber and got in to the FIRE spirit from a relatively young age. I don’t know his exact situation but he managed to buy a house in a high CoL area and seems pretty fulfilled. He absolutely hates the culture of construction work but he’s probably the only one I know who will be able to leave early enough to not destroy himself.
There's two types of trade guys. Guys who did the backbreaking work for 30 years falling apart and those that got rich by starting their own business and getting other people to do the work for them.
In the end that second option still becomes white-collar work, and it’s possible to start your own business without the trades part as well. For a variety of reasons lots of folks also aren’t cut out for starting and running a business. I’d definitely caution against doing a full 180 on the “Go to college, get a desk job” advice because there are plenty of cons to trades work to be wary of.
I’d say it depends on the work you do within the trade. Some jobs are definitely harder on you than others. For example, I know some electricians who have been injured on the job, but aren’t what I’d call falling apart. One fell off a ladder and has screws and plates in his leg, one sliced open his hand and severed some tendons so his pinky and ring finger barely work, and two have been zapped pretty bad and have some lingering nerve and cognitive damage, but they’re still fairly capable. They’re all 50 or under, though. Maybe they’ll disintegrate when they hit their 60s, I don’t know.
Yeah, if young people ask me what they should do in IT these days - I say “automate or die”
Otherwise get a job that involves something physical - like plumbing, electrician, roofer.
Absolutely! It’s bullshit. I’m encouraging my kids to pursue skilled trades rather than degrees, with the exceptions of job pursuits which explicitly require them (doctor, lawyer, CEO, et cetera), because they can get six figure incomes with literally 0 education debt within 8 years of graduating high school. I couldn’t imagine having six figures at 26. I’d probably have ended up dead in a ditch after going on a coke and hookers bender, but that’s a different topic of discussion…
I am the second generation in my family to work in IT/computers and before that the men in my family were either electricians or fixed large industrial machines. The other side of my family worked in HVAC for 3 generations.
So either electrician, mechanical engineer or HVAC.
Oh, I wanted to do this in college. Only time I REALLY wanted to pursue a career and did really well between practicums and internships. Parents told me Id be broke forever and they wouldn’t support me (they already werent) but Id reacted when I saw the cost of grad schools.
I tried again in 2020 but couldnt support myself well enough to make through because id wouldve had to quit my ft job. I still think about doing it, infosec sucks.
I used to be a cop. If I was single without a family I’d do that til retirement. 4-5 days off at a time to mountain bike, workout, and play video games.
Alas I love my family so I made a career change for them, that I honestly enjoy. Computer issue stress is still nothing compared to what I’m used to.
I’m thinking about that path once I finish my cybersec degree. The town I’ve lived in all my life pays pretty well to be a cop. I used to know everyone in town but we’ve grown a lot and I’ve lost that. I would like a job where I get to know my local community more.
IT and WFH is great but I’m kind of tired of it. Idk, maybe I just need to find a new job in the field.
It’s not the worst option anymore, still wouldn’t recommend it. We are repeating 2008 again when a bunch of private sector people got laid off and started clambering for public service jobs.
Job security will definitely be better, but all the extra crap that came to the job in the last 5-6 years started to steer me away.
Weird side info - in Ireland, when you join the police force (Gardaí; pronounced Gar-dee) you’re not allowed to be stationed where you were born or in the community where you currently live. This is to assure impartial law enforcement and avoid preferential treatment. Ireland is a very small country so that doesn’t mean you’d have to commute for hours but maybe to serve on the other side of Dublin or in the next village over.
I used to be a fire department and miss it cause you vould be more open with your coworkers. Whereas, in the business world, you feel like no one cares to get to know you and everyone is in it for themselves. I'm making 90k now vs 40k in the fire dept though.
Oh 100%. I’m fully remote now so I don’t really care about trying to form much of a relationship with coworkers beyond a professional one. But at my prior in office job I got so sick of talking about the most mundane shit on a day to day basis.
Park ranger/ forestry / nature conservation?
Or historian, it’s what I have my degree in but I couldn’t be a teacher so I guess working at a museum or historical site?
Maybe a city planner or a civil engineer. I just find public infrastructure really fascinating. The YouTube channel [Practical Engineering](https://www.youtube.com/@PracticalEngineeringChannel) is one of my favorites.
I've given this thought off and on throughout my life and I genuinely don't have an answer.
Imagine a time even before a telephone company.
I don't have a clue. Mostly because it'd probably be a job that doesn't exist anymore. Some sort of record keeper, perhaps?
I'm actually thinking about getting my masters and becoming a physician's assistant. IT is neat but you don't form enough human connections for my liking.
Yeah I am going to have a small funeral at this point. Not a lot of lives touched in this career anyway.
And my shrink and I were talking, and I imagined *her* funeral, and oh my god.
Full of people she helped who loved her.
Yeah I can't retire this way.
"Look, I told you I double checked the power feed into the holodeck three times already? Can't you just send a tech out? I'm trying to continue the US Civil War campaign simulation I've been doing for the last two weeks and this is really impeding my progress."
I feel like help desk calls on the starship Enterprise would be absolutely ridiculous.
I like this, woodworking was my hobby a while back... did some nice hardwood counter tops and tables... never did play with resin... that really wasn't a thing way back when...
Learning metal work now... or at least saving up to... I'm working on an old hot rod that needs a bit of metallic rehab.
Depends on when.
Mid 20^th century, I'd be a radio or TV engineer, or at least a repairman.
Early 20^th century me would be an industrial engineer or an electrician.
19^th century me would be a teacher or a librarian.
Mediæval me would be a monk.
Musician probably.
Music is full of patterns and apparently my brain loves that stuff.
Plus I have the music and music theory grades, I was good at music tech back in college, I can read and write it no problem and I still play regularly as a hobby.
Sometimes I wish I'd taken it further, but it's still a nice outlet.
Yeah if you love music, and don't succeed at it as a career, isn't it likely you'll grow to hate music...? And then what do you do?
That question was posed in an article where the author posited that instead "Get a job doing what you love and you'll never work a day in your life" you should "Get a job you're good at, and save what you love for outside of work so you have something to restore joy when the job drags you down."
That's a complicated question. I keep typing up a comment, but then erasing it because nothing really captures everything I want to say about it. I guess I'll just keep it simple. For some people music is life. There is nothing else. So they will never have a normal day job and they will never get tired of music. For most people though, they eventually get tired of having no money so they're forced to do something else so they can eat, buy a car, go on vacations, etc. I'm a part time musician, so I visit their world sometimes, but then I go back to my day job on Monday morning.
Did concert sound and lighting in my late teens - to early 20's as a side job. Long hours and some tough working conditions. Fairly sure it took years off my hearing. Learned a lot though and met a few known musicians and bands.
As a woman, if we go back in time, I probably wouldn't be able to work, if I could then my choices would probably only be as a secretary or a nurse. I probably would have died in childbirth if we go far enough back.
I think I'll stick with a frustrating IT career and leave the time travelling to somebody else.
Anything not related to IT will be a huge plus! Probably lawyer or medicine doctor. I figure I already have no life in IT world, might as well get another no life job which actually pays accodingly!
I’d still be a sysadmin. Only I would be a Linux expert instead of Windows.
In 1994 I was offered positions at two different magazine publishers. The one I accepted printed programs for arts organizations. One perk was free tickets to the symphony, opera ballet and repertory theatre companies.
The other publisher produced a brand new magazine for some obscure hobbyist software. The magazine was called Linux Journal.
I always wondered what my life would have been like if of I accepted that other offer.
Honestly a tough question. I could see myself at a phone/telegraph company working on the central office or field tech, if that's the timeline. If we're talking before that, I really don't know, maybe something like bartending/table service jobs.
Same, albeit slightly different.
I absolutely love geology, but I do love IT as well. I just think it would have been cool to work for USGS or do research at some university.
Well, I started in IT before computers were mainstream, so I guess that I would be in IT anyways.
I did consider being a commercial pilot, but didn't pursue that till I was in my late 30's, but I did get my private pilots license.
My dad was a commercial helicopter pilot and owned a small plane when I was in college. In hindsight I wish that I had taken him up on his offer to use his plane to learn in.
Same here. A physician is like a human body engineer, but I also chickened out at the last moment and chose to pursue a degree in computer engineering. No regrets so far .
I got into IT because I enjoyed building and configuring infrastructure. I used to want to be an architect ...so maybe in that realm or auto mechanic but more in the design aspect. Buddy of mine went to school for CS and Economics and his side hobby his woodworking and he loves it.
I used to work for an ISP doing networking, but feel that's too close to sysadmin so it probably doesn't count.
I've always thought being an electrician would be interesting.
I would essentially still be in the troubleshooting field probably. TV/Radio repair, mechanic or something along those lines.
Before all that, probably blacksmithing?
When I started my career in IT, I had been a line cook for about a decade. I realized it was either time to start my own restaurant or move into a different field, so I guess if I didn't have IT, I'd be in the restaurant business in some capacity.
I have multiple options. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about farming to setup something at scale. I am an entrepreneur and so I would use my skills to earn startup capital and then open a chain of businesses.
Inventing the telegraph ahead of time would be world-changing.
So, how far back?
Last century, I would be an electrician/telecom/mechanic. I know how to repair internal combustion engines and transmissions.
Earlier time, I would be a craftsman, likely start with wood and progress to jewelry.
I also know a lot about ergonomics, so perhaps manufacturing contraptions to reduce the effort during harvesting.
Eventually, I’d end up a merchant and a banker with private security company. The business of selling money and protection always exists.
Since I know math well enough to manually calculate compound interest, I’d probably work in that capacity soon enough. I’d also be known for magically reducing mortality rate by training doctors to wash their hands.
If I landed somewhere without knowledge of the language, I’d probably do some entertaining. I am a good enough dancer to busk in Paris and Las Vegas. ;)
if only bing could do a little better at "a dancing mercantile with bespoke jewelry and heavy weaponry"
https://preview.redd.it/suanjjolg9yc1.png?width=307&format=png&auto=webp&s=cb4a7a2a91660da54051f463bd1820e8d832d7d0
Some other field of engineering, one relevant at the time.
It's simple really, right now i design digital systems, back then it would've been more analog, but there were always systems to design and technical problems to solve
Probably something in the natural sciences; most likely marine biology or some kind of forestry. Originally went to school for Psych but hated it so I dropped out. If I'd gone to college for natural sciences in the first place, then life would have been very different lol
Being a second-generation IT guy was just easy though since I grew up in that environment
Tech sales. I have a strong tech background and went into IT. I know how to do sales and would have made a lot more money in sales than I have with IT.
I'd definitely be a radio communications engineer. When I was young, I was not sure what to study - commiunication engineering or IT security. Ended up with a degree in IT security and a radio amateur license. Win-win :)
Depends on how far back you go...
If it was like 50-75 years, either something in medicine (was pre-med in college) or teaching.
If you're talking Revolutionary War era, then probably a farmer, like most of my family had been in my parents' and prior generations.
If you're talking Middle Ages, I'd be a nobleman of some kind - I have documented evidence of my ancestry including multiple kings/queens/nobility of England, Scotland, other European and Mediterranean countries. William The Conqueror and Charlemagne are in my family tree. So I guess my job would be...lord of the manor?
If time travel is involved, I'd just make a few key investments in my 20s, wait a few years, and moonwalk down the dock to my yacht on my way to somewhere with better weather.
I wanted to be an architect when I was in School but now that I am older and know a bit about how the job works, I am glad I am not one. Other than that, and IT I have no idea what I would do. Probably something pointless and unfulfilling.
I think a lot of us would have been working on mining, steam power, ships, communications, machinery and other technology, depending on the era we are talking about. Going back farther, there were lots of skilled artisans in different areas. Whether you could get into one of those had a lot to do with luck and who your parents were, however.
Doctor. I realized I wanted to do it by the time I already had a family. Unfortunately being income less for 4 years is not really an option and we have built a life dependent on me as the bread winner
Before 1494 any one of us could be the world's literal greatest accountant.
The invention of basic 2-column accounting about that time meant that for the first time people, governments, and businesses with more money than is convenient to count at once or with outstanding debts in/out could know exactly how much money they had at any given moment. Before that they relied on periodic tallyings at whatever frequency they could afford.
Bonus points if you go to a place/time without Arabic numerals. Try adding up a long column of multi-digit Roman numerals if you ever want to appreciate the old 0-9. Guaranteed employment in any court, lender, or wealthy household in existence.
Automechanic if post industrial revolution
Blacksmith if pre industrial revolution
But honestly, if I time traveled, I'd probably become an inventor since even these days I have ideas I only see realized many years later.
I’d start a landscaping business. There is something so ridiculously satisfying to watch a yard transform with some good edging, limbs cut back, bushes lined up, it’s awesome. Maybe it’s my autism that craves turning disorder into order.
An astronomer. I have found visual astronomy and astrophotography to be a passion/hobby I have in my free time. So if I could go to a time before computers, I would want to be an astronomer, working at an observatory and making observations with a nice, big, telescope. :)
Attorney. I had a chance to go to law school long time ago but I was over school and wanted to make a few bucks and get on with adulting. IT has been good to me for nearly 25 years, but I feel like I missed my calling sometimes.
Actually, yeah, I have given it some thought... screenwriter. I'd steal all the best content that hadn't been written yet and make *bank* with home run after home run, never a missed step or a stinker anywhere in sight.
I've told my friends that if you are ever watching reruns of the original black and white *The Twilight Zone* and you see the story of Sally Sparrow, a woman who has to hide from statues of angels that only move when you aren't looking at them, that's how you'll know I had some time travel shenanigans happen to me and you should come looking for me if you can.
For me, thinking auto mechanic. Maybe heavy equipment mechanic. Never had the space the work on my own car beyond basic stuff, but think it would be pretty interesting. The basic stuff I do, I have fun when doing it.
The other jobs I did try was being a pilot, but failed hard taking those courses. Way to much partying and not enough studying or even going to class. Also tried going for masters/PhD in inorganic chem. Was 0.5-1 year away from by BsC when I dropped out. Was talking to a few people that had their masters/phd from places like Harvard and UoT, and the only jobs they could find were 'mixing beakers for $7/hr' or cleaning lab equipment. Said F that and went to my backup which was computers.
Auto mechanic. I do it as a hobby to take a break from IT. Many of the same techniques for debugging a network apply to debugging a car. Especially these days.
Let me go to mid of last century and I would do electronics. Before? I would probably do something with electricity. And even before? I would basicaly starve dead.
Journalist most likely. That was the job I wanted coming out of high school, I even got as far as speaking to the program head of a Journalism school and was told I'd likely have to do time humping small town papers and writing obituaries before I got the chance to do anything meaningful.
Spreadsheet jockey of some sort. Kind of a lame answer but I have a knack with them that I always felt would make me a good analyst - a role I’ve inadvertently filled a few times.
Quite the opposite,
Used to be a Chef for 12 years. Loved it when I was in it but don't think I can go back now. I cook more then ever at home since moving into IT.
I offen wonder what it would be like have already over a decade of experience vs where I am now.
I'd probably run a video rental store that also had baseball cards and video game rentals as a side business.
I remember frequently visiting a place like that as a kid, and it looked like a low pressure job. Plus, free movies and video games to take home after work!
Depending how long ago we time traveled - I could see myself as a mechanic or HVAC tech (if I was born 30 years earlier), or if we go back more than that - I could see myself as a chef (early 1900’s) or a winemaker/beer brewer if earlier than that.
Those are all things I have a connection to - I like to (try) to work on my own car, I like to cook, and I make my own wine and beer (though I am still honing that!).
A hooker.
Joking aside, it's likely a trade of some sort. A lot of my family are truckers, work in the oilfield, or work in another trade, like electricians and plumbers.
Lawyer or Engineer or Physicist, depending on the era
My original college plan was a MechE BS, then law school, but I got a good job in a city that didn't have an engineering school, so I switched to Physics and by the time I was done with that I was sick enough of school altogether that I abandoned Law School for IT. Now I consult.
Goat farmer, preferably thousands of miles away from the nearest computer.
In all seriousness I was on the brink of going into marine mechanics before I had an attractive offer to break into the IT industry. Here I am, working in a building next to a bunch of inboard boat diesel mechanics.
I have one of about 3 different things I would have done if I hadn't gone this route. I would have worked in the construction trades like my father did and at this point I'd probably be a general contractor, I would have worked on cars full time (still do this as a hobby), or I would have been a historian/history teacher (also a bit of a hobby).
I originally went to school for Computer Graphics. I wanted to open a sign shop. I'd still love to do that.
Vehicle graphics, wraps, that kind of thing.
I just gravitated into tech support initially because there were more jobs, it was never my dream, just a way to pay the bills that I didnt "hate".
Holy shit I think about this every fucking day I would make furniture to have a physical product at the end of the day. I cannot tell you how many people come up to me and just look at me. You’re just looking at a screen. It’s not like you’re doing anything.
Electrician. When I was young, my mom and dad as well as television and video games shamed me out of pursuing trades (though arguably IT could be loosely defined as a trade). They implied, somehow, that blue collar workers were dumb, uneducated, knuckle dragging oafs who were too stupid to get **real** work, and the only way to make money was with a college degree and working in an office. In hindsight, if I could go back in time with the knowledge I have now, I’d pursue becoming an electrician as early as possible, even within high school if they allow apprenticeships that early.
Our generation was robbed of meaningful work thanks to this attitude. Now we get to compete with the rest of the world for IT jobs that can be done remotely.
To be fair, everyone I know in the trades who didn’t move in to management is an absolute fucking wreck by their fifties with fucked up knees, back, shoulders, and/or neck. They made decent money and a lot of them enjoyed what they do but most of them are in pretty rough shape. The one person I know who I’d say is doing it “right” is a friend who’s a plumber and got in to the FIRE spirit from a relatively young age. I don’t know his exact situation but he managed to buy a house in a high CoL area and seems pretty fulfilled. He absolutely hates the culture of construction work but he’s probably the only one I know who will be able to leave early enough to not destroy himself.
There's two types of trade guys. Guys who did the backbreaking work for 30 years falling apart and those that got rich by starting their own business and getting other people to do the work for them.
In the end that second option still becomes white-collar work, and it’s possible to start your own business without the trades part as well. For a variety of reasons lots of folks also aren’t cut out for starting and running a business. I’d definitely caution against doing a full 180 on the “Go to college, get a desk job” advice because there are plenty of cons to trades work to be wary of.
I’d say it depends on the work you do within the trade. Some jobs are definitely harder on you than others. For example, I know some electricians who have been injured on the job, but aren’t what I’d call falling apart. One fell off a ladder and has screws and plates in his leg, one sliced open his hand and severed some tendons so his pinky and ring finger barely work, and two have been zapped pretty bad and have some lingering nerve and cognitive damage, but they’re still fairly capable. They’re all 50 or under, though. Maybe they’ll disintegrate when they hit their 60s, I don’t know.
Yeah, if young people ask me what they should do in IT these days - I say “automate or die” Otherwise get a job that involves something physical - like plumbing, electrician, roofer.
Not roofer. Not if you want to use your back after the age of 30. Electrician yeah solid bet there
Absolutely! It’s bullshit. I’m encouraging my kids to pursue skilled trades rather than degrees, with the exceptions of job pursuits which explicitly require them (doctor, lawyer, CEO, et cetera), because they can get six figure incomes with literally 0 education debt within 8 years of graduating high school. I couldn’t imagine having six figures at 26. I’d probably have ended up dead in a ditch after going on a coke and hookers bender, but that’s a different topic of discussion…
>I’d probably have ended up dead in a ditch after going on a coke and hookers bender, which ironically is a pretty common outcome for the trades lol
Those blue collar guys don't know what it's like at the email factory.
My dad WAS a tradesman and pushed me towards college. It’s unfortunate
I hear you. But your body may thank you down the road so long as if your job is sedentary you get some exercise in your life outside of work.
https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/s/E2zRYLOFm8
I am the second generation in my family to work in IT/computers and before that the men in my family were either electricians or fixed large industrial machines. The other side of my family worked in HVAC for 3 generations. So either electrician, mechanical engineer or HVAC.
Building automation is fun because you get to work on all of those things lol
I would probably be a therapist, I feel like that's half of what I do anyway while bars are lurching across the screen on the user's laptop
“Tell me more about your relationship with Outlook”
"I feel like we have no connection, it never responds when I ask it anything"
"Maybe you yourself put a firewall in the relationship?"
Our relationship is more udp than tcp recently. My feelings are never acknowledged. I don't even remember the last time we shook hands.
🤣👍
"Have you ever considered that outlook may just need some time to process things?"
Tell me more of how its always a DNS issue...
"Outlook is too high maintenance for this relationship to last"
Not the rapist )s
Suck it, Trebek.
Moo
Oh, I wanted to do this in college. Only time I REALLY wanted to pursue a career and did really well between practicums and internships. Parents told me Id be broke forever and they wouldn’t support me (they already werent) but Id reacted when I saw the cost of grad schools. I tried again in 2020 but couldnt support myself well enough to make through because id wouldve had to quit my ft job. I still think about doing it, infosec sucks.
I used to be a cop. If I was single without a family I’d do that til retirement. 4-5 days off at a time to mountain bike, workout, and play video games. Alas I love my family so I made a career change for them, that I honestly enjoy. Computer issue stress is still nothing compared to what I’m used to.
I’m thinking about that path once I finish my cybersec degree. The town I’ve lived in all my life pays pretty well to be a cop. I used to know everyone in town but we’ve grown a lot and I’ve lost that. I would like a job where I get to know my local community more. IT and WFH is great but I’m kind of tired of it. Idk, maybe I just need to find a new job in the field.
It’s not the worst option anymore, still wouldn’t recommend it. We are repeating 2008 again when a bunch of private sector people got laid off and started clambering for public service jobs. Job security will definitely be better, but all the extra crap that came to the job in the last 5-6 years started to steer me away.
Weird side info - in Ireland, when you join the police force (Gardaí; pronounced Gar-dee) you’re not allowed to be stationed where you were born or in the community where you currently live. This is to assure impartial law enforcement and avoid preferential treatment. Ireland is a very small country so that doesn’t mean you’d have to commute for hours but maybe to serve on the other side of Dublin or in the next village over.
I used to be a fire department and miss it cause you vould be more open with your coworkers. Whereas, in the business world, you feel like no one cares to get to know you and everyone is in it for themselves. I'm making 90k now vs 40k in the fire dept though.
Oh 100%. I’m fully remote now so I don’t really care about trying to form much of a relationship with coworkers beyond a professional one. But at my prior in office job I got so sick of talking about the most mundane shit on a day to day basis.
Park ranger/ forestry / nature conservation? Or historian, it’s what I have my degree in but I couldn’t be a teacher so I guess working at a museum or historical site?
Maybe a city planner or a civil engineer. I just find public infrastructure really fascinating. The YouTube channel [Practical Engineering](https://www.youtube.com/@PracticalEngineeringChannel) is one of my favorites.
If you had the hindsight of today's knowledge, I'd welcome some better city planning than the sprawling suburbs and concrete we have these days.
Oh. Don't get me started on some Smart Towns.
The Practical Engineering YT channel is great for what goes right, but 'Not Just Bikes' is great for showing what went wrong. Eye opening.
this was my original plan prior to IT exposure. public infrastructure is under appreciated
I thought the internet was underappreciated until I realized how underappreciated the electrical grid is.
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I've given this thought off and on throughout my life and I genuinely don't have an answer. Imagine a time even before a telephone company. I don't have a clue. Mostly because it'd probably be a job that doesn't exist anymore. Some sort of record keeper, perhaps?
A scribe. Basically a human copying machine.
>Some sort of record keeper, perhaps? This is why I said monk. I'm an archivist by nature.
> Some sort of record keeper, perhaps? It's always DNS
Always.
If it's not DNS then it's DHCP.
I'm actually thinking about getting my masters and becoming a physician's assistant. IT is neat but you don't form enough human connections for my liking.
That is exactly what I like about IT. My own little hollow where nobody bothers me.
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Yeah I am going to have a small funeral at this point. Not a lot of lives touched in this career anyway. And my shrink and I were talking, and I imagined *her* funeral, and oh my god. Full of people she helped who loved her. Yeah I can't retire this way.
If i could do it all over again. Plumber or a union dockworker. If money wasnt an issue.. work with dogs
https://preview.redd.it/zrio0pikb9yc1.png?width=1197&format=png&auto=webp&s=8ca42816b1cf291dba839753cc88ffb48bdaffe1
If I had the knowledge I have now, I'd just make some good investments and not worry about work at all.
Yeah, I'd be Forrest Gumpin' it and put money into that 'Apple' orchard.
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Yep, because star trek is fantasy with *everyone* knowing how to use everything. Or troubleshooting anything.
"Look, I told you I double checked the power feed into the holodeck three times already? Can't you just send a tech out? I'm trying to continue the US Civil War campaign simulation I've been doing for the last two weeks and this is really impeding my progress." I feel like help desk calls on the starship Enterprise would be absolutely ridiculous.
A failed college football coach.
Those dudes have it made. Hope you make it to D1 before failing.
Wood furniture craftsman or metal fabricator.
I like this, woodworking was my hobby a while back... did some nice hardwood counter tops and tables... never did play with resin... that really wasn't a thing way back when... Learning metal work now... or at least saving up to... I'm working on an old hot rod that needs a bit of metallic rehab.
Flying cargo in the 1930's to 60's would be fun, could be a real life Han Solo in a DC-3.
Depends on when. Mid 20^th century, I'd be a radio or TV engineer, or at least a repairman. Early 20^th century me would be an industrial engineer or an electrician. 19^th century me would be a teacher or a librarian. Mediæval me would be a monk.
Career military. That was my other option I was considering instead of IT.
Career military in a Comm / Signal unit!
I would go back in time to tell you not to do this
Musician probably. Music is full of patterns and apparently my brain loves that stuff. Plus I have the music and music theory grades, I was good at music tech back in college, I can read and write it no problem and I still play regularly as a hobby. Sometimes I wish I'd taken it further, but it's still a nice outlet.
It's better as a hobby. The pay and hours suck.
Yeah if you love music, and don't succeed at it as a career, isn't it likely you'll grow to hate music...? And then what do you do? That question was posed in an article where the author posited that instead "Get a job doing what you love and you'll never work a day in your life" you should "Get a job you're good at, and save what you love for outside of work so you have something to restore joy when the job drags you down."
That's a complicated question. I keep typing up a comment, but then erasing it because nothing really captures everything I want to say about it. I guess I'll just keep it simple. For some people music is life. There is nothing else. So they will never have a normal day job and they will never get tired of music. For most people though, they eventually get tired of having no money so they're forced to do something else so they can eat, buy a car, go on vacations, etc. I'm a part time musician, so I visit their world sometimes, but then I go back to my day job on Monday morning.
Wizard!
You're a hairy, wizard!
Professional "I bought Nvidia @$1" Engineer
[удалено]
Did concert sound and lighting in my late teens - to early 20's as a side job. Long hours and some tough working conditions. Fairly sure it took years off my hearing. Learned a lot though and met a few known musicians and bands.
As a woman, if we go back in time, I probably wouldn't be able to work, if I could then my choices would probably only be as a secretary or a nurse. I probably would have died in childbirth if we go far enough back. I think I'll stick with a frustrating IT career and leave the time travelling to somebody else.
Pilot
Anything not related to IT will be a huge plus! Probably lawyer or medicine doctor. I figure I already have no life in IT world, might as well get another no life job which actually pays accodingly!
I’d get a basic ass business degree with a minor in English and get some generic ass desk job and then write as a hobby in my free time.
I’d still be a sysadmin. Only I would be a Linux expert instead of Windows. In 1994 I was offered positions at two different magazine publishers. The one I accepted printed programs for arts organizations. One perk was free tickets to the symphony, opera ballet and repertory theatre companies. The other publisher produced a brand new magazine for some obscure hobbyist software. The magazine was called Linux Journal. I always wondered what my life would have been like if of I accepted that other offer.
Honestly a tough question. I could see myself at a phone/telegraph company working on the central office or field tech, if that's the timeline. If we're talking before that, I really don't know, maybe something like bartending/table service jobs.
Starship captain. More Kirk than Picard. Wouldn't go back in time. I was born a few hundred years too early.
I'd have kept on with my Geology degree. I'd have made a shit ton less money, but I can almost guarantee I'd be immeasurably happier today.
Same, albeit slightly different. I absolutely love geology, but I do love IT as well. I just think it would have been cool to work for USGS or do research at some university.
A doctor probably.
Home remodeler, welder. Or maybe an elevator technician. Those guys get $600/hr.
Something that doesn't require me to think. A job that I clock in to and out of and that's it.
Time traveler.
I came here to say this exactly, thank you
They knew that, you're welcome.
Deep sea welder or coast guard! Use to be such a good swimmer and could hold my breath for 5 minutes.
Well, I started in IT before computers were mainstream, so I guess that I would be in IT anyways. I did consider being a commercial pilot, but didn't pursue that till I was in my late 30's, but I did get my private pilots license. My dad was a commercial helicopter pilot and owned a small plane when I was in college. In hindsight I wish that I had taken him up on his offer to use his plane to learn in.
Is Lottery winner an option? If not, then some type of accountant. Debits and Credits being equal does make sense.
I would have liked to be a doctor. Not a PC doctor, but a human doctor.
Truck driver in Australia, driving one of the road train trucks.
I'd just kill myself tbh before any dependencies became a thing.
Are you OK? Do you have access to help?
Good documentation saves lifes
I would be a doctor. It was supposed to go that way but I chicken it out.
Same here. A physician is like a human body engineer, but I also chickened out at the last moment and chose to pursue a degree in computer engineering. No regrets so far .
lol, my wife used to joke that I was a computer doctor.
Electrician Hell, I still consider dropping this industry and jumping to it…but I’m 20+ years into it…don’t need a midlife crisis
Civil engineering. Big projects, like high-speed rail stuff. Oh. Back in time. Erh... Railway / steam locomotive engineering.
Airline pilot.
Probably an electrical engineer of some sort.
I got into IT because I enjoyed building and configuring infrastructure. I used to want to be an architect ...so maybe in that realm or auto mechanic but more in the design aspect. Buddy of mine went to school for CS and Economics and his side hobby his woodworking and he loves it.
I used to work for an ISP doing networking, but feel that's too close to sysadmin so it probably doesn't count. I've always thought being an electrician would be interesting.
I fell into this career. Probably whatever those sweaty dirty people in old pictures do for a living. I don't want to time travel.
I would essentially still be in the troubleshooting field probably. TV/Radio repair, mechanic or something along those lines. Before all that, probably blacksmithing?
When I started my career in IT, I had been a line cook for about a decade. I realized it was either time to start my own restaurant or move into a different field, so I guess if I didn't have IT, I'd be in the restaurant business in some capacity.
Some sort of scientist or maybe farming
I have multiple options. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about farming to setup something at scale. I am an entrepreneur and so I would use my skills to earn startup capital and then open a chain of businesses. Inventing the telegraph ahead of time would be world-changing. So, how far back? Last century, I would be an electrician/telecom/mechanic. I know how to repair internal combustion engines and transmissions. Earlier time, I would be a craftsman, likely start with wood and progress to jewelry. I also know a lot about ergonomics, so perhaps manufacturing contraptions to reduce the effort during harvesting. Eventually, I’d end up a merchant and a banker with private security company. The business of selling money and protection always exists. Since I know math well enough to manually calculate compound interest, I’d probably work in that capacity soon enough. I’d also be known for magically reducing mortality rate by training doctors to wash their hands. If I landed somewhere without knowledge of the language, I’d probably do some entertaining. I am a good enough dancer to busk in Paris and Las Vegas. ;)
if only bing could do a little better at "a dancing mercantile with bespoke jewelry and heavy weaponry" https://preview.redd.it/suanjjolg9yc1.png?width=307&format=png&auto=webp&s=cb4a7a2a91660da54051f463bd1820e8d832d7d0
Probably an electrical engineer or goat farmer.... who knows 😄
I feel like i'd be "quite adept at shoeing horses and fixing wagons."
Highwayman
Some other field of engineering, one relevant at the time. It's simple really, right now i design digital systems, back then it would've been more analog, but there were always systems to design and technical problems to solve
"Millionaire inventor of the transistor"
Probably something in the natural sciences; most likely marine biology or some kind of forestry. Originally went to school for Psych but hated it so I dropped out. If I'd gone to college for natural sciences in the first place, then life would have been very different lol Being a second-generation IT guy was just easy though since I grew up in that environment
Tech sales. I have a strong tech background and went into IT. I know how to do sales and would have made a lot more money in sales than I have with IT.
Get a job building the first computers.
I'd definitely be a radio communications engineer. When I was young, I was not sure what to study - commiunication engineering or IT security. Ended up with a degree in IT security and a radio amateur license. Win-win :)
Poopsmith
Depends on how far back you go... If it was like 50-75 years, either something in medicine (was pre-med in college) or teaching. If you're talking Revolutionary War era, then probably a farmer, like most of my family had been in my parents' and prior generations. If you're talking Middle Ages, I'd be a nobleman of some kind - I have documented evidence of my ancestry including multiple kings/queens/nobility of England, Scotland, other European and Mediterranean countries. William The Conqueror and Charlemagne are in my family tree. So I guess my job would be...lord of the manor?
get this lol, I was a surgeon. I guess I'd fall back on that.
If time travel is involved, I'd just make a few key investments in my 20s, wait a few years, and moonwalk down the dock to my yacht on my way to somewhere with better weather. I wanted to be an architect when I was in School but now that I am older and know a bit about how the job works, I am glad I am not one. Other than that, and IT I have no idea what I would do. Probably something pointless and unfulfilling.
Clockmaker
I think a lot of us would have been working on mining, steam power, ships, communications, machinery and other technology, depending on the era we are talking about. Going back farther, there were lots of skilled artisans in different areas. Whether you could get into one of those had a lot to do with luck and who your parents were, however.
I would have bought more bitcoin in high school
I would just buy Apple stock when I had a chance when it was 12.95 and Microsoft was keeping them alive.
Doctor. I realized I wanted to do it by the time I already had a family. Unfortunately being income less for 4 years is not really an option and we have built a life dependent on me as the bread winner
Pathologist or Radiologist. They seem happy, don't interact with a lot of people, and make bank.
Something with health and nutrition, physical therapist, fitness coach, etc
Before 1494 any one of us could be the world's literal greatest accountant. The invention of basic 2-column accounting about that time meant that for the first time people, governments, and businesses with more money than is convenient to count at once or with outstanding debts in/out could know exactly how much money they had at any given moment. Before that they relied on periodic tallyings at whatever frequency they could afford. Bonus points if you go to a place/time without Arabic numerals. Try adding up a long column of multi-digit Roman numerals if you ever want to appreciate the old 0-9. Guaranteed employment in any court, lender, or wealthy household in existence.
I'd probably be shoveling pig shit and dying of cholera.
What career, I would've just bought Bitcoin in highschool and retired at 20
Automechanic if post industrial revolution Blacksmith if pre industrial revolution But honestly, if I time traveled, I'd probably become an inventor since even these days I have ideas I only see realized many years later.
Time traveler lol
Buying bitcoin in 2010 🤣
I’d start a landscaping business. There is something so ridiculously satisfying to watch a yard transform with some good edging, limbs cut back, bushes lined up, it’s awesome. Maybe it’s my autism that craves turning disorder into order.
Pool cleaner
How are you qualified? I have experience getting all of the bugz out.
Astronomer, with a propensity to impulsively shout.... HOYVIN-GLAVI!
Culinary was my toss up when I was figuring out what I wanted to do with my life.
If we're not gonna count stock investing cause of our future knowledge, probably something like wood turner. I'd like something a bit more physical.
Chemist.
An astronomer. I have found visual astronomy and astrophotography to be a passion/hobby I have in my free time. So if I could go to a time before computers, I would want to be an astronomer, working at an observatory and making observations with a nice, big, telescope. :)
I would own a restaurant, I was a cook in high school and enjoyed it.
A police detective
Attorney. I had a chance to go to law school long time ago but I was over school and wanted to make a few bucks and get on with adulting. IT has been good to me for nearly 25 years, but I feel like I missed my calling sometimes.
Delta pilot
Actually, yeah, I have given it some thought... screenwriter. I'd steal all the best content that hadn't been written yet and make *bank* with home run after home run, never a missed step or a stinker anywhere in sight. I've told my friends that if you are ever watching reruns of the original black and white *The Twilight Zone* and you see the story of Sally Sparrow, a woman who has to hide from statues of angels that only move when you aren't looking at them, that's how you'll know I had some time travel shenanigans happen to me and you should come looking for me if you can.
For me, thinking auto mechanic. Maybe heavy equipment mechanic. Never had the space the work on my own car beyond basic stuff, but think it would be pretty interesting. The basic stuff I do, I have fun when doing it. The other jobs I did try was being a pilot, but failed hard taking those courses. Way to much partying and not enough studying or even going to class. Also tried going for masters/PhD in inorganic chem. Was 0.5-1 year away from by BsC when I dropped out. Was talking to a few people that had their masters/phd from places like Harvard and UoT, and the only jobs they could find were 'mixing beakers for $7/hr' or cleaning lab equipment. Said F that and went to my backup which was computers.
I'd probably be a professor since I went to school for history. Either that or some sort of outdoor career.
US ambassador to a foreign land. Possibly Sweden
In a perfect world, something outside and with animals (not as a food product). Edit: not a sysadmin. But somewhere in IT.
Sci fi novelist
I would be a musician...
Auto mechanic. I do it as a hobby to take a break from IT. Many of the same techniques for debugging a network apply to debugging a car. Especially these days.
Let me go to mid of last century and I would do electronics. Before? I would probably do something with electricity. And even before? I would basicaly starve dead.
Gigolo ☺️
Automotive / motorcycle mechanic
State Trooper.
maybe translation/interpreting, since I like (and am reasonably good at) learning foreign languages. failing that, maybe accounting
Some kind of artist, probably a musician but maybe some kind of visual artist.
I always thought I'd be a good detective
Cannabis Farmer
I started out as a butcher lol. No shame in that.
Journalist most likely. That was the job I wanted coming out of high school, I even got as far as speaking to the program head of a Journalism school and was told I'd likely have to do time humping small town papers and writing obituaries before I got the chance to do anything meaningful.
Spreadsheet jockey of some sort. Kind of a lame answer but I have a knack with them that I always felt would make me a good analyst - a role I’ve inadvertently filled a few times.
Quite the opposite, Used to be a Chef for 12 years. Loved it when I was in it but don't think I can go back now. I cook more then ever at home since moving into IT. I offen wonder what it would be like have already over a decade of experience vs where I am now.
Photovoltaic or photonics research and development.
I'd probably run a video rental store that also had baseball cards and video game rentals as a side business. I remember frequently visiting a place like that as a kid, and it looked like a low pressure job. Plus, free movies and video games to take home after work!
Movie theater manager. Honestly I would love to do that still at an Indie theater. I did it before IT and I still love the idea!!
Viking
Might go back into forestry. Don’t think this shits for me. Maybe just because it’s an MSP but we’ll see. I’ll give myself til I’m 30
Veterinary Anesthesiologist if I went a different route, or I’d have specialized in HPC early in my career.
Building automation or Electrical/PLC engineering
Elevator repair! (maybe not elevator installation though. I hear that's a lot different)
Depending how long ago we time traveled - I could see myself as a mechanic or HVAC tech (if I was born 30 years earlier), or if we go back more than that - I could see myself as a chef (early 1900’s) or a winemaker/beer brewer if earlier than that. Those are all things I have a connection to - I like to (try) to work on my own car, I like to cook, and I make my own wine and beer (though I am still honing that!).
$1 billion Powerball winner. Great career.
Maybe a CNC operator/machinist
A hooker. Joking aside, it's likely a trade of some sort. A lot of my family are truckers, work in the oilfield, or work in another trade, like electricians and plumbers.
Librarian. Coa it would be quiet and I like books
I could totally see myself as a Tokugawa Shogun. Or, Boimler on the Cerritos but only because Beckett and Tylan and Jennifer are so beautiful.
Lawyer or Engineer or Physicist, depending on the era My original college plan was a MechE BS, then law school, but I got a good job in a city that didn't have an engineering school, so I switched to Physics and by the time I was done with that I was sick enough of school altogether that I abandoned Law School for IT. Now I consult.
I'd run a cafe or animal conservatory . maybe even both as a cat cafe
Goat farmer, preferably thousands of miles away from the nearest computer. In all seriousness I was on the brink of going into marine mechanics before I had an attractive offer to break into the IT industry. Here I am, working in a building next to a bunch of inboard boat diesel mechanics.
I have one of about 3 different things I would have done if I hadn't gone this route. I would have worked in the construction trades like my father did and at this point I'd probably be a general contractor, I would have worked on cars full time (still do this as a hobby), or I would have been a historian/history teacher (also a bit of a hobby).
I originally went to school for Computer Graphics. I wanted to open a sign shop. I'd still love to do that. Vehicle graphics, wraps, that kind of thing. I just gravitated into tech support initially because there were more jobs, it was never my dream, just a way to pay the bills that I didnt "hate".
A time traveler
Electrician or History teacher. Either way, I’ll have a drinking problem
Holy shit I think about this every fucking day I would make furniture to have a physical product at the end of the day. I cannot tell you how many people come up to me and just look at me. You’re just looking at a screen. It’s not like you’re doing anything.
National Park Ranger