I used to make well into six figures as a programmer. Now I drive a school bus and I’m vastly happier. I’m always surprised when I wake up on a Monday morning and realize that I’m not dreading going to work (I actually look forward to seeing my elementary school kids). I make less than one-sixth of what I used to but I have savings and already own my house outright, so it’s all good.
It’s going to suck when AI takes over for CDL holders, however.
If you save a bunch early on from a big salary, you can kind of coast on a lower wage job (no longer making enough to contribute to your retirement funds, as much at least) until a normal retirement age.
The FIRE community refers to his as being Barrista FI (financially independent), due to, long ago, a few coffee shops having decent benefits before they went all union busting…
Yes. Whether it’s rewarding or profitable or safe will vary wildly with where and when and who knows what. There may also be license requirements and in some places you’ll need to drive a truck or something professionally before you are allowed to drive a bus. And any work with children may have extra requirements. Either way, it’s customer service and a lot of techs consider that the most stressful thing there is.
Worth looking into, though, if there’s any chance you might like it.
Edit: Oh, and traffic! I hate traffic. I can’t imagine having to pilot a bus in traffic. I don’t know how I forgot to mention that.
I don’t think it’s all that common. In my case, I was laid off by a west coast tech giant and actually got something of a severance for the first time in my life. Instead of finding another job right away, I bought a used school bus and converted it into a motorhome. Since I thereby already knew how to drive a big bus, getting a job as a school bus driver was a natural progression. Mainly I do it for the health insurance which is otherwise pretty useless and insanely fucking expensive.
Looks like they paid off the big debts with the Big Tech salary first, then took the lower pay job. So yeah, if you grind out the big bills first it’s absolutely possible.
I woke up early today so I snuck out of bed quietly and decided to read lemmy on my phone so I don’t wake up the spouse… And then this comment made me snort.
I used to make well into six figures as a programmer. Now I drive a school bus and I’m vastly happier. I’m always surprised when I wake up on a Monday morning and realize that I’m not dreading going to work (I actually look forward to seeing my elementary school kids). I make less than one-sixth of what I used to but I have savings and already own my house outright, so it’s all good.
It’s going to suck when AI takes over for CDL holders, however.
Is this… A real possibility?
The AI driving thing? I don’t see why it won’t be a thing eventually. If kids get run over from time to time, they’re easy to replace at that age.
No I mean quitting tech to be a bus driver
If you save a bunch early on from a big salary, you can kind of coast on a lower wage job (no longer making enough to contribute to your retirement funds, as much at least) until a normal retirement age.
The FIRE community refers to his as being Barrista FI (financially independent), due to, long ago, a few coffee shops having decent benefits before they went all union busting…
Yes. Whether it’s rewarding or profitable or safe will vary wildly with where and when and who knows what. There may also be license requirements and in some places you’ll need to drive a truck or something professionally before you are allowed to drive a bus. And any work with children may have extra requirements. Either way, it’s customer service and a lot of techs consider that the most stressful thing there is.
Worth looking into, though, if there’s any chance you might like it.
Edit: Oh, and traffic! I hate traffic. I can’t imagine having to pilot a bus in traffic. I don’t know how I forgot to mention that.
I don’t think it’s all that common. In my case, I was laid off by a west coast tech giant and actually got something of a severance for the first time in my life. Instead of finding another job right away, I bought a used school bus and converted it into a motorhome. Since I thereby already knew how to drive a big bus, getting a job as a school bus driver was a natural progression. Mainly I do it for the health insurance which is otherwise pretty useless and insanely fucking expensive.
Looks like they paid off the big debts with the Big Tech salary first, then took the lower pay job. So yeah, if you grind out the big bills first it’s absolutely possible.
I woke up early today so I snuck out of bed quietly and decided to read lemmy on my phone so I don’t wake up the spouse… And then this comment made me snort.
Well played, well played.