Stone mason. You carry all of your tools in your back pocket, you get to work on and build beautiful and cool things that people enjoy, and when you're done your work can last for hundreds of years. (Plus you get to be outside and meet lots of interesting folk)<p>I've also had a hankering for owning my own sub shop at the beach. Walk up in your bare feet, place an order, and minutes later I've created something that makes you happy. I get to wear whatever I want, and the scenery is gorgeous.
Before I started college, I pretty much had two directions I wanted to go. Either go to college(for CS) or earn a Master Electricians license. I went with the former, however I sometimes wish I had gone the other direction.<p>Soooooo.... The manual job for me would have been an Electrician. I have friends that chose this route and are doing very well for themselves now. Good pay, make your own hours, potential to start your own business, etc. Manual labor in my opinion is extremely underrated, especially when it comes to trade related work. College is pushed so hard to high schoolers these days, that nobody considers alternative paths. Just like earning a college degree, I think you can lead a good life and possibly become extremely successful applying your skills to learning a trade.
Sean: So what do you really want to do?<p>Will: I wanna be a shepherd.<p>Sean: Really.<p>Will: I wanna move up to Nashua, get a nice little spread, get some sheep and tend to them.
I think it would really cool to be a winemaker.<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winemaking" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winemaking</a>
Equine blacksmith. You're basically a cobbler/podiatrist for horses. All the fun of being an equine vet, without having to castrate them or stick your arm up their butts.
Gardening. Actually, right now I have a small garden on my balcony that I take care around 30 min each day, helps to relax, clear my mind after programming all day.
Barista.<p>Large House Blend $2.00. Bagel and Cream Cheese $1.49. Handing someone a cup of coffee and seeing that smile on their face, Priceless.<p>There are some jobs you get just for the money. For everything else, there is Barista.
Maybe there is an opportunity here for hackers. Some sort of job swapping / training site. It seems a lot of hackers would like to work a "manual job" and I would bet a lot of people doing manual labors would like to learn about computers.
vw/porsche mechanic. It's what I grew up doing and I would actually love to do it again. If I had more hours in the day I would code and build engines.
I wonder what circumstances would lead to that? Some kind of a societal crash where computers are either fully exploited or no longer relevant.... well, who knows maybe road bandit? If I got busted with a court order keeping me off computers and I couldn't find some way to circumvent it, I'd probably end up doing some highly dangerous, highly paid work like oil rig or crab farmer until I could get enough $ to bail the country and get back to coding.
yellow cab driver in a major metro; genuinely interested in people and their stories. ask my passengers about their day, make notes and learn every day. if that doesn't count; a street hawker in nyc selling falafel/donner kabab with my secret sauce.
Timber framing.<p>Just took a great course (for the second time in 9 years) from the Heartwood School (heartwoodschool.com), with my
second son (first son the first time).<p>We built a two-story 24' x 28' craft shop in 4 days and raised on the fifth.<p>Highly recommended.<p>We also built a timber-frame small horse barn at our farm back in 2000 with some itinerant framer help (well, they did the bulk of the work, since they had the experience). Great time, with a 200-person barn raising, big get-together, bonfire, etc.
Plumber. My father is one and my grandfather also was one. Modern heaters are incredibly complex. But sadly one's work isn't going to last: modern heaters last only about 10–20 years and plumbing lasts only between 10–50 years.
Go (back) to sea.<p>A long time ago I was trained as a commercial oceangoing ship's officer. Now I live on a small farm in a landlocked state and I miss the ocean more frequently in recent years.<p>But I still think the guys on "Deadliest Catch" are insane...
Greens crew. I did it for a bit when I was younger and except for the 4:30-5am starts and the occasional rain it was pretty relaxing and good for thinking about random things and you got free golf rounds out of it.
Open a brewery. I've just started home brewing and find the whole process very addicting. From creating your own recipes to trying to brew the same beer twice, it's loads of fun.
I spent a couple of years doing part time constrution work, and I miss it. No other work has ever given me the same kind of satisfied feeling at the end of the day.
Machinist. I liked that class so much in highschool that I applied for mechanical engineering in university, although I'm glad I ended up in computer engineering.
Something in a print shop, or a place that does screen printing onto fabric. (This does involve computers and machines, but not as a programmer.)<p>I'm surprisingly good at teaching, but I would go on a killing rampage if I worked under typical education administrators. Maybe private tutoring or an alt-education job.<p>Being an electrician looks like an awesome career too, though I have no relevant skills.
Assuming pay wasn't a factor in the decision, I'd be a door man for a hotel that caters to vacationers (and not in a major city like New York).<p>- My back hurt less and I was generally in better shape when I had a job that involved standing for the majority of the day.<p>- When the dominating factor of your job is smiling at and being smiled at all day, I think it'd be hard to leave work in a bad mood.
Commercial rod and reel fisherman. I would catch cod, striper and tuna depending on the season. I have the boat and the equipment and if I ever get sick of coding that's where you will find me. I have been a soldier, a mechanic and a carpenter in the past and grew up on a sheep farm and enjoyed them all but the ocean has the strongest pull.
That's a tough one. I have many interests outside of computers. I think the top two to decide between would be:<p>1. Alpine skiing instructor, while training to eventually become a mountain guide.<p>2. Chef. Probably specializing in pastries. I love cooking, but I'd need to go to culinary school before I could do it for a living.
I am way too tempted to apply computers to whatever manual job I am working on. For example working on cars I find fun, so working at a garage sounds nice, but that will no doubt lead to me hacking on the chips in the car...
Cabinet maker or mechanic specializing in restoration, bar tender, chef, teacher, politician, or counselor. I don't have the chops for it but "golf pro" would be a job that might combine all of the above in a good way.
Carpenter, Cabinet Maker, Machinist, Welder, Luthier or other instrument maker.. take your pick, although it doesn't really count since I already do, or have done all of those.
Interesting thought experiment.<p>I would be a general contractor and sub-contract the work I wasn't an expert at.<p>I have a lot of experience doing repair work and would enjoy the varied tasks.
automobile mechanic. A little bit more physical effort and a little bit less mental, (well, the manuals for repairing cars tend to be a whole lot better than the manuals for repairing computers, anyhow.) but in many ways similar to PC/server repair. (tho a whole lot messier.)