This is mostly true, but farming/ranching is constant work once you have even a modest amount of land and livestock.

I grew up in a low-net-worth family, working on a farm that has been in our hands since 1873. I worked 3 jobs while studying my butt off, and eventually got a degree in Electrical Engineering with a Computer Science minor. I was recruited into various government programs and defense contracting companies, made my way to consumer electronics and medical device companies, then finally free- and open-source hardware/software. I now gratefully hold a very prestigious position while living full-time in my RV while prepping a fully self-sustainable homestead back on my family’s ranch.

There is no substitute for the beauty of nature in the small amount of time we’re able to appreciate it. That said, there are many many many to enjoy nature without sacrificing vacations for the vocation of fixing fence, herding cattle, plowing fields, eradicating invasive species, calling the game warden on poachers, fixing fence…

I farm now, but I still run my own infra and build apps. I just do it in the winter when I have nothing else to do.

And I don’t miss the users. One. Single. Bit.

I have dreamed of this life since before I was in tech.

I was born in a passive-solar, earth-sheltered house that my dad designed and built himself. Instead of a stack of Playboys he had Mother Earth News in the back of the closet. My parents owned one of the first Priuseseses in the US.

For a wonderful few years I had this life. I raised pigs and chickens and managed my property. I got into the best shape of my life, physically and mentally, and just stepping out of my front door made me feel more alive than I’ve felt since I had to move back to the burbs. (I don’t think people realize how little oxygen they get in urban and suburban environments.)

Though I am stuck in the suburbs for now I am determined to get back to that. I would rather wake up to a hungry pig tearing apart its enclosure than to another fucking meeting.

Depends on the person and what they’ve dealt with. I’ve worked IT since '99, but I’m not really burnt out. There are definitely things I dislike, but I still enjoy tech, I still enjoy gaming, and I’m still interested in future tech, even if I do agree I don’t like the direction it’s going in.

Part of it is that I seem to have a pretty decent burnout warning sensor, and I just stop whatever no work thing moving me that way for a while. Yes I like games, but I like reading, I like climbing, I like biking, I like photography, I like nature, I like the stars, etc.

Another reason may be that while I dislike the way some tech is going, I have other worries about either nontech stuff or just the main reason tech stuff is going in wrong directions, and those worry me more, so tech can still be an escape from worse worries.

If I had to start over I’d probably start with a plumbers apprenticeship. I like the work, and there’s something to be said about having “completed” a job at the end of a day that you don’t really get even if you close a feature.

My original plan when going to IT university was to make 1 money-milking website and move to a forest in middle of nowhere…

30+ years experience with computing, and I hate them.

They only ever do what you tell them to, and they’re not even doing that anymore.

Surprised no one pointed out that it is a screenshot from the movie oblivion. If you have not seen oblivion, go watch it. It has an excellent soundtrack by M83

Not far off. I wouldn’t do well with owning and maintaining a farm, but damn do I yearn for a career change often

The issue isn’t the tech itsefl but the corporate world and its effects throughout society.

There is a lot of cool tech, but used for the most asinine products. 2015-2016 was especially terrible with the accessibility of IoT. Everyone and their mother had a Kickstarter with a common everyday item with wireless capability tacked into it.

No, my bottle doesn’t need Bluetooth.

Nah, I like PC gaming too much to want that. What I want is to be free of capitalism.

I love growing things and I also love tinkering, building, finding new gadgets.

Have been a techie all my life so far, will be a techie until I die.

People that get tired of tech jobs, might not be because of tech, rather the people they have worked with and the unrelenting pull of a capitalist society.

I grew up on a farm, hell no. If you think farming is going to be any different you’re delusional. It’s also full of physical labor that takes a toll on you.

But give it a go if you want just don’t think farming or ranching is simpler it’s not. And now you alone take on the responsibility of managing many lives be they plants or animals.

Yes it’s rewarding keeping a baby calf alive in -30 weather but be prepared to wake up every couple hours to keep watch on the animals. Also say goodbye to vacations. Without a family member or 5 to help out it’s hard to take a vacation without worrying that coyotes got into the chicken coop or other shenanigans.

The problem with tech is that you aren’t usually doing the thing that made you want to go into tech. For me this was creating things and solving interesting problems. Most of my days are meetings, dealing with clueless people and having to deal with leadership and product team changes that ruin already completed work. Thankfully being at large tech companies has enabled me to hopefully retire in my early 40s. I can then continue with tech in a way that is meaningful to me while also spending a lot more time outside. The PNW is beautiful and I intend to see much more of it .

I was a nix admin. For two decades. Printers are banned in my house. My only IoT device is a Roku stick. I have 6 geese, 4 ducks, 14 chickens, too many cats, one acre, a number of raised beds, fruit trees and grape vines. I’m now a handyman.

I fit the profile.