How can I make a living from doing something reasonably interesting?

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
ROBOTS!!!!!!

OK, so robots can't do everything that's boring/unpleasant/dangerous/emotionally draining (yet). But there could easily be enough money made available to make these jobs a lot more lucrative than they are, which would be something at least.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I would stick to science, Tea, make ballistic missiles in cool European cities and write short stories about that in your spare time. Do the Michael Lewis thing, two sets of books, your job and the creative material you can leach from it. It's more interesting to be a ballistic missile engineer or an investment banker who writes brilliantly in their spare time than being an unemployed and unpaid, failing writer.

I dunno if you're being funny with the missiles thing, but not wanting to design missiles is why I'm unemployed at the moment.

And yes, of course if you're going to do something that doesn't hugely interest you intellectually it's obviously better if it's well paid, because then you can at least go on decent holidays while you write the novel that (by rights) would make you the next David Foster Wallace if it were ever to be published. And face the prospect of old age with an attitude of something other than panic terror.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
If I sound glib, I don't mean to. I'm being as serious as I can be. I've seen a few 40-somethings quit good jobs to pursue their, for example, "passion for script-writing" - invariably they have then spent every night in the pub and every morning in the gym, with a fortnightly stop at the Job Centre to collect their JSA payments while lying about their non-existent Asda job application.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
If I was you, I would've designed missiles. And then written a Bellow-esque novel about the anxieties and sex life of an average ballistic missile engineer in a cool European city, an updated Scandinavian version of 'The Dean's December'.
 
If I was you, I would've designed missiles. And then written a Bellow-esque novel about the anxieties and sex life of an average ballistic missile engineer in a cool European city, an updated Scandinavian version of 'The Dean's December'.

That's similar to the plot of Youth by Coetzee.

"At 18 he might have been a poet. Now he is not a poet, not a writer, not an artist. He is a computer programmer, a 24year old computer programmer in a world where there are (yet) no 30 year old computer programmers. At 31 he is too old to be a programmer: one turns oneself into something else - some kind of businessman - or shoots oneself"
 
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luka

Well-known member
Don't start by thinking of something cool and interesting start from wanting to make a contribution to society. So no missiles, more CAB.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
If I was you, I would've designed missiles. And then written a Bellow-esque novel about the anxieties and sex life of an average ballistic missile engineer in a cool European city, an updated Scandinavian version of 'The Dean's December'.

I had this sort of epiphany last year when I went to see Psychic TV play live, and it occurred to me that I can be the sort of person who designs missile guidance systems for a living, or the sort of person who goes to Psychic TV gigs, but I can't be both. And I know which I'd rather be.

And I think I'd be flattering myself if I thought anyone wanted to read about either my anxieties or my sex life.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Become a data scientist w/machine learning freelancer, work six months a year and write in the other six.

I'm attempting to teach myself Python, so this sort of thing could be an option.

I'll admit that pride has a certain amount to do with my antipathy towards a straightforward career in IT, as I'm well aware that I'd have to pay to go on a course to learn how to do stuff my (younger) brother could toss out in his sleep when he was 17. That, and that fact that I'm fundamentally not very good at it.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
It's a noble question, and do tell me when you find out the answer.

I think mixedbiscuits' suggestion is a good one, when generalised to: prioritise finding something you can do on a freelance basis, and get paid pretty well for doing so. The people I know who have managed to make a freelance career are probably the happiest with their working lives (excluding those who actually like simultaneous boredom and suffering for 12 months a year). It likely (but not necessarily) means compromising and going for something you don't find fascinating, but it gives you time to do the things you do find fascinating, obv.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Thanks Hywel, some good stuff in there I think.

I think a big part of it is that quite a lot of things, including many that are not necessarily immediately obvious as 'fun' or 'cool' or 'interesting', can become interesting if you stick at them long enough. I don't mean that anyone who studies inheritance tax law for long enough suddenly has this Zen-like epiphany of awesomeness, more that it can be fun to be good at something but to get to this stage, you have to do the drudgey stuff first. Like how it can be pleasurable to drive a car on a country road (assuming you have the good fortune to find a stretch with no other traffic on it, which is a rare thing in southern England in 2016, but anyway) but long before you get to that level of competence, you have to complete the usually not-terribly-fun stuff of learning how to navigate roundabouts and parallel-park and all that bollocks.

I've had little glimpses of this in programming before so maybe there'll be a greater pay-off if I stick with the Python. Let's see.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Become a data scientist

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Woebot

Well-known member
hi mr tea

well i must say craner has been very generous with his sound opinion

your idea to learn python seems like a good plan.

i have a pretty good idea for you too. i met a former engineer recently working in my business. he found engineering a bit boring - now he uses a software called *houdini*

http://www.sidefx.com/

(they have a free demo or educational license)

it's a pretty complex procedural special effects software. because it is as forbidding and geeky as it is people like me (from arts backgrounds) kinda stumble when they come to it - but there is a reasonably strong demand in the vfx community for houdini programmers.

if you taught yourself houdini i reckon you might be able to find yourself work in vfx. but don't ask me (perilous giving advice innit)- have a good look on google first.

one other thought - this might seem a bit rude or odd (!) or even blatantly obvious - but i wouldn't be in a hurry to get married. once you're hitched it becomes a lot harder to carve yourself a niche - especially as it sounds like you need to be mobile...
 

craner

Beast of Burden
I must say, when I was on the skids Matt offered me kind words and support, a good idea and even a contact for it. I appreciated that a lot and have never forgotten it.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Cheers Matt, you know that really is not something I'd ever have considered but it sounds pretty cool.

I've just watched the promotional video on their website and frankly I was sold by the Chinese lady with the nice boobs.

I'm not married but I've been with my girlfriend for about six years now and lived together for nearly three, so in effect I sort of am already.
 
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