
Ask HN: Working in software industry outdoors? - sakopov
I&#x27;m a software engineer with 10 years of experience and a pretty crazy love for the outdoors. I hike, climb, go on adventures in the mountains and just like being outdoors in general. Are there any interesting companies that can fulfill the side of me? What kind of a job in the software industry would get me to do software engineering outside at least part of the time? And I&#x27;m not talking about working from home in my backyard :)
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atomical
I'm a remote developer planning to work from campgrounds and mountains with a
quasi standing desk that can be attached to a tree. I'm thinking about putting
up a blog to track the experience and all the research I have done.

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hanniabu
How will you get power? Generator? Take breaks to charge at a facility?

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atomical
Initially, a power inverter/car setup. If the lifestyle suits me I'll buy one
of the quieter honda generators.

Batteries seem adequate for working during day hikes.

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jeffmould
I am sure if you could find a remote developer job you could work from
wherever you please, as long as you were accessible when they needed you to be
(i.e. Internet connectivity, conference calls, etc..). I know plenty of people
who work from Starbucks, or other coffee shops/public locations, all day
without an issue, so I don't see what the difference would be if you were in a
tent in the middle of the woods or on top of a mountain. Another option may be
to look for positions in areas that have extensive outdoor areas (i.e.
Boulder, CO) to explore within walking distance or short commute.

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pdx
Back in 2000, I worked for a forklift company, developing a transmission
controller. I spent a lot of time driving the forklift around outside, with my
laptop zip-tied to a platform they welded on for me next to the steering
wheel. I would put a load on the forks and do things like go up hills, lift
the load, hit the brakes, flip from reverse to forward at full speed, etc.,
and evaluate how the truck responded. Based on that, I then stopped the truck
wherever I happened to be (on the company owned test area), altered the source
code, compiled, downloaded, and did the test again. It was a lot of fun.

So I imagine your best bet is to develop firmware for vehicles, drones, or
robots for land, air, or sea. There will be testing and modifications to be
done in real-world (outside) conditions.

