My career as a software developer lasted from 1998 to 2017. I enjoyed the part of my job where I wrote software. Solving problems with computer code was a rewarding challenge. However, I didn’t like all of the crap that went along with it including:
- Bad bosses. One was a scheming, paranoid, racist, control-freak of a person, He would ask me and my teammates not to share knowledge or even talk to programmers on other teams. We’d catch him following us around.
- Rigid schedules. Two weeks of vacation time? And sick days count against your time off? Great! I’m coming to work sick!
- Meetings and documentation. Need I say more?
If I could have written software for non-tyrannical humans and had more flexibility, it would have been much harder to quit. The work was fun. I liked my coworkers. The money was good.
I don’t have a formal job anymore but still work pretty hard. The basement project that I began almost a year ago is mostly done:
Our kitchen is too small. Mindy and I want to put in an island when we remodel it, but there idn’t room, at least in its current format. The refrigerator stuck out too far. The solution was to move the wall back:
On the other side, I built a platform on top of the relocated wall for the girls. And who am I kidding, I like to go up there and fart around too:
I have enough home projects planned to keep me busy for years. And that’s exactly how I like it.
A perpetual holiday is a good working definition of hell.
George Bernard Shaw
I couldn’t agree more. These projects are what I live for. Sure, I like to screw around too, but the fun is a lot more enjoyable after I feel like I’ve done something to earn it.
Humans are meant to work. And, we’re meant to work at tasks that make us grow and give us a sense of accomplishment.
The problem with most of the work we do is that it often comes with bad bosses, conniving coworkers, stupid schedules, mandatory meetings, shitty stress, crappy commutes, terrible team-building activities, dumb dress codes, and sedentary life. The purpose of FIRE isn’t to lead a life of leisure, but to extricate meaningful work from all of the surrounding bullshit.
Back To Work?
In the 3+ years that I’ve been away from my computer job, I haven’t thought much about writing code. That it, until this past weekend.
A friend of mine has been working on a pretty awesome project. He’s in the process of obtaining a patent and figuring out a path to commercialization. Since he’s still early in the process, he asked that I don’t divulge the details. But trust me, it’s pretty awesome. It’s so awesome that I asked him if I could buy a prototype. My friend is a kind and generous person, so he gave me one over the weekend.
I talked to my friend about his plans for the project and he mentioned that he needed a complementary app. My friend knew I wrote software but didn’t know that I’ve written apps. I mentioned it to him and he suggested that partnering on the project might be a good idea. After he left, I thought about the conversation:
- I like to write code.
- This would be a fun project to work on.
- I’d be working with a really good human.
- Perhaps it would make money, but at this point, I don’t need more. My payment would be the fun I’d have writing code and working with my friend. Anything after that is a bonus.
So, perhaps I’ll be back at work soon. This one checks all of the boxes.
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Awesome post Carl, that’s what FIRE is all about – being able to do the work you want, when you want, regardless if it pays money or not. Every day can be a new adventure.
Yep! Life is good.
Wow, that sounds like an exciting opportunity. I hope it works out.
I haven’t thought about engineering at all since I left in 2012, only occasional nightmares.
I’m glad that phase of life is done. 🙂
Joe recently posted…The Worst States to Retire In
Whoah, nightmares 8 years later? Oof.
Very cool opportunity! I recently decided with certainty that I’m never going back to my old career.
After 3 years, as of 12/1, of early retirement as a physical therapist, I recently decided that (a) I’m too out of practice, (b) lots of people need the income way more than me, and most importantly (c) I just don’t want to go back to my old work and I was only holding on to the option out of fear. So I’m letting my license expire as of 12/31 rather than going through the effort of completing the continuing education and paying the fees to renew it for another two year cycle.
I do strongly agree though that we were meant to work and be productive. Also it’s fun and interesting to continue to learn, grow and see what opportunities come your way as a result.
Best to you and your crew for the holidays!
Chris recently posted…10 Tips for More Accurate Retirement Calculations
Congratulations on that big decision!
“Also it’s fun and interesting to continue to learn, grow and see what opportunities come your way as a result.”
Yep, the best part of FIRE is the growth and then actually being able to seize opportunities with your newfound time!
I do love creating documentation because I know how helpful it is in day to day operations even if it’s totally unglamorous but I know I’m in the minority in that 🙂
The despising of bad bosses/dysfunctional leadership / terrible co-workers etc though, I’m right there with you. No thank you. I’ve been lucky in my most recent job but history says that can and will change so I’m always aware of that and don’t take for granted that the good times will last.
Not sure what my next move will be when things go south at this job but my fingers are crossed that we’ll hit our FI number before that happens.
revanche @ a gai shan life recently posted…Good Things Friday (95) and Link Love
Documentation! You would have loved my job. We had to write documentation for the documentation. Ha!
But, I did learn much from the writing. We had a stellar technical writer who was slightly evil, but she knew her shit and I learned a ton.
Nice job on the basement Carl! Looking good.
Good story about potentially going back to work. That’s what it’s all about once you have enough — doing what you love.
For me, personally, I still have nightmares about work. I’d never go back…even if they paid me double!
Mr. Tako recently posted…A Hope And A Dream
It’s funny how things come around in cycles. You’re going back to “work” just as I’m coming to the end of mine.
It’s Wednesday morning here – only 3 more workdays to go until I walk away from teaching.
Yes, I’m retiring early(ish).
I’m thinking that, like you, being able to pick and choose the projects I do from now on will be very sweet.
Sounds like the perfect gig. Doing something you enjoy because you want to and it doesn’t have all of the crap that going back to full time work would have.
BTW – I freaking hate doing drywall. Looks like you did a good job.
Chris recently posted…No One Puts You in A Corner
Great post and insights here. I think its a good thing to keep being creative and active working on projects. I get a lot of satisfaction learning new things and also how to fix and maintain things myself. I started fixing and my lawn equipment and generator. Doing my own annual heater cleaning. Working on my car (next im going to try replacing my brakes and rotors). Initially it may not always be practical from a time point of view, but once you learn it will be easier next time. And its always good to save some money (and stick it back to these companies who over charge you). You realize how much these people charge you in marking up the parts and labor and many time don’t do as thorough of a job as you would do. You do great work remodeling your house and good luck with the new project.
I can tell you are indeed a DIY-warrior when you share that picture of the basement and you say you’re “mostly done “. BWAAHAAHAA! 🙂 love the optimism!
Seriously, another great post.
Ha, I still have a looong way to go on that basement, but after manually digging out (and installing) an egress window, busting open the basement floor to add underground plumbing to support a new bathroom, framing, above-ground plumbing, adding a subpanel/wiring, drywalling, painting, and installing lighting and receptacles, I’m most of the way there.
That’s what the definition of true retirement is. You’re choosing to maybe go back to work because you want to, not because you have to. That super cool new thing might be in every Americans’ home one day, you never know!
David @ Filled With Money recently posted…Manage Your Monthly Expenses the Guilt Free Way
I always thought if you ever decided to work it would be for Tesla or SpaceX 🙂
Glad you found a fun coding project. When I moved from a pure engineering role to management it was a huge learning curve. Gradually I found I like most aspects of the management job.
Life is more interesting when learning new skills.
Financial Freedom Countdown recently posted…What is Forex Trading And Is It Right For Me?
I recently took on a managerial role despite my better judgement (though later learned it really isn’t much of a managerial role) and the gal I was dating at the time said something along the lines of “so now you get to yell at people and be the tough boss.” I rolled my eyes, and she asked about my reaction. I said, “the people I work with are adults. We do our work. Why would I need to yell at them?” I’ve been thinking a lot about the question “well why DOES work have to suck?” As in, where is it written that work needs to suck. It’s not. We just have it in our heads certain ideas that lead to work sucking.
My ex gal pal made the point for me. She assumed that being a boss was about yelling at your subordinates. I’ve been a manger twice now (pretending that this current one counts) and I can say yelling never gets anything accomplished. You do have to set hard boundaries sometimes, and make sure not to let employees walk all over you, but if people are getting their work done, the rest are details you shouldn’t concern yourself with.
As I’ve entered the entrepreneur space, both as one and as someone who is consuming a ton of content on entrepreneurship, I’ve realized the same think you said above. People really do love to work. What they hate is arbitrary rules, being overworked, and tyrannical bosses. Entrepreneurs, when they’re their own boss, will work their butts off. But they don’t hate it. Why? Because it’s on their own terms, and they have a purpose for their labor. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing inefficiencies in a process and having to engage in that process because some suit in New York thought it was a good idea. An entrepreneur can adapt and decide to fix the process immediately. And if you’re to the point of hiring people, the obnoxious can be shown the door or, better yet, never hired in the first place.
Hmm, my conclusion seems to be “always be an entrepreneur.”
“Today you, tomorrow me”.
You’ve identified exactly the sort of thing where paying it forward makes sense: helping out a friend, someone that might have helped you out, or working towards a good cause. That’s the sort of “work” that FIRE enables.
It’s not nothing—it’s what brings you contentment. Awesome. Glad to read it.
Also, I’m curious about the project of course 😉
Chris@TTL recently posted…The Architect Who Made Nothing
Cool! Can’t wait to see what this project is all about!
This is just excellent and I couldn’t agree more.
“Humans are meant to work. And, we’re meant to work at tasks that make us grow and give us a sense of accomplishment.”
Cheers and good luck on your new venture 🙂
Backpack Finance recently posted…Why You Need a Morning Routine
I entirely agree. Too many companies treat developers like business people and waste our time by having us in pointless meetings and corporate crap.
We’d all be happier if we could spend our time building new things instead of dealing with the business.
Your projects sound exciting, I’m sure they will keep you working for years to come.
Stephen recently posted…A Breakdown of My Net Worth
Legit question. How did / would you deal with people taking advantage of a managers “good will”. IE: Constant stream of excuses. Constant delayed deliverables and late work. After a couple of decades of actual engineering work i got shunted into a manager position for better or worse. I vowed i’d treat people like i would have liked to be treated. But there’s a few just taking advantage of the system. I have no other recourse than to babysit/daytrack. 🙁
Yeah, I definitely saw this happen on a team. One guy knew how to influence a manager with gifts and other nonsense. He stayed on when better engineers got canned during layoffs.
I think that managers can be friendly, but definitely shouldn’t be friends with those that they manage. An improper relationship influences and corrupts the relationship and the work.
I was never a manager, so don’t have informed answers. However, just like most things in life, using numbers to make decisions seems like a starting point: “You said you were going to have A, B, and C done by date X…”
PS: I’m sorry to hear about your new position. 🙂
Yes, i am sorry to hear about it too. But it’s been an interesting adventure. Honing some skillls (like holding my tongue) that i’ve been avoiding for a while. Politics is and can be a thing. It still pays the bills no matter how frugal i am, i’m not where you are currently. So such is life until the magic day comes.
Pretty sure half my team loves me and the other half hates me. I make damn sure there’s nothing personal there. I even rejected a transfer because of conflict of interest because he was a personal friend.
But i’m so mad/frustrated at the few. I would have died if my manager would have just let me do my bleeping job when i was around the same level of experience. Instead, we have water pipes bursting and flus every other week. Numbers it is, give me the commitments and lets go from there. Ugh.
What a great opportunity.
I really look forward to reading more about it and how it pans out in the future for you.
Continued success and good luck to you!
Cheers,
Fiona