
Ask HN : What would you do if you had to switch to a "manual" job? - dan_sim
It includes every job that a computer is not (or almost) used.
======
DanielBMarkham
Stone mason. You carry all of your tools in your back pocket, you get to work
on and build beautiful and cool things that people enjoy, and when you're done
your work can last for hundreds of years. (Plus you get to be outside and meet
lots of interesting folk)

I've also had a hankering for owning my own sub shop at the beach. Walk up in
your bare feet, place an order, and minutes later I've created something that
makes you happy. I get to wear whatever I want, and the scenery is gorgeous.

~~~
jakewolf
I've built dry stacked stone walls. Can't beat the feeling of satisfaction
knowing they will stand for over a century.

------
KB
Before I started college, I pretty much had two directions I wanted to go.
Either go to college(for CS) or earn a Master Electricians license. I went
with the former, however I sometimes wish I had gone the other direction.

Soooooo.... The manual job for me would have been an Electrician. I have
friends that chose this route and are doing very well for themselves now. Good
pay, make your own hours, potential to start your own business, etc. Manual
labor in my opinion is extremely underrated, especially when it comes to trade
related work. College is pushed so hard to high schoolers these days, that
nobody considers alternative paths. Just like earning a college degree, I
think you can lead a good life and possibly become extremely successful
applying your skills to learning a trade.

~~~
lsc
Ask your local SysAdmin; you can do ok without a degree even without going
into 'the trades'

------
tsally
Sean: So what do you really want to do?

Will: I wanna be a shepherd.

Sean: Really.

Will: I wanna move up to Nashua, get a nice little spread, get some sheep and
tend to them.

~~~
mapleoin
But he didn't really mean it. He was just mocking the doc, right? That's how I
remember it at least. He just wanted to do construction work like the rest of
his friends.

------
tedshroyer
I'd be a farmer. I raise blueberry bushes as my weekend hobby right now and
doing it full time I could get some animals.

------
dan_sim
I would work in a bike shop. Repairing bikes everyday of the week.

~~~
ganley
Bike messenger.

~~~
hyperbovine
Read this, you might find it interesting.

<http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2005/3/19/133129/548>

------
zaidf
Farming, like my grandfather.

------
edw519
Stand-up comic. I wouldn't even have to write anything. I'd just tell
enterprise software war stories. That oughta keep 'em laughing for a while.

~~~
lnguyen
Either that or you'll be keeping them up at night wondering why anything
actually works.

------
yan
I have a follow up question to this: Whatever you're listing now, do you do
this in your spare time?

~~~
mynameishere
I didn't list anything, so yes.

------
profquail
I think it would really cool to be a winemaker.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winemaking>

~~~
reduxredacted
Agreed.

My father-in-law makes and gives away enough that he's probably violating a
few laws about liquor distribution.

He's from Eastern Europe and everyone he knew made wine. It's amazing how
interesting his wine tastes compared to the bottled variety. No sulfites, no
ingredients other than grapes.

It tastes best about 9 months after it was created and goes south after about
a year. The craziest thing, though, is that at about month 12 it starts to
sparkle a little. Nothing serious like Champaign, but a bit of tingle on the
tongue (and it hits you a little quicker imo).

There's only a few downsides:

1) Fruit flies. Oh man. It's bad. When I assisted him last year the first
stage of filtering, we poured the waste out and it looked like half of it was
dirt... except the dirt was moving. He does it in his garage so for about
three months there's a thin layer of flies over everything in there and enough
get into the house to make it sufficiently annoying.

2) Pressing is hard work and the amount that he makes, just about every other
step in the process is very tedious. Part of that is because he refuses to use
anything resembling modern equipment. It's all hard labour.

3) The temptation to turn the wine into Brandy always looms. Which is a great
idea and produces fantastic truly snifter worthy brandy, but also runs the
risk of burning your house down.

It's worth it though. Even the labour, since in the end you have natures best
pain killer as your reward.

------
compay
Equine blacksmith. You're basically a cobbler/podiatrist for horses. All the
fun of being an equine vet, without having to castrate them or stick your arm
up their butts.

~~~
Mankhool
You mean a farrier? I learned alongside the neighbour who used to shoe our
horses.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farrier>

~~~
Shooter
My Dad used to be a farrier. He went to a blacksmith college in Oklahoma,
which was the only post-HS schooling he has had. It's a very dangerous job,
and most guys who are farriers for any length of time end up with serious
wounds. All the lifelong farriers seem to end up with a limp, no matter how
careful they are. My Dad stopped before he got hurt and he eventually started
his own trucking company. There is now a shortage of trained farriers. My Dad
handed out his last business card in 1979, and he still gets people who track
him down and beg him to do work for them. They usually pull a mangled copy of
his old business card out of their pocket. I'm always amazed by that.

When I was growing up, people would ask me what my Dad did. The conversation
usually went like this:

"What's your old man do for a living?"

"He's a farrier." Of course, no one ever knew what that was, so then I would
elaborate:

"He shoes horses."

"He SHOOTS horses?!!??! WTF?!!"

That's actually why my first girlfriend broke up with me. She thought I was
the offspring of some sort of equine mass-murderer. Killing ponies always goes
over big with the ladies ;-) She had a new boyfriend by the time we cleared up
the misunderstanding.

~~~
jodrellblank
Possibly your name had something to do with the misunderstanding as well ;)

------
myth_drannon
Gardening. Actually, right now I have a small garden on my balcony that I take
care around 30 min each day, helps to relax, clear my mind after programming
all day.

------
rokhayakebe
Barista.

Large House Blend $2.00. Bagel and Cream Cheese $1.49. Handing someone a cup
of coffee and seeing that smile on their face, Priceless.

There are some jobs you get just for the money. For everything else, there is
Barista.

------
gamache
Chef.

~~~
huhtenberg
It's one thing to cook well for your family, and a completely different thing
to routinely cook 30 orders in 60 minutes during a lunch rush. It gets _very_
unglamorous very quickly.

~~~
jharrison
I've often thought the same thing. I've known people in the food business and
it just seems like a lot of work.

I think I'd do something like BBQ probably through some kind of catering
situation.

------
retroryan
Maybe there is an opportunity here for hackers. Some sort of job swapping /
training site. It seems a lot of hackers would like to work a "manual job" and
I would bet a lot of people doing manual labors would like to learn about
computers.

------
ryanwaggoner
Restore WWII-era aircraft

------
TallGuyShort
Construction. House-hacking.

~~~
pj
I've recently started focusing on a home remodeling after some renters
destroyed it. It is a lot of hard work. Very manual labor: ripping out walls,
painting, cleaning up the yard.

But yes, very rewarding. You can actually _see_ the work. People in the town
stop and comment on how much better it looks. Everyone can tell if a house
looks better, but not many can tell if a website has a better architecture.

------
jwecker
Whatever it would be, I have no doubt that I'd start looking for ways to
automate it (for better or worse).

------
jamie_ca
As a followup question: "Why aren't you?" Is it just that the computer gigs
are better paying, or is the listed profession only a second love?

~~~
lsc
better pay, better possibility of more pay in the future, and probably more
interesting long term. The automotive industry is quite mature at this point,
and therefore boring.

I could totally see myself going into cars, though, if I was born a century
earlier. That would have been really interesting.

------
alex_c
Catamaran owner in the Caribbean.

~~~
Femur
How would you generate an income from that profession?

~~~
alex_c
Charge tourists for day trips.

Load up 20-40 tourists on the catamaran (based on the size), and charge them
something like $40-50 each.

Costs (other than the boat itself and local fees/taxes) would be a crew of 2
or 3, food and booze, and whatever cut the local resorts get for referrals.

Biggest challenge would likely be to make sure the tourists don't get too
drunk and fall overboard. (seen it happen once, the captain wasn't pleased).

------
bddbbdb
Stonemason, artist, (unemployed) mathematician.

~~~
mnemonicsloth
Nice username. Mathematician and emacs user?

------
shaunxcode
vw/porsche mechanic. It's what I grew up doing and I would actually love to do
it again. If I had more hours in the day I would code and build engines.

~~~
projectileboy
You may enjoy photos of my friend's shop: flat6.com

------
bigsassy
Definitely try to make a living with my guitar. I bet a lot of fellow hackers
here have a musical side too.

~~~
jobrahms
Yep. I'd try to get some actual paying gigs playing piano. Or I'd tune pianos.
I tried that once for a while, kinda fun.

~~~
LogicHoleFlaw
Every actual musician who I tell I left the "professional bassoonist" career
path for computers looks at me like I'm a total fool. "Do you know how many
gigs, grants, and scholarships there are for bassoonists?!"

~~~
mnemonicsloth
Are there other instruments that are comparably scarce, or is the bassoon a
uniquely uncommon specialty?

I'd guess the oboe as the next least popular, but that's probably just because
of the joke.

 _What's the difference between an oboe and a bassoon? The bassoon burns
faster._

~~~
LogicHoleFlaw
The bassoon is in kind of an interesting position because it's used in
basically every full symphonic score ever, but uncommonly played. Most
universities will have two to five bassoon majors at any given time. There are
tons of less commonly used instruments but they are usually played as a side
project by another instrumentalist. A lot of bassoonists actually double down
on the saxophone which is used rarely in the symphonic context. Myself I
alternated between Bassoon and Tenor Saxophone, which was my other love.

The instrument itself plays differently from anything else in an orchestra. It
really is a bizarre instrument. And it's an absolute riot to play. The double
reed, woody sound, and enormous four-octave range make playing the bassoon a
really unique endeavor. The instrument is built out of tune with itself. It
takes a certain kind of... distinctive individual to really connect with the
instrument. Ask any concert musician - they'll nod and grin when you mention
those odd bassoonists.

The closest instrument I can think of in terms of rarity and unusualness is
the French Horn. It's really the odd duck of the brasswinds. French hornists
are a little more common than bassoonists, but then most instrumentations call
for a few more horn players.

Man, this has been a trip down memory lane. What might have been....?

------
tdupree
Forest Preserve Ranger

------
keefe
I wonder what circumstances would lead to that? Some kind of a societal crash
where computers are either fully exploited or no longer relevant.... well, who
knows maybe road bandit? If I got busted with a court order keeping me off
computers and I couldn't find some way to circumvent it, I'd probably end up
doing some highly dangerous, highly paid work like oil rig or crab farmer
until I could get enough $ to bail the country and get back to coding.

------
justlearning
yellow cab driver in a major metro; genuinely interested in people and their
stories. ask my passengers about their day, make notes and learn every day. if
that doesn't count; a street hawker in nyc selling falafel/donner kabab with
my secret sauce.

------
cpr
Timber framing.

Just took a great course (for the second time in 9 years) from the Heartwood
School (heartwoodschool.com), with my second son (first son the first time).

We built a two-story 24' x 28' craft shop in 4 days and raised on the fifth.

Highly recommended.

We also built a timber-frame small horse barn at our farm back in 2000 with
some itinerant framer help (well, they did the bulk of the work, since they
had the experience). Great time, with a 200-person barn raising, big get-
together, bonfire, etc.

------
rlm
Captain of a big freighter (if that counts, because the big ships are mostly
computers nowadays).

Or a chef :)

------
humbledrone
I'd try to make a living building custom arcade machine cabinets.

~~~
shiranaihito
Mmm.. Tekken 6..

~~~
shiranaihito
I agree, not serious-and-business-like enough! We should all ensure that our
comments are not humorous, but may sometimes contain a little bit of Snark.

------
tvon
I'd be able to sleep at night.

------
brk
Boat building.

------
uptown
Professional Photographer

~~~
lnguyen
The whole film and darkroom setup?

------
synnik
Kung Fu Instructor. Artist. Cook.

I'm actually working on all 3 right now, hoping to switch in the future.

------
die_sekte
Plumber. My father is one and my grandfather also was one. Modern heaters are
incredibly complex. But sadly one's work isn't going to last: modern heaters
last only about 10–20 years and plumbing lasts only between 10–50 years.

~~~
mapleoin
even copper?

~~~
die_sekte
Yeah. Apparently there's often the issue that pipes are too tight for the flow
in there.

There's a line running to the faucet, containing hot water. Near the faucet,
this line splits and one of them continues to the faucet while the other one
goes back to the heater where its contents are pumped into the heater. This
keeps the water near the faucet warm. There are other methods for that, but
that one is common. And because the pipes are too tight for that flow, there's
cavitation at bends inside the pipe, which destroys it over time.

~~~
RobGR
Hot water return systems are not part of "normal" residential plumbing. They
are energy wasting, obnoxious high-end stuff that you expect to find in what
they call a "McMansion". The electric pumps they use last much less than the
10 to 20 years you mention. A plumber who considered himself a craftsman, say
having given up a higher paying computer job to build nice plumbing systems,
would not install one.

But if he did, it would not cavitate. If you have observed shorter life in the
joints near those pumps, it is because the pipe corrode faster there because
they are always at a higher temperature, just as the hot water outlet on a
water heater always corrodes before the cold water inlet.

~~~
die_sekte
Hm. Didn't know that. After all, I'm not a plumber, just someone whose father
is one.

------
Cows
Open a used bookstore.

~~~
neilk
Are you rich already? These are even less viable than regular bookstores
today. I've had a few conversations with people that own such shops and they
always seem to be bleeding out the family trust, year by year.

~~~
lsc
Yes, but we are speaking of a world without computers; without computers (and
the 'net) used bookstores would be quite viable.

------
HeyLaughingBoy
Go (back) to sea.

A long time ago I was trained as a commercial oceangoing ship's officer. Now I
live on a small farm in a landlocked state and I miss the ocean more
frequently in recent years.

But I still think the guys on "Deadliest Catch" are insane...

------
sanswork
Greens crew. I did it for a bit when I was younger and except for the 4:30-5am
starts and the occasional rain it was pretty relaxing and good for thinking
about random things and you got free golf rounds out of it.

------
bostonbiz
Open a brewery. I've just started home brewing and find the whole process very
addicting. From creating your own recipes to trying to brew the same beer
twice, it's loads of fun.

------
akamaka
I spent a couple of years doing part time constrution work, and I miss it. No
other work has ever given me the same kind of satisfied feeling at the end of
the day.

------
p_h
Machinist. I liked that class so much in highschool that I applied for
mechanical engineering in university, although I'm glad I ended up in computer
engineering.

------
run4yourlives
Pilot.

------
neilk
Something in a print shop, or a place that does screen printing onto fabric.
(This does involve computers and machines, but not as a programmer.)

I'm surprisingly good at teaching, but I would go on a killing rampage if I
worked under typical education administrators. Maybe private tutoring or an
alt-education job.

Being an electrician looks like an awesome career too, though I have no
relevant skills.

------
reduxredacted
Assuming pay wasn't a factor in the decision, I'd be a door man for a hotel
that caters to vacationers (and not in a major city like New York).

\- My back hurt less and I was generally in better shape when I had a job that
involved standing for the majority of the day.

\- When the dominating factor of your job is smiling at and being smiled at
all day, I think it'd be hard to leave work in a bad mood.

------
hyperbovine
Shoot myself.

~~~
donw
I think that's a horrible attitude for an entrepreneur; there's a massive
world of possibility out there, only a limited subset of which exists in the
computer. If the tech industry vanished tomorrow, for whatever reason, what
would be so bad about becoming a master builder, or a chef, or some other form
of craftsman?

Or a teacher, a storyteller, or any number of other professions?

Is life so bad without computers that death is really an option?

Maybe I'm weird, but I've loved almost every form of work I've done; the
politics and management haven't always been great, but for the most part, the
work itself has always been enjoyable... and that goes for everything from
fast food and mounting tires on cars, to drywall, to writing software and
building robust networks.

~~~
hyperbovine
It was meant to be tongue in cheek. I actually don't write code for a living
(anymore). My computer usage is probably about 4 hrs a day and I'm actively
engaged in trying to get that number lower. So I agree there is much to be
said for jobs outside of tech.

------
geoffc
Commercial rod and reel fisherman. I would catch cod, striper and tuna
depending on the season. I have the boat and the equipment and if I ever get
sick of coding that's where you will find me. I have been a soldier, a
mechanic and a carpenter in the past and grew up on a sheep farm and enjoyed
them all but the ocean has the strongest pull.

------
dizz
Carpenter or work on bikes

------
sherl0ck
I would be a police then.

~~~
Zak
I actually went through law enforcement training before deciding that I
wouldn't be ok with enforcing drug laws and the like. If computers suddenly
stopped existing or some such, I'd consider it again.

------
chaosprophet
I'd love to be a commercial airline pilot. Don't know if that counts though,
too many computers in airplanes these days.

~~~
jamie_ca
Nothing stopping you from doing professional flying in a small aircraft. There
are a few communities on the west coast of BC that are a pain to get to by
land or sea, but a 4-6 seater seaplane convertable for cargo is something I'd
enjoy doing.

------
gcv
That's a tough one. I have many interests outside of computers. I think the
top two to decide between would be:

1\. Alpine skiing instructor, while training to eventually become a mountain
guide.

2\. Chef. Probably specializing in pastries. I love cooking, but I'd need to
go to culinary school before I could do it for a living.

------
alexgartrell
Work at a Gym.

It's hard work, but very potentially rewarding. And I've never seen a gym
employee stressed before.

------
gizmo
I would be a computer scientist.

------
icefox
I am way too tempted to apply computers to whatever manual job I am working
on. For example working on cars I find fun, so working at a garage sounds
nice, but that will no doubt lead to me hacking on the chips in the car...

------
rudyfink
Cabinet maker or mechanic specializing in restoration, bar tender, chef,
teacher, politician, or counselor. I don't have the chops for it but "golf
pro" would be a job that might combine all of the above in a good way.

------
bounce
I'd build giant robots like this:
[http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/technology/watch/...](http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/technology/watch/v16860823g9anBMpK)

------
tlrobinson
Professional LEGO builder (that's what I wanted to be as a kid. seriously)

------
Gibbon
Carpenter, Cabinet Maker, Machinist, Welder, Luthier or other instrument
maker.. take your pick, although it doesn't really count since I already do,
or have done all of those.

------
andreyf
I'll tell you what I'd do, man: two chicks at the same time, man.

~~~
huhtenberg
Psst, downmodders ... that's a quote from the Office.

~~~
johnnybgoode
No, it's from Office Space, and at least some of the downvoters probably knew
that. People aren't very big on humor here; they tend to worry that if jokes
are encouraged HN will turn into Reddit or something.

------
mrtron
Interesting thought experiment.

I would be a general contractor and sub-contract the work I wasn't an expert
at.

I have a lot of experience doing repair work and would enjoy the varied tasks.

------
indiejade
Anthropologist, literally working in the field / excavating digs. Alternately
a geologist doing pretty much the same thing minus the human artifacts.

------
cellis
U.S. marine

~~~
jsonscripter
Why U.S. specifically?

~~~
cellis
I thought it was obvious that I'm a U.S. citizen...

------
gchpaco
Custom woodworking, or possibly photography. But modern photography is so
computer-based in some ways I doubt it qualifies.

------
plinkplonk
Novelist (I could write long hand or use a typewriter to meet the "job that a
computer is not (or almost) used" criterion )

------
joez
Barista. People walk in needing a pick me up and/or just having a bad day. I
can brighten their day just a little.

------
queensnake
Maybe keep bees

------
lsc
automobile mechanic. A little bit more physical effort and a little bit less
mental, (well, the manuals for repairing cars tend to be a whole lot better
than the manuals for repairing computers, anyhow.) but in many ways similar to
PC/server repair. (tho a whole lot messier.)

------
stevenj
Open a bar/restaurant which would not allow use of electronics by its
customers.

------
babyboy808
Carpentry. I love woodwork, am not very good, but think I would take that up.

------
blender
Mailman

------
sstrudeau
I'd probably work in a kitchen or learn woodworking & make cabinets.

------
Femur
I would be an orchardist.

~~~
pasbesoin
Thank you for reminding me of the persistent daydream that lives inside my
head. Somehow, I didn't even think of it in considering this question; an
indication that there is too great a distance between what I want and like and
what I think I "should/must" be doing.

There is an old orchard that I have been visiting for years. Every hour it it
is bliss.

~~~
Femur
Your thanks and our shared dream made my week.

May your branches always be heavily laden.

------
mildweed
Carpenter. Furniture, cabinetry, etc. Also: Run a comedy theater.

------
sgoraya
Chef! I've always hoped to open my own restaurant someday.

------
jamesjyu
Chef, or table tennis athlete. Yes, I know, random. :)

------
JimmyL
Harbour pilot. Failing that, some form of mechanic.

------
brandon272
Are you implying that my job is automatic? :)

------
hans
Hops Farmer up in some rural Oregon town.

------
there
racecar driver

------
jacquesm
what to choose... restore old cars, electronics, instrument maker, musician,
build windmills

------
mping
I'd be a musician, or a therapist.

------
jwb119
motorcycle repair / restoration

------
JshWright
Firefighter

------
modoc
Motorcycle Mechanic or Baker.

------
imp
Carpenter.

------
meat-eater
chef

------
neicull
build custom cycles.

------
mtrimpe
Performance Artist

------
alexitosrv
Car repair shop.

------
AlphaEvolve
if ($job == 'manual') { automate($job); }

------
tdedecko
Hydrogeologist

------
migpwr
Auto Mechanic

------
joeconyers
Longshoreman

------
MikeMacMan
Landscaping

------
bjclark
Architect

------
jonp
Zookeeper.

------
quellhorst
Porn star.

------
simplegeek
Journalist

------
zackola
car or motorcycle mechanic

------
nazgulnarsil
fix computer hardware :p

------
sound2man
Sound technician or go back to school to be an EE.

------
comster
Be Happy

~~~
jacquesm
Strange how you got modded down, I think that to be happy instead of working
is quite a nice thing to strive for.

It's easy to forget we work to live, we don't live to work.

