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Comment by htanirs | Hacker News Reader

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htanirs

>> From time to time, I feel like that. Just leave software dev behind, and become a truck driver.

I have the exact thoughts sometimes. And I ask myself why truck driver.

Maybe it represents the opposite of software career.

More work in real world vs virtual.

Be outside vs stuck in cubicle.

Perceived freedom and independence vs managing self / team / customer.

Work is restricted to a day vs work piling up.

Not carrying the work home vs being switched on always.

Less expectation vs imposter syndrome

casual interactions vs formal communication

Truck driving as a career has its own challenges. But my mind perceives it to be a better choice. Grass always looks greener on the other side.

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> Less expectation vs imposter syndrome

Try watching some videos of reversing semis. Then try reversing with a trailer.

My dad’s cousin was a truck driver. I once saw him reverse a car with a trailer at full speed for 200 meters. Dead straight. Trailer never even twitch.

It was the most impressive feat of hand-eye coordination I’ve seen my whole life.

Try backing up an articulated-hitch wagon with a tractor, to mate with an auger! 6" tolerance and you can't see anything back there.

It's amazing what humans can learn to do

And I ask myself why truck driver.

If you are very visual-spatial, passively taking in scenery while driving feeds the same need as website design, basically.

My cousin is a truck driver. It's mainly a miserable existence, sleeping in the cab on long haul jobs across the Great Plains. He sees his family every other week. For him it's just enough better than his previous job, which was getting shot at in Afghanistan. His dead buddies are tattooed on his arm as a reminder. If you can do what you do, and chose to drive a truck instead, I suspect he would question your judgement.

I was addressing (one factor in) why programmers might fantasize about trucking when they are feeling fed up. Presumably, if they are fantasizing about getting a commercial driver's license and driving a truck, they already drive a car. So some part of their brain likely recognizes that driving is a passive means to meet visual-spatial needs that are likely being met with more effort in some sense currently.

I'm not a programmer. I also no longer drive. I gave up my car more than a decade ago and my driver's license more than five years ago.

I'm just someone who has thought a lot about how brain wiring impacts personal preferences and life choices. I enjoy discussing that when opportunity arises.

Truck driving is a poor example/choice. You spend a lot of time sitting and a lot of time alone. Humans weren't made for that either. Outdoors, human contact, movement.

My buddy was VP Engineering at an innovative software company (neural solutions to industrial control problems). Quit and opened a falafel restaurant, never been happier.

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