so uh… the entire American tech industry has shit itself and there are no longer any tech jobs at all, whatsoever. could anyone recommend a new career path for me? I am:

• very technically minded
• very fast at learning things on my own - especially if I can tinker/experiment with them (or a simulation of them) to gain an intuition
• extremely good with computers, programming, etc.
• cripplingly socially anxious, so ideally it should involve as little interaction with people as possible
• very anxious in general so it shouldn’t be a stressful job, ideally
• on a truly disgusting sleep schedule. I’d love if I could do shift work instead of having to wake up at 8am
• looking for a job that has a lot of demand for workers, so it’s easy to get hired. I’ve been trying to get a tech job for years but nobody likes me
• okay with going through a training program for up to a year, but no longer than a year

I’d really love to hear about any options that y’all know about

@kasdeya this practically describes me too if you figure something else out lmk

@kasdeya imperfect but you can filter the bureau of labor statistics occupations by how many open jobs there are / the growth rate.

I’m a data scientist and that as well as data engineers seems to be going pretty well (fingers crossed).

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/occupation-finder.htm?pay=&education=&training=&newjobs=50%2C000+or+more&growth=&submit=GO

@kasdeya
train/tram/bus/truck driver
✅ technical
✅ working mostly alone
✅ public transport and big vehicles cool
✅ learning through simulation and hands-on practice
✅ may allow late/night shift focus
❌ stressful

@kasdeya
electronics, appliance or vehicle repair technician, ISP installation technician, etc
✅ technical
✅ computers (maybe)
✅ limited people exposure
❌ likely daytime schedule
❌ does right to repair remain a thing? who knows

@kasdeya
video editor
✅ computer
✅ probably at home
✅ probably flexible schedule
✅ not stressful (usually)
❌ who knows what ai might do to the demand

@kasdeya in general: i'd be happy to be proven wrong (it could be a great alternative for me too), but i don't think a job that satisfies all those criteria exists. being a programmer, sysadmin, etc is *the* comfy thing for shy computer nerds, and as it is taken away, we need to look to less comfortable careers to survive. or make our own

@kasdeya fiber optic splicing seems like it would fill a lot of those.

repair work might be considered stressful due to time pressure?

@niko
The aircraft maintenance industry is suffering a gray-out: too many mechanics and avionics techs are retiring and there will not be enough replacements coming out of the schools (at least in the US)

Formal A&P training takes about 18-24 months to complete; should one desire to go down this route, I recommend ground the community college path over the for-profit outfits, due to price

One can forgo the training and still enter the industry by joining a Maintenance Repair Organization or contractor for modification teams

Entry-level pay should be more than minimum wage, but less then licensed A&Ps can get, and there are plenty of predatory outfits, so due diligence is necessary

Hope this is helpful to anyone
@kasdeya

@niko I definitely will tbh - though I’m ngl I’m not very hopeful. I feel like it’s impossible to get a job of any kind in this country unless you’re allistic and cis. but I do still want to try

@minmi @kasdeya

Came in here to suggest data scientist. You need to be OK with math (specifically, statistics). You can learn a lot of it yourself online, and there are prep courses. A friend of mine did a part-time one that took about 6 months. It's the only job (apart from AI bullshit) that seems to be growing in biotech these days.

@kasdeya I can see the appeal of the job you describe but I'm not sure it exists. I hope you're able to find something that suits you though.

@sennoma @minmi oohh thank both of you! this does sound really promising tbh. I feel like it’s definitely the kind of work that I could do, and even find interesting

@outfrost oof - I feel like you’re probably right tbh. but I really appreciate all of these ideas! I honestly hadn’t considered any of them - but I think they’re all worth looking into

I -would not- recommend Control Systems Engineer. Despite how unlikely it is to be taken over with AI and the low training curve to shift from general computer sciences to this, you deal more with other people than the machines that run the place. Racing against time to resolve a failure in the system is not fun.

@kasdeya @sennoma

If you want to talk about it lemme know! Happy to chat.