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Adventuresome or "Hands On" Careers in Tech?
omission9 asks: "For about 10 years I have worked mostly behind a desk in a cubicle and am starting to feel that this environment is making me miserable. The cheap fluorescent lights, the stuffy air, and the restless feeling I get from just sitting so long are starting to really annoy me. My background is mainly as a programmer but I started my career as a network engineer/network
administrator. I am also a member of the US Naval Reserve and am cleared as high as Top Secret. Are there any jobs out there that match this sort of skill set (more or less programmer but generally excellent tech skills) that don't require being stuck behind a desk? Paying relatively well would be a major plus
as would something that provides a solid career (20+ years of work). Is there anyone out there, from anywhere other than a cube farm,
that may have some advice?"
Semiconductor R&D
You want design validation. You'll be spending some time in a cube, but in my experience, you'll spend most of your time in a lab. I took a maintenance spot, just so I could live in a lab. Still crap for lighting, but lots of toys and challenges, plus you're not sitting all day.
-nB
whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
Have you tried pr0n tester?
But seriously, what about telemetry and embedded systems? Your Naval connections may kick in here, as they have sensing systems everywhere. Also research vessels.
Without knowinng more, that immediately comes to mind....
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
I hear the UK Navy will be looking for a whole bunch of shipbound IT people when their next generation of Windows-based warships go to sea. :)
Raytheon Polar Services is the contractor providing services on all US antarctic installations.
Toronto-area transit rider? Rate your ride.
Go start your own business. If you succeed you can kiss the cube farm by forever. If you fail you'll feel grateful only having to work 50 hours a week, even if it is under fluorescent lighting.
I hear the Iranian nuclear weapon program is looking for qualified individuals, and I don't think you'll have to be in a cubicle.
Have you looked on http://www.clearancejobs.com/?
I spent years trying to get out of 'adventuresome' jobs so I could sleep in my own job every night.
There are lots of companies who install their equipment all over the world. I am sure some of them would be glad to meet you. The people who install and maintain the equipment aren't abnormally skilled and getting those jobs is mostly a matter of being in the right place at the right time. As always; network.
How about the Peace Corps? I've never done it, but I know people who have. You can work with the Peace Corps to help poor villages/towns/cities/states/countries set up their IT and telecomm systems.
I don't respond to AC's.
Teach people how to program... it will get you up out of a desk, in front of people, and into a challenging environment where helping people learn is the probably one of the most rewarding experiences you can take.
If you need to get into this, check out a continuing education program at a local technical college.
"Sounds like someone has a case of the mondays"
it is only after a long journey that you know the strength of the horse.
1. IT for companies that are doing stuff out in the field, such as field science, oil prospecting/drilling, etc.
2. Lateral move into sciences, doing fieldwork. Fieldwork engineer/scientists who can also do IT fluently, particularly programming, are often golden in some fields where the combination is hard to find.
3. Aerospace - new rocket companies (XCOR, SpaceX, etc). John Carmack isn't hiring right now I think, but that might change.
4. Systems engineering, with your background you might do aerospace or naval systems engineering.
Question: are you tied down by family, or relatively mobile?
Another option is a small, maybe 1-person shop. I do everything for a small manufacturing plant and it's fun work. I can code, design apps, admin dbs and systems, program PLCs or do computer-monkey work depending on my mood. Plus, I get to see all of my handiwork in action in a factory. I'll never go back to a cube farm again.
Of course, you'll either have to invent your position or wait for someone to die to get a job like this.
Man, you really need that seminar!
At the height of the contractor frenzy, IT contractors with certain skills were getting $500+/hr, plus expenses. You had to stay for a year and you'd get paid in Switzerland, Dubai, Isle of Man, etc... so no taxes.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
All jokes aside, I spent a few months last year working for a civilian contractor just south of Baghdad. I was on the operations side of the house, but I gained a tremendous respects for the IT and logistics folks. In addition to a very good wage, you'll get to work with people can you can relate to from your Navy days, you'll be doing important work (i.e. people really need you for their food, fuel, work, and family contact.) Where I was, literally all telephones and interweb data came through the satellite dish, and let me tell you, it was tough when it went down down for a week. I also found the work to be terribly satisfying compared to my time in a cube farm; everyone around you is working toward a common goal, with less of the corporate buzzspeak, busywork, and tedium of the office.
OK...
I can do this. I am, after all,
a superhero!
Since you sound like a US citizen, I suggest CIA or State Department. You get to travel the world and do interesting stuff. All the fun that goes with being in the military on deployment with few of the drawbacks. Plus you can retire early after 5 years of overseas work (I think, but I may be dating myself here). Highly recommended if you don't mind travel.
I would not recommend NSA however, its mostly more of what you are complaining about. CIA goes where NSA fears to tread (or is prevented by policy...). State Dept is in every embassy and consulate, which means you could go anywhere. Both are great careers, in my opinion.
Tell me you didn't believe them when they told you you have a "brain cloud". You didn't believe them, did you???
Have you looked into working at a Navy lab (NUWC, NSWC) or a test range? There's lots of variety in the work if you seek it, and as an added bonus you get to ride on subs and surface ships if that's your thing.
This job is called Computer Engineering :) With the right company this involves a lot of hands on tech work as opposed to computer science which generally seems to lead to cubical jobs or back to university.
the challenges im hit with are generally more practical than theoretical (eg. ill write software to describe the functionality of the remote computing device rather than design the actual way in which it is programmed) but there is a depth of knowledge required (electrical, radio etc.) and phenomenal travel in really remote places that makes it pretty rewarding.
its pretty special building something with your own two hands that serves a physical/practical purpose that i just couldnt get from a cube farm.
I love it when people who don't have a job have nothing better to do than bash those who do.
The company I work for http://www.bluefinrobotics.com/ is looking for both Software engineers and Operations engineers. Being a software person for us means about 75-90% desk work and 10-25% work at sea (although usually not away from home for more then a few weeks a year). Being an ops person requires a great deal of traveling and is very hands on.
--- Computer science is about computers in the way that astronomy is about telescopes. -???
"its pretty special building something with your own two hands that serves a physical/practical purpose that i just couldnt get from a cube farm."
Habitat for Humanity.
Architect.
Never said I did not have a job... Where did you get this idea from?
hello
From the article:
Paying relatively well would be a major plus as would something that provides a solid career (20+ years of work).
Given the sentence from the article, the submitter may not have the risk appetite for what you're suggesting.
While I agree that starting your own business does provide the sort of flexibility and widening of job scope that the submitter wants, the solid career and the good pay are not guaranteed. I've read statistics (no sources spring to mind, sorry) that only about 10 - 30% of startups survive past the first three years. And these are the years where you're likely to be getting the least amount of pay out of the business as you'll be wanting to reinvest everything into the business to give it the best possible chance of succeeding in the long run.
That being said, starting (or trying to start) a business can be the most rewarding thing around. I've tried it several times and failed for various reasons, but I would do it all over again if I spotted a reasonably good opportunity because it gives you the chance (in fact, it's practically a requirement) to move around a good deal and fill in gaps in your knowledge you probably never knew you had.
Ask yourself the following questions if this is a route you're considering:
1. Are you prepared to take on a substantial amount of risk when you're starting out? Remember that you will not have much in terms of financial leverage and brand name, and there will be unscrupulous customers who will try to delay payment as much as possible just because they know they have a reasonable chance of getting away with it.
2. Can you ensure that you will have a good work-life balance when you're doing this? A lot of people I know who have started businesses of their own have started with a home office to save on costs, but having a family as well means that you will probably find it hard to differentiate between "work time" and "family time".
It sounds like there are really two parts to your question: A) programming jobs that don't involve cube farms, and B) programming jobs that let you get out from your desk. And maybe a third of being able to take advantage of your security clearance.
For question A, there are companies that don't expect their programmers to work in cubicles. Ask companies about this aspect of their work environment. Consider, for example, Argon ST (Full disclosure: I work as an engineer there in the DC area. Our facility has offices instead of cubes, with either one or two people per office).
For question B, I suspect those are going to be jobs that mix programming knowledge with other skills, such as field support roles, sales engineer positions, etc. Depending on what you're looking for, maybe something like that could work for you.
Join the ranks of the noble IT department, I guarentee you will get the hands-on
experience you crave.
You will infact be on your hands and knees, rebooting servers, carrying desktops, laptops, installing ram, etc.
Better yet, you will be pulling cable, mounting hardware, changing tapes, etc.
You are trading a sedentary work, for mind numbing, soul sucking work, it's your pick.
"I've read statistics (no sources spring to mind, sorry) that only about 10 - 30% of startups survive past the first three years."
:)
Research skills are always handy by asking the right question.
Anyway one can increase the success rate by going with an incubator.
I grew up programming, I have a strong tech mind, and nothing beats the thrill of a live production.
Video Production Support
Look up Geekcorps, or similar programs. Geekcorps is a "Non-profit organization working to expand internet use in emerging nations." But, really, all fields need IT people. I am a field tech guy for an international development group. We have operations in 30+ countries and I get to hop around maintaining our offices and proposing and implementing tech-related programs (like "last mile" connectivity projects, etc.)
So there's hope. If you're interested in something really specific, like programming, then the options narrow. But I have friends who are project managers who go from country to country as contractors working at software development units around the world, so there is something.
What comes first, finding a teacher or becoming a student?
I'm in a very similar situation. I currently work as a contractor for the US military doing programming work. While the position is advertised as "creating cutting edge technology...", it's mainly to allow the military to catch up to the digital world. Like you, I also hold a clearance, sit under nasty blinking lights in a stinky office inside an old building and feel like I'm going nowhere fast. My idea of fun is far from converting enterprise level applications from Access to SQL.
But... I do have a master plan. I'm a hands on person as well, know enough to be dangerous around engines, etc. So, I figured, why not merge programming and hardware together - Mechanical Engineering with a specialty in Robotics. Now, I'm not talking about being a professional copy repair guy or someone that designs envelope stuffers...
If you want to stay on the military side, they have already started going that route with UAVs and smaller robotic packages, but we all know the military is going the unmanned route in the next 15-20 years and I want to be in on that wave.
There are also companies out there working on this type of technology that will take certain individuals onto their teams with the right background and education. At least they don't have the budge cuts the military does year after year.
Joining the Navy: If you're an in the Reserve you could probably transfer and work on ships or something. Sounds like a natural progression of what you want to do: and it offers job security.
kill all the fucking niggers
Back when I was doing supercomputing the oil exploration guys always had the best stories. Pulling hydrophones around in the North Sea, thumper trucks in Borneo, cleaning weird tropical fungi out of tape drives.
There's a ton of science and social science that's done in the field: ecology; archaeology, primatology; ethnology; ethnobotany; geology; palentology; oceanography.
In some field seasons nothing much interesting happens; in most something interesting enough to write about happens. And in a very few seasons, careers and reputations can be made. It is in those rare, once in a lifetime seasons that careers and reputations are made. In those seasons, there is never enough time to do everything that is needed. The ability to store and analyze data in real time can make a great difference.
I have (from the comfort of my desk) worked with a number of field scientists over the years. By in large they are either technologically hopeless, or enthusiastic but unskilled. They usually rely on graduate students, usually a graduate student, to take care of their tech. A few lucky ones have a grad student who has a year or two experience in IT. Even though they only have a few rudimentary skills, they are regarded as if they have some rare gift. And it is rare, to have more than basic IT skills.
You could go to grad school, or try to find or create a staff job. If you've been in business, act like an entrepreneur. Find somebody doing something you are interested in, and create an opportunity. Principal Investigators are like entrepreneurs too. They have to sing for their supper, convince the funders that their project is more worthy than other projects.
Now the downside: science is done for love and glory, not money. Scientists who have achieved tenure live a secure, middle class lifestyle, but everyone else is hand to mouth. You might not get paid at all, or paid a pittance. If you're lucky, you might make 20-30K. You might have to work for nothing until you can bring in some grant money. On the other hand, set this against the things you might be doing: travelling to Africa to study lions; trekking the silk road to find uncharted ruins; exploring the jungle of New Guinea to find the last speaker of a dying language.
Some research even involves danger. I happened to be at CDC Ft Collins DVBID when they were scrambling a team of epidemiologists and trop-med guys to go to Africa because of an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever. Most people would be running the other way, but when some new disease like Ebola emerges and has people bleeding out their eyeballs, somebody has to get on the ground to study it. Presumably those people could use somebody to look after their sat phones, fix their laptops, figure out how to make their databases work.
How much would experiences like that be worth in dollar terms?
In the few times I've gone into the field, I've had some thrilling experiences: unearthing what was the forth known instance of a fossil shark species; assisting a paleontolgist with a triceratops skull. Even the mundane things you do are out of the ordinary, like hiking the trails of the badlands in the early morning fragance of crushed sagebrush rising from your boots, or clambering up a remote talus slope in search of the next find.
Life is, in the end, about filling your limited allotment of time with wonderful experiences. Money is only instrumental to that end. If you have no dependents who are relying on your income, why not spend a few years doing things that many people dream about, but only one in a thousand experience?
Suppose, after a few years, you decide to go back to corporate IT. Imagine that the first item on your resume was that you spent the last two years exploring and raising artifacts from a 2000 year old Roman warship. Or maybe you were part of a team that discovered a dozen new plant species unknown to science, one of which shows promise in treating cancer. Is that going to lose you any interviews, versus having have worked with the Java framework du jour? Maybe, but not at any place you or I would want to work at.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Some really cool jobs, out there right now:
You get the picture.
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong fix.
Don't forget guns!
wooohoooo!
If you're going to do something like this, timing is critical. It spells the difference between an exciting job with a whiff of danger, and a nightmare from which you may never wake.
I'd suggest, this is a great time to have worked in the green zone, but a lousy time to think about heading bthere.
For one thing, the insurgency has had a long time to adapt to US tactics. This is bad of course for US troops, but recent events suggest that they're starting to expand their repertoire in way that may make working in the Green Zone more dangerous. I'm thinking in particular of the use of Cholorine bombs. It's only a matter of time before they figure out ways of delivering new weapons into the Green Zone. That's what they do: they watch and think and watch and think, until they find an opportunity, a tactical mousehole that has been overlooked.
Also, the Shiite dominated government is turning out to be a lot less than we had hoped for. They are turning a blind eye to sectarian violence, and letting Coalition troops do the heavy lifting, sometimes even tipping off targets of operation when it suits them. This suggests to me that there will be a messy evacuation some time in the future.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
I just wanted to say that I have been impressed by many of the suggestions made so far. :)
I definitely have a bit more hope that I don't necessarily have to be stuck behind a desk in order
to ply my trade.
Keep the ideas coming...I think that there are plenty of people out there with the same concerns that I have!
If you work yourself into an embedded systems type career, you can try your hand at field support. As an example, in my line of work (Railroad/Transportation industry), the field is wide open for developers to work on embedded software for locomotives, rail yard switching software, etc. We typically require about 25% of your time as travel time doing field support. You could, I'm sure, find similar embedded field support roles in the medical industry, media (TV/radio), and many other areas. There are a lot of applications for software to run what's "inside the box". For someone who doesn't mind travel, this can be the best-of-both-worlds, as you get to get your "hands on" in the field troubleshooting, and you get to spend time in the lab or at the desk part of the time as well.
I design surfboards with CAD. I need to finish automating the system. Database integration with the CAD tool outputs a cut file sent to a CNC router. Extensive testing with physical tools are needed to test the acuracy of the cutting machine. The calculus and hydro dynamics that go into the shapes. Then there is the new design technology and patent problems that are associated. So, you need to be a lawyer. Then there's chemical compostion and the need for "greener" materials and shaping them. The pay blows. Best part of the job... testing the surfboards in warm water and banging the hottest chicks in the world here in Hawaii. Priceless. Job security = 0. You never go to work if you love your job.
Best part of the job... testing the surfboards in warm water and banging the hottest chicks in the world here in Hawaii.
Damnit... I always knew I should have studied AutoCAD instead of Verilog...