This question generated some very interesting discussions in another online community I’m in. I would likely pursue a career in occupational therapy or speech-language pathology. I would love to do work that directly benefits the lives of others and to spend more time interacting with people from all walks.

I'd become a neurosurgeon, always wanted to be since childhood for some reason. Maybe I drew inspiration from youtube watching those tumor removal videos.

I'd do what I do now: computer science instructor and author. :)

My wife is an SLP at a hospital and she loves it. I couldn't handle the more medical parts, but I can see crossover there with assessment and problem-solving. She geeks out on it.

Both of us are definitely interested in work that benefits lives. (For me, a lot of that is driven by my desire to repent for working in online advertising for so many years.) If that's something that matters to you, and it sounds like it is, I definitely recommend pushing for that. But think outside the box, too--there are a lot of places in tech that benefit people and provide interaction.

Finally, watch out for the student loan-to-income ratio for things like SLP. Make sure you're balancing that.

If i could start over again i would love to work as forester. I even considered working as lumberjack. I got required certificates, im legally allowed to work in the industry doing sawork (as in, felling trees, even if not private property).

I know it is an highly physical demanding and also very risky job. Now that a second child arives, obviously, life changing again, i just cant do it, i need to feed two kinds soon and these kind of jobs are not well payed.

So ill stick to doing my own firewood once a year, a couple of days outside in the woods and keep dreaming about it.

Live goes by too fast.

I'm not 'in tech', but I am a technology librarian and a large part of my job is teaching senior citizens how to use their devices. I don't make a ton of money, but I get a lot of social capital in my community, as well as a bunch of fresh baked goods this time of year.

If it wasn’t about the money I would be a teacher of some kind.

When I’m retired I plan to get a part-time job as an usher at a theater, arena, concert hall, or stadium.

Another good option is to get a really low-stress job at a tropical resort. I can imagine running a little stand that rents out umbrellas and chairs on a beach. Or maybe walking around the beach selling ice cream out of a cart.

If money was no issue, I'd go into carpentry. I find building things out of wood to be immensely satisfying. Everything from the smell of the wood, the differences by wood type, the naturally beautiful look it has, and the usability/UX of the final product tickle me in ways that I haven't experienced before. I've gotten very close with personal software projects, but the physicality of the wood is something software has never been able to replicate.

Probably Math and science teacher/professor.

I also could end up being happy in condensed matter physics, astrophysics, robotics, materials science, nano tech, optics, or RF. Some combination of engineering and science.

I love teaching and building things to help people. So there are a bunch of areas that would fit the bill here. I gravitate towards any tech that feels like magic.

Baker. Very phisical job, night hours, but it's creative and you really make something with your hands. Wonderful.

I imagine my answer will be a bit unique - I'm in tech because I like computers and I'm good at working with them, but I feel a strong conviction that if I'd had my way, I would've gone into some sort of sex work, likely either porn or pro-domme work. There was an article posted here[0] a few years ago by an escort reflecting on her experiences, and the conclusion, which spoke to the human element of the work, deeply resonated with me - in fact, I recently left the IC track for a manager role because I'm realizing how meaningful I find work that exercises empathy to be.

Human sexuality is the one thing in this world that's more interesting to me than computers, and while I'm grateful for my stable job and career that allow me to explore it as a hobby, I'm infinitely curious about what that other life would have looked like.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28924751

Do you mean "money is not an issue, what else would you do" or "AI has automated tech, what other job would you pick now" or "had you made different life choices 20 years ago..."?

Depending on my finances, I'd probably paint for a little bit. When I say paint, I mean paint buildings, not paint canvas or anything like that. Did this for a few years in college and it was satisfying to actually see physical proof of your work. Also, the only way you ever took you work home with you was if you got paint on yourself.

Former tech worker here. I don’t know yet, and don’t have many skills outside of computer jockey. Can be friendly for short periods but not a people person. What do y’all suggest?

I'd be a cook/chef, which is what I decided on in HS, but I let everyone talk me into tech, which I regret in hindsight.

I’d probably become a chef - cooking has always felt like the most natural non-tech path for me. It’s a craft and a very creative process, with immediate, tangible results.

I like programming so I'd probably just keep doing that.

If I didn't have to work in order to live I'd probably spend more time sailing, playing music, and being with my family.

But I'd still be programming. The kind of programming I'd do would be focused on my interests rather than the interests of businesses and shareholders that employ me though.

One of these or a mix of - history, archaeology, and literature. But as they say, you never know.

I absolutely knew even when I left school ("school" school) that none of these would pay, so I assume your question has an implicit "if money was no concern". Because money/job was the reason I picked engineering and CS in college. While I did quite well (academically and professionally), I never loved it. Maybe I liked it here and there. Then I knew this would happen; that's the reason I was at least prudent enough to never do that CS MS (with multiple options for full scholarships in Europe around a decade ago). But not prudent enough to explore masters in many of the non-STEM fields that were there for the taking pretty much. Some of those might have paired well with this STEM bachelors in some way or the other.

Many of us have to do this job(personality quirks, ASD, etc). I remember talking to a nerd friend(Verilog/VHDL guy) 25 years ago, in the time before Google salaries when engineering wasn't a job most people desired. He shared that thought and it rang true with me. I've met many folks who I don't think would have done well outside engineering. Myself, I have a good brain for engineering but have a marked lack of common sense. I'm a jack of all trades but as that implies I'm not particularly good at anything besides systems programming or electrical engineering.

Back in college('97) a guy offered me a job as an elevator repair tech. I almost dropped out since the money was better than what I'd make as an engineer($50/hr plus OT). My first engineering job, doing embedded SW and some EE work for a large consumer electronics company was $37.5k/yr.

I’ve made some interesting things in the past few years, in particular singing Tesla coils and digitally-controlled plasma tube lights. Was thinking about making bespoke musical instruments based on some of these learnings.

Of particular interest was some interesting types of feedback that came from the Tesla coils. Basically we modulated the frequency we drove the coils to produce sound, but the coils would interfere with one another because that’s how electromagnetism works. We had to tune them to different resonant frequencies to play sound. But the interference itself could sound unique and eerie, sometimes like an old-timey radio. It’s similar in principle to a theremin but a very different sound.

Or I could just get a soul sucking job and do this in early retirement. Shrug.

I think I would enjoy building houses, or solar-battery-electrical installations. I like infrastructure (my favorite games include Factorio) and being able do that in the real world sounds both useful and enjoyable/satisfying.

All the jobs I rather be doing are antiquated. Furniture maker but it’s not a viable job anymore either. A machinist, tool-die maker. Or mechanic maybe. I have always thought that mechanics are just debugging a very specific architecture. None of these make money though.

I'm currently incubating a sick twisted fantasy to run a handbuilt bicycle wheelbuilding store. If you asked me this question 20 years ago, the answer would be music teacher.

There are two ways to answer this, one for what I'd intrinsically enjoy most, and one for what could be an equally lucrative career.

For the former, a repair/handyman. Hanging shelves, assembling ikea furniture, etc.

The latter is harder to answer, but probably something within the legal profession.

Really different questions with different answers.

If it were just for my own care-free leisure and benefit, I would probably go to school again and try some other academic path in math, physics or history. Or rekindle my CS study and do a phd - so many different interesting topics.

In the real world, as a parent with a huge mortgage? Pretty much anything. Janitorial work, insurance agent, landscaping, whatever.

I could have been an academic or an activist. My son reactivated in me the "making" aspect of experimental physics that had a big impact on me despite doing theory for my PhD. (My son builds buildings by day, guitars by night)

In the last two years I've become a semi-pro photographer. I guess I am also an "activist" now but approach it as personal change [1] instead of interpersonal conflict.

[1] a kind of global "daoism" that embraces all kinds of human development

Physics, of course. Well, at least that is what I was doing before. If not that teaching. Math, physics, programming. I could teach any of that I guess

Doctor. Still want to explore "systems" to diagnose issues and build plans for improvement.

When I was 45, I did briefly consider making the switch

My background is in computer science and philosophy. But philosophy was always about pure interest and not career prospect.

If I had to pivot in 2025, I’d probably go for psychology. I’m interested in that, I enjoy the idea of more directly helping people and have myself been tremendously helped by psychologists the past years.

I'd probably be an electrician or fabrication (3D printing / CNC). Or does that count as tech?

I could imagine being a car mechanic or a welder. Repairing my car is a little hobby of mine and I could imagine doing that full time, if programming work would stop paying my bills.

I'd go back to civil engineering. Building things. Good, honest work.

Probably something blue collar like electrician, plumbing or auto repair.

Work in a taco shop.

Medicine, ideally Oncology. I only made that realization as an adult though.

Electrician

I'd be a woodworker making cabinets and tables

Art and cinema, if I can’t write code I’ll write stories instead and try to bring them to life.

Airline pilot. Respected, well paid, kind of cool.

BEACH....BUM

I would be a failed science fiction / horror writer.

not a communist, but the communist manifesto articulated this problem very well in people end up doing work that does not matter to them because of capitalism. imagine a world, where people do that, they are passionate about and not have to worry about basic means and even some wants (entertainment, comfort living etc). a world of abundance for everyone where people just do what they are super passionate about. will AI help towards that or not is a big question.

Some form of building things in the physical world rather than the digital; probably working in construction since I already do it on the side.

Probably be into some arts fields: writing, music, design.

Fly some drones, maybe thermal image wildlife

Electrician, some sort of doctor, or chef.

Audio Engineering and Production

A plumber. Very resistant to AI.

Teach high school English.

Bus driver in SF or near a tech hub, so I can listen to mindless grifting and endless complaining by tech workers that would re-enforce the life decision I made.

If I take the question to mean: "you still have to work but you can't work in tech, what would you do?" I had thought about this around the time of the last layoffs that we had ... and I think I'd go to a trade school to become an electrician.

BUT ... to be 100% honest there's nothing I am really any good at other than tech. I guess I could try my hand at teaching. Would that be a good enough loop hole? I could maybe teach Econ 101 at a junior college probably. It'd be a huge pay cut but it'd be better than being jobless.

But i dont work in tech

Either scientist or chef

Regenerative farmer, tinkering with mycorrhizal fungi and other microbiology

CNC (and maybe some manual) Machining.

Soon we will all find it out.

I've considered switching to land surveying, machining or fabricating.

I just hate the direction the software industry has gone (and is going), and once I buy a house and get some savings I want to get out.

Tech pervades all things. These days in particular it's impossible to do anything too well without advice from AI.

I could and I do daytrade options, which however is more tech than tech itself, whether by hand or by a bot.

I would however like to be a consulting speaker, but the research for it can't really be done without a steady and heavy dose of tech.