So I’m an engineer and I guess lockdown has made me realise how much happier I am when I’m not sat behind a computer.
Although I do enjoy creating things and I’m constantly told how good of an engineer I am, but I really want to step away from having to ‘hyper focus’ and be strapped to my laptop coding.<p>Anyone work in tech and don’t spend much time behind a computer?
I’ve not done this but might be worth considering:<p>Do calls on your phone (go walking) and todo notes and design on a whiteboard. Only use the computer when you really have to.
If you hate sitting in front of a computer, you might retrain to be a hardware engineer (e.g. in robotics, aerospace etc.). They can sometimes spend a lot of the time building prototypes or testing the physical component in a lab (of course, there's plenty of hardware jobs where you just spend the whole day in front of a CAD, but you can filter them out during your job search). Unfortunately, this will still require a lot of focus. So, if you're tired with having to be focused all the time, then I'm afraid you need to either get used to it or stop working office jobs entirely (or maybe try to go part-time in software?).
At least you're not spending time in meetings!<p>I used to be a software engineer. Now I run a website. I still work behind a computer, but I work a lot less overall. This leaves a lot of time for other activities. All you have to do is somehow launch a website that makes enough money to support you, which is about as easy as winning the lottery.<p>You could also teach what you know or sell software.
That's nice that you get told that you do a good job.<p>I second the idea about becoming an architect. There are also other roles like sales engineers, help desk, security consultants, etc. It depends on what you enjoy, how much human interaction you want, and what positions are available in your area.
You could always dictate code aloud..<p><a href="https://serenade.ai/" rel="nofollow">https://serenade.ai/</a><p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23497756" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23497756</a>
Consider the van life and having a mobile office.<p><a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg37Cbx-kak" rel="nofollow">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg37Cbx-kak</a>