Shan’s Weblog

Let’s face it, software engineers sometimes burn out. An old electrical engineer once told me that on average, software engineers last about 5 years before they make a career change. I’m not sure if that is true, but I’ve witnessed several software professionals make career changes over the past few years due to the strain and long hours of the job. Working in a job using primarily your brain and fingers can only lead to fatigue sooner or later for many people; it is inevitable.

I took the Princeton Review’s Career Test to find other careers that someone like myself could enter into, and the results of my test are below. I believe these careers are good alternatives for ex-software engineers, since they involve patience and critical thinking:

Manager: Get an MBA and develop leadership skills and business savvy, maybe even start your own business.
Teacher: For those that enjoy educating others, this is a high respect/ low pay alternative.
Scientist: You may have to invest some time into learning science theory if you only have IT qualifications or experience.
Business Analyst: If you can handle dealing with clients and the business end of software, this is a great new job.
Technical Writer: Blogging addicts take note – technical writing still pays well!
Author: Being an author is hard work, since it’s very competitive because everyone enjoys doing it. I’d expect a pay decrease with this one.
Accountant/Auditor: With the mathematical skills and attention to detail software development brings, this seems doable.
Actuary: See Accountant.
Astronomer: Very competitive and low paying, unless you’re really really smart.
Bookkeeper: See Accountant.
Court Reporter: Can you type fast? Good! You’re hired!
Dental Lab Technician: In fact, any lab technical work is suitable for ex software people.
Economist: I know one software engineer that is in love with this topic. Bill Gates even digs this job! Go on, ask him for yourself!
Financial Aid Officer: [no info]
Financial Analyst: See Accountant.
Foreign Exchange Trader See Investor.
Health Care Administrator Admin work requires more people skills. Can you put on a happy face?
Office Manager See Manager.
Sommelier: aka Wine Steward. Can you act posh?
Surveyor: If you long for the outdoors and want to rub shoulders with construction workers, this seems like the ticket.
Corporate Lawyer: You’ll need to go back to University and do a bar exam. But you’ll be richer!
Business Valuator: Not sure about this one.
Financial Planner: See Accountant.
Internet/Intranet Technologies Manager: Instead of writing the code, you can manage it… maybe?
Geneticist: Another science-heavy commitment.
Hospital Administrator: See Health Care Administrator.
Quality Assurance Engineer: If you’re stick of building software, then you can test it instead.
Research Technician: This would be really fun if you like exploring records,documents,etc.
Small Business Owner: Find something that people need, and supply it. Simple, really!
Systems Administrator: Do an MCSE certification, or a systems admin diploma at Uni.
Systems Analyst: This seems like you’d need a deeper understanding of computer systems in order to be successful.
Venture Capitalist/ Investor: Choose the right stocks and cross your fingers.
Auditor: See Accountant.
Consultant: Make sure you know your stuff.
Food Service Manager: See Manager.

I recently moved back to Cairns, Australia, about a month ago, after living in the USA for the last 10 years. It’s been humid and windy since I got back, with random heavy showers and thunderstorms every few days. Quite a change from the mild chill and warmth of the San Francisco Bay area, and the dry heat of Phoenix!

After being spoilt with unlimited high speed cable broadband internet service while living in the States, it was quite a shock to arrive in Cairns and discover that all of the internet service providers in the Cairns put huge download limitations on their customers, on top of offering slower internet connections in general. For the last few weeks I have been ripping my hair out trying to get a service similar to the high speed cable internet I got from Comcast and Cox in the USA, but to now avail. It seems like most people here are still using ADSL with bandwidth/download/speed limitations here.

I feel like I have technologically devolved. No more speedy downloads of trial software, all nighters watching YouTube, online gaming binges or speedy Skype conversations! Oh Kevin Rudd’s new Broadband minister, where are thou?

I learned a valuable lesson while building a new PC with parts from both the USA and Australia the other day – always make sure you use a transformable power supply that can step down or step up to the right voltage that your motherboard needs! A lot of newer power supplies sold in Australia are the 500W types that only supply 240v as input and do not have the ability to step down to 110v input for US motherboards, so check the specs before you buy a power supply. I almost burned out my motherboard by using a power supply that couldn’t transform between the US standard 110v input and the standard Australian 240v input!

If you hear a high-pitched “squeal” being emitted when you first turn on a newly built system, then you should shut off the power immediately. More than likely, the sound is being emitted from the capacitors on the motherboard freaking out because they are being overloaded with too much voltage. Another sure-fire sign is onboard motherboard cooling mounts heating up abnormally.