
Ask HN: What Skills and Careers Are Most Transferrable Globally - toomuchtodo
Along the same lines, what skills and careers are most compatible without needing to constantly be active in the field to stay relevant (such as supporting the ability to take several years off and still be marketable upon return to the market)?<p>I&#x27;m a technology professional with over twenty years of experience, and it has never been more clear that the treadmill of tech doesn&#x27;t support even brief breaks in employment. I&#x27;m seeking community input as to what skills and careers have life long value regardless of continuity of employment or marketplace participation, while also enabling you to find work independent of geography.
======
wrestlerman
I am surprised no one mentioned manager roles. People don't change that much I
guess. We know more about our behaviors, that's right, but experience with
working with people is something that will be always relevant in my opinion.
I'd say the same about sales(?) and any kind of job that is related to
interacting with people.

Just my opinion, not sure how true it is.

~~~
eb0la
Managerial roles does not transfer well from country to country. Culture
issues arise frequently, not just when dealing with the people you manage, but
also with upper management.

Only exception is VP, President, C-level positions. They usually transfer well
since they speak the same language.

~~~
hanniabu
I can see managing up being an issue, but managing down all depends on
managing style. In my opinion if you're a good manager it shouldn't really be
affected by culture.

------
gamechangr
That's the chief argument for going into medicine. Some of my friends would
have been great developers, but they didn't want to work 60+ weeks the rest of
their life, battle ageism, and have to re-tool. Doctors, Nurses, and Lawyers
can get work permits in almost any country.

I would think in tech that the answer to your question would be things that
are not usually considered exciting like becoming a Java or .Net developer.
You could take a 5 year break and be very likely that people would still be
hiring Java developers. Even 10 years off, you would have good odds.

~~~
altairiumblue
I would say that doctors (depending on the specialty), nurses and lawyers have
much worse work-life balances than developers. And law degrees generally don't
transfer well to countries with different laws and judicial systems from the
one where you studied.

~~~
Spooky23
Disagree on nurses.

Both medical doctor and attorney I agree 100%. Most attorneys hate life.

~~~
hanniabu
Maybe it's people that hate life that choose to be attorneys? Hmmmm

~~~
altairiumblue
Probably not - these are just high pressure careers that require a lot of
work, way over the usual 40 hrs per week. There is a small number of people
with highly conscientious personalities who are willing to give up a lot of
their personal life to be successful - those people are just wired to work a
lot and they thrive in these highly competitive fields. Everyone else who gets
in the field has to somehow keep up but their personality and goals don't
match the career they've chosen. And so they end up hating life to a certain
extent.

------
olegious
I'm an American product manager- I had offers in the US and 3 EU countries
after my last job search (ended up moving to the EU). Good product practices
are transferable across borders.

------
auslegung
Writing comes to mind first, satisfying “without needing to constantly be
active”. However I don’t know how globally transferable it is.

------
Spooky23
Nursing and trades.

The beauty of both is that you just work, and usually get paid for what you
do. Work an all-nighter? Welcome to overtime.

