Ask HN: Who Should I Talk To?

7 points3pt141591mo ago4 comments

I am in a bit of a sticky situation. I'm 40 years old and my background is in programming (backend ruby and python, some cybersecurity, some JavaScript, although the JS is dated) and I don't like coding anymore. At least not day to day.

What I'm looking for is some sort of position that can leverage my background but do so in some other way. Maybe something in marketing at a company like Digital Ocean.

I'm willing to earn a lot less than I earned before. I know software development pays better than a role in marketing, but I'm sick of the tooling. I'm also open to working for an AI company that trains a software agent, which I've done so recently. Does anyone have references to a recruiter or hiring manager that I could talk to?

I would really appreciate any help here. Even just an upvote for visibility.

4 comments

david9271mo ago

We're all under a bad star right now. There aren't many options, lots of people underemployed and many more completely unemployed. Competition is fierce. I don't have much to say, unfortunately, other than recognizing that it's hard and wishing the best for you.

uncanny21mo ago

The old model is in flux. The comfortable employment wage cycle is breaking down.

The most obvious and timeless wisdom is to find those directly who need someone competent to walk them through the business needs of modernizing technology.

1099 or LLC my friend. It’s a bunch of work you may not like doing, up front anyway, once you have a few businesses or individuals whose problems you solve, or convinced to subscribe to your simplifying service things will be like the good old days, only you will have more power in your own process.

Just setting up an AI video security system and walking away is a for instance. Everyone will want that now that it’s so cheap, and offlinable, only few can sit down and get a tolerable interface working for the little guy.

For instance.

Adapt, stop trying to cling to the “old way.”

allinonetools_1mo ago

I’ve seen a few developers move into DevRel or product roles and they seemed much happier. Your backend background is still valuable there, but the work is more about helping users than writing code all day. Might be worth exploring those paths.

apothegm1mo ago

Sales engineers and “field CTOs” are in demand these days, fwiw.

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