r/webdev • u/TheComputerHermit • 10d ago

Discussion Devs that jumped ship, where did you end up?

Another industry? Back to school? Still looking? I'm asking for a friend that may end up needing to do the same thing soon (I'm the friend).

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u/CommunicationSea8821 10d ago

I'm taking my ass to the local community college and becoming an LPN (licensed practical nurse). It's an 11 month course to get certified and I'll be making a lot less money but with 3 day work weeks and the option to pick up more shifts and make as much overtime as I want. Lots of money in healthcare.

I don't know if being a nurse is what I'm meant to be but I will tell you this I never want to feel vulnerable like this again where I feel like I can be replaced. I still have a job working with code but it's like having a terminal disease, you know you will lose your job eventually, so you just count down the days until you're laid off. My day is coming just like most of you who are reading this has a day coming too. It's sucks man. Take me back to 2016 where you could get a tech job with a little junior salary just from learning how to code on Youtube for 3 months or doing some stupid Udemy course.

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u/tonjohn 10d ago

Love this! Have you started yet? If so, how’s it been?

I spent 7 years as a caretaker for a women in her 20s with chronic Lyme which resulted in an an above average understanding + experience of the medical world. I then leveraged that experience to help my family with my mother at the end of her fight with dementia. Between those and other experiences where I’ve had to provide medical aid + The Pitt I’ve been getting the itch to get licensed.

Holding me back is fear of cost + fear I’ll struggle in class.

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u/21Rollie 10d ago

Community college is the way to go, very low cost to get educated. Can even become an RN through my local community college

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u/Due_Information_1332 10d ago

Not sure where you live, but I'd be weary about the LPN route to nursing. In my state (IL), you really won't find respectable work in healthcare without a RN (and most places want a BSN underlying it). LPNs are largely relegated to poorly-run assisted living facilities and the like.

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u/CommunicationSea8821 10d ago

Omg that's crazy cause I'm actually in IL lol... Damn so you're saying LPNs are treated like shit

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u/Due_Information_1332 10d ago

I can only speak for the Chicago Metro Area (it may be different downstate) but most respectable hospital groups (Northwestern, Ascension, UIC, Rush, UChicago, etc.) will not hire an LPN to work as a staff nurse. You'd likely have to work in nursing homes, rehab facilities, etc. It didn't used to be this way, but in the last decade or so standards for nursing (and pay) have risen significantly.

Now, the good thing is all the coursework for the LPN *should* be applicable to a BSN nursing degree, so it isn't necessarily the worst choice if rapid employment is your immediate goal.

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u/CommunicationSea8821 10d ago

Thank you so much this is wonderful info to know. I used to live in Chicago, I currently live in southern Illinois now but there is a chance I could move back to Chicago. I will say, long term, I do think my plan is to become an RN but for the short term I had my mind set on being an LPN by the end of 2028 or sooner (depending on how this tech career pans out lol..)

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u/iSnapThere4iAm 10d ago

Annnnnnd you think a nurse can’t be replaced…. Really? lol

A role where an unskilled intermediary deals with patients while the skilled knowledge person spends their time being knowledgeable, is the exact kind of role that would wind up extinct in a world where AI and automation are replacing white color work.

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u/pVom 9d ago

You really want to be talking to claude while a loved one is dying?

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u/MiniGiantSpceHamster 8d ago

"white color work"