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If you're a software engineer and live in the Bay Area and suddenly lose your job, depending on the economy you're probably in for a 1-6 month job search at local companies

That long? Funny that we're always hearing about how difficult it is for tech companies to find software engineers.

In any case, OP is expressly not talking about getting a job at a tech company -- he's talking about doing something interesting with your life. I presume this means getting a 9-5 at a laundromat in Ohio and working on open source projects in your spare time.



>I presume this means getting a 9-5 at a laundromat in Ohio and working on open source projects in your spare time.

This doesn't sound like it'd be any more conducive to productivity on side-projects than a 9-5 at a tech job. Consuming 8 hours of the work day is bad for productivity no matter what.

Also, nthing the sentiment that tech hiring is screwed up. I highly doubt that companies are having a hard time finding engineers at all.


I had a friend in grad school who got a pile of good math research done while working the overnight shift at a hotel. There's a handful of these jobs where you just need a body present, and the mind is free to go as far as it wants...


> This doesn't sound like it'd be any more conducive to productivity on side-projects than a 9-5 at a tech job. Consuming 8 hours of the work day is bad for productivity no matter what.

Well, yeah. But it's way more authentic.


> Funny that we're always hearing about how difficult it is for tech companies to find software engineers.

As we hear so often here at HN, the hiring process in the tech industry is beyond screwed up.




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