06 August 2009 50 Comments

What would you do if you weren't in development/design job?

I am sure we all sometimes ask ourselves this question, usually when we're tired of our work and everyday things. I constantly question my work and goals. As developer, designer and solutions architect it's really hard for me keep up with all the work. Sometimes I just wish I became a painter or cook.

I like to paint, I have been painting since I was 12. And the older I get, the more I realize it's a pitty I did't take that path. But it's never too late. What would I do in my retirement anyway? Creating diagrams through UML? No way!

I also like to cook. I know I will never be as good as my wife, but I love to do that. It's also creative with endless possibilities. By the way, are there any crazy meals that you would recommend me to try?

Let's hear your thoughts! What would you do if you weren't in development/design job (well, IT in general)?

With support from

Janko is a UI designer, software engineer, blogger, speaker and artist. You can read more about him and warp speed blog here.

50 Comments

Justin 06 Aug 2009 #

Since I am only 16, my paths are still open.

I always wanted to do either web design or underwater photography.
I love web design and I love SCUBA diving so I would be pretty much set.

JetSetWilly 06 Aug 2009 #

I'd be a photographer for sure

Jin 06 Aug 2009 #

Hey Janko, looks like we share more interests than I thought! I love to cook(I'm a better cook than my wife). I also like to draw, and wish I kept up with it. Now i'm so rusty.

If I weren't in web design biz, I think I'd love to be a film director, or a photographer.

Janko 06 Aug 2009 #

Justin: Underwater photography sounds very interesting. If you ever take some underwater photos please share!

JetSetWilly: Great photos of Belgrade you have, should have them more.

Jin: I'm glad we share similar interests (I also like bacon, you know ) You'd be a great photographer, I really like your photos.

Muhammad Mosa 06 Aug 2009 #

Well Janko, you are lucky, because at least you have one other thing you are good at PAINTING. Myself, I don't know other paths for myself.

Being able to Paint is cool, because I think if I was able to do that I feel the art that I am doing I think I would live in peace at least with myself.

I am just as you, maybe you are a bit older, but man I am 28 years old and white hear start growing widly all over my head.

I wish that tweeting would made me make money, because I would retire and do 3 things, work on some fun open source project, bloging and tweeting for food

Iva 07 Aug 2009 #

After 9 years in web design, five of which I'd spent in the professional field, I think I'm out of words whenever someone asks me this. Heck, I even left my original major for this and I doubt I'd ever be back to studying that.

Tim 07 Aug 2009 #

hmmm..... I have always wanted to be the guy that looks after the gardens of a golf course. Spend all day outside manicuring lawns and greens, trimming hedges, designing flower beds ect. If that doesnt work out I could always be a gigolo.

Amy 07 Aug 2009 #

I'd be chasing supercell storms across the Midwest, recording awesome tornado footage!

David 07 Aug 2009 #

Something in either sales or photography.

Josip 07 Aug 2009 #

That's actually a great question - never really thought of it before

I'd like to say carpentry, don't really have that much experience with wood but I enjoy building things. Probably carpentry or toolworking (metal), something in those lines.

Janko 07 Aug 2009 #

Muhammad: In my opinion paths are to be discovered. It's great if you do it early, but it can be more fun if you do that with white hair

Iva: Yep, 9 years is long enough to start question your paths.

Tim: I like that

Amy: That is very interesting, I enjoy watching storm chasers on Discovery.

David: Since photography is (in some way) related to web design I guess it would be easy to switch. Too bad I suck in making photos!

Josip: That's a good one. My father love to do carpentry in free time. And, as a kid, I loved to "help" him. That's creative!

Duppy Ocio 07 Aug 2009 #

Musician and/or Photographer.
a PIMP

Pawel 07 Aug 2009 #

Great

nemke 07 Aug 2009 #

I'd be planting organic food and enjoying in nature away from the city crowd. Also would spending lot of time biking and snowboarding.

Davide Espertini 07 Aug 2009 #

I think I'd be a naturalistic photoreporter, photographer or mmm.. really I don't know... suggestion?!?!

iongion 07 Aug 2009 #

Cooking for sure.
So far I am cooking far better than any of the girlfriends i had until now.

As for giving you a crazy recipe, especially if you are not a big meat eater.

ingredients:

- sunflower oil
- onion (2 onions)
- eggplant (4 eggplants)

Barbecue the eggplants, without any preparation, just wash them and put the on the barbecue until they get barbecued (they will reduce their size a lot and become really moist)

After being barbecued, remove the skin (watch out because the water inside them can burn you), and keep only the content (has green look-and-feel )

Chop the onions really well into very small cubes.

Put the content of the eggplants in a boll and use a mixer to make it like a paste, add 200 ml of oil while still mixing (mix in only one direction). You can chop the content of the eggplants before placing them in the mixer, it would reduce the time of mixing.

Add salt (1 teaspon), add the onion and that's it.

Have some nice slices of bread and place the mix on top, this can be eaten at any temperature (cold is the preferred)

recipe 2)

another way to cook the eggplants is to chop them horizontally (round slices) and then put them in a mixture of eggs and flower and then baked in the pancake (with lots of hot oil), keep them there until they get a brown look and they become crispy, like french fries, remove them quickly on a paper towel bed (to absorbe the excess of oil)

Prepare chopped garlic (really well chopped and pressed until it becomes a paste), after this add water and salt.

Eat the eggplants with bread and the garlic watery sauce (a taste very close to meat)

Janko 07 Aug 2009 #

Duppy Ocio: pimp? that's interesting

nemke: Wow, that's good idea and nice business. I especially like the fact you'd be faaar away from city crowd.

Davide: You do photography in free time?

iongion: The recipe is awesome, I will try it definitively! Thanks!!!

liz 08 Aug 2009 #

if i wasnt a web designer, id be a mermaid.

Linda 10 Aug 2009 #

In my younger years I wanted to be a Penguin... But when my ymother talked me out of that, I wanted to be a pencil artist in a zoo!
Nou I'm a graphic designer. And at my work it looks sometimes like a zoo!

Lucas Goodwin 10 Aug 2009 #

Heh, funny how so many of us started as artists or have a background in some art form.

For me, web development was something I just fell into.  First internship at Microsoft had me deving internal tools that interfaced via ASP3 front-ends.

How ever, I've been a Mechanical Engineer, a Drafter, a Machinist, a Welder, a Metal Polisher, even a Janitor.  Always seem to come back to this in the end though.

I do recommend that if you can, every 5 years leave the field and do something completely different for atleast 6 months.  You won't really be that far behind in the technology and you'll either comeback refreshed and in love with the work, or you wont come back (which could be a good thing too).

Janko 10 Aug 2009 #

Liy, Linda: Mermaid, penguin.. it reminds me to the days I wanted to be a bird and be able to fly Pencil artist at zoo sounds great, I can see myself there. I love to paint animals.

Lucas: Yes, it's also funny that many webdesigners are good in photography. Interesting thoughts you have and I agree with you. Many people probably don't have a possibility to leave the field and do something else, but that would be a great experience.

Nicolas Pascual 10 Aug 2009 #

Hard question Janko..
But..
I guess that cook could be my another option...

Ronny 11 Aug 2009 #

I'm a web developer now, but if I had to choose something that's not based on computers, I would be a truck driver. It's awesome driving huge 18-wheelers!

Tim Wright 11 Aug 2009 #

I think I would have kicked around in sales for a while then started either painting or construction

Timothy Long 11 Aug 2009 #

I think I'd retreat to something mildly dissimilar from what I normally do. Like perhaps serving coffee instead of just consuming it.

Luke 11 Aug 2009 #

i would propably be dead.
but if i managed to stay alive ... i would be Luke Skywalker saving my princess from the ever lasting evil. Picking up bad friends and hairy beasts on the way, and learning the ways of the force.
and when i wake up, i would be an very expensive photographer.

Wouter Tinbergen 11 Aug 2009 #

I would be shooting photos and be teaching physics in highschool!
There are just so many nice things to do...

Mišel Gošić 11 Aug 2009 #

I would like to own a bar, but not any bar - a Blues bar. Something small, with a corner where a live band can play and room for approx 50-75 guests. I hope that I will have it one day.

dave 11 Aug 2009 #

I would be retired. seriously, that's my life goal.

Janko - if you want to try something different, buy an inexpensive smoker and try your hand at (real) barbecue. it's hard to screw up and is some of the best food available.

iFadey 11 Aug 2009 #

I love cars so I may have become a race driver or test driver for some automaker (specially for some German automaker). But still I always try to learn test driver skills by my own

The 2nd thing (other than designing/development) which I love is soldier.

The 3rd option would be a teacher. I love to teach programming and some other Computer Science subjects.

Naveed Ahmad 11 Aug 2009 #

hmmm thats an interesting post

well i would love to explore the world would love to travel all over look at different cultures and if not this then would surely teach art/design related subject or if not that then would love to do some volunteer work in Global Red Crescent Organization

John McCollum 11 Aug 2009 #

Hm, good question.

I love to cook too, and I'm not as good as my wife either. My favourite recipe is this one for potato and lentil curry. It's very easy but very tasty! (another meat free recipe as I'm vegetarian)

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/600373

What would I be if I wasn't in IT? No idea, but I always fancied joining the police as a teenager. Other than that, no idea.

Waqar Ali 11 Aug 2009 #

I would have been a manager... ofcourse because i wouldn't have known anything else... (thats the rule of capitalism, who knows nothing, he's the leader, bcz he never has the time to do anything)

Can Berkol 11 Aug 2009 #

I would be a photographer for sure.

Nanda 12 Aug 2009 #

I would go back to my country and do what my folks have done all along...farming.

Harry 13 Aug 2009 #

I would like go to gym and trip for longer time,

paki 13 Aug 2009 #

Cook, for sure I'm 2 hours late for for work preparing 'lazy' apple pie!

@misel
Blues bar is my second choise

Maxu' 15 Aug 2009 #

After over 7 years in web design, I'd go for web design. I gave up the academic studies for it, and don't regret a single day.

But, if really, a EMP were to kill all the PCs, I'd go for ... carpenter, seems to me to have similar requirements from the author, and less crossromm compatibility issues.

Music producer, as the next best thing, in no EMP is involved

Marc 17 Aug 2009 #

Web developper/IT. But with no other options:

Photographer or cook. It's at the top of my hobby list. And I love doing stuff I enjoy, that's why I' a web dev ;)

thejonz 18 Aug 2009 #

My dad switched from professional baseball pitcher to a fulltime professional Artist in his 30's. He never had an art lesson until he was over 30 years old. It's never too late to change (changing to Art sure pays a lot less though otherwise I'd concider it too).

his site: http://www.buckpaulson.com

Jimmy Strony 19 Aug 2009 #

I always dreamed of being a pirate But that is not possible... Well, maybe not impossible at all, but not that kind of pirate that kidnapps huge tankers for ransom but those romantic short panted gentlemen with sword and gun in hand. I could become an actor and play one, but that is not an option, I'm afraid. I'm left with some dreams again, because Internet piracy is also not a thing that I would like to try ;)

Santhos Webdesign 19 Aug 2009 #

Well to be hounest... I really wouldn't know.... lol
Maybe a musician!!

MJ Stapleford Corporate Identity 21 Aug 2009 #

Yeah musician would be good. Was also looking at dry stone walling once. You get to spend lots of time outdoors. That would be nice.

Pauli Østerø 21 Aug 2009 #

Interesting of you to mention cooking! i've been working in developing for 10 years now, but my dream is to one day open my own restaurant!

About crazy meals i can recommend something from the greenlandic or faroese cousine. Musxox, reindeer and dried whalemeat and fish is very good!

Nepu 26 Aug 2009 #

Farmer or Social Activist

aravind 27 Aug 2009 #

interesting question Janko!
well in my case my other choices were
to be a movie director or an editor.
or to be a fashion photographer

Janko 04 Sep 2009 #

Thanks everyone for the comments! It's great to see so much differences even though we're all in similar businesses.

Sarfraz Ahmed 17 Sep 2009 #

i would have been banker or accountant probably !!

RobertbBRavery 30 Sep 2009 #

I too love cooking, and did some painting earlier on in life. I also fancy photography. So I guess I would love to do that.
I am also a lay preacher at our local Baptist Church, so probably would do that as well.
But hard to imagine life without IT, programming, development or the internet.

KreCi 26 Nov 2009 #

I would be a photographer... I have even tried a little in this subject and I really enjoyed it.... But web development is my first love...

1 Trackback(s) (show)

Comments are closed

What would you do if you weren't in development/design job?

With support from

With support from

Browse categories

Subscribe

Join me

With support from

See my work

Read a book