Regarding your last point, don't discount the happy medium. I both farm and develop "big city" software, and I know I'm not the only one on here in the same position. I find they go quite well together.

In fact, I expect you will find that most farmers have "book" careers in addition to their farming business. Outside of large multigenerational operations, it's pretty difficult to pull off farming without other sources of (high paying) income. I know farmers who are also dentists, lawyers, and chartered accountants, to name a few.

I studied to be an S.E. for 7 years (undergrad/grad) and practiced for a little over a year before I gave it up for software. First, the pay was atrociously bad given they years of schooling. Seriously, I couldn't justify doing it if I didn't absolutely love it because I was barely getting by.

Furthermore, S.E. in practice is pretty boring -- lots of repetitive calculations. Yes, there is room for software automation, but that kind of automation is never rewarded - so much of the tasks just seemed to be coordination and paper shuffling. Beyond that, working on projects often meant waiting years to see anything come of it - think about how long it takes to get a large project from concept (design) to completion. In most markets it's a very long timeline.

That said, if I were to have stayed in S.E. I would have focused on smaller projects (with shorter timelines) and I would have tried to specialize in field engineering (being on-site) since that's where most of the real problem solving happens.

Same. I'm a software engineer who's been going down the metal fab/welder pathway for the last 1.5 years. It's highly rewarding, but also the overhead continues to grow and grow. Probably because the scale continues to grow as well.

I need to be happy making small physical things instead of huge physical things... http://www.breefield.com/projects/prodigal-swan

I've also looked into the timeline involved in becoming a PE. Not only do you have to take 6 years of school but you have to work under a PE for 2 years to become one. The pay doesn't seem to justify that much training (considering my anecdotal interest in the field).

Call me new-school, but I continue to enjoy working on systems that can't kill or maim people.

I've wondered if I could shortcut the school requirement on the basis of already having an ABET-accredited computer engineering undergrad. My state does not seem to distinguish the type of engineering education required to be a PE. I would think that a computer PE is not quite the same as a civil/structural PE though.

As for welding, certifications and or even training seems to be very expensive. E.g., a single one-semester (4 credits) welding class at the local community college is $847. I'm tempted to buy some welding equipment from Harbor Freight and just try to learn from YouTube videos (which is basically what I did to teach myself car repair).

My grandfather was a farmer. It always seemed to be quite rewarding and challenging. I've thought about going down that path myself.

Same here - my father's side of the family was from the country. Acres of farm land, crops, and animals. My father was one of the first to shift into a non-farming job. Growing up I always had chances to work on the farm or spend summers down there. There are times I dream about what life would be like for me as a farmer today. Also the reward of a hard day's work is under appreciated in today's society (if you ask me).

> Also the reward of a hard day's work is under appreciated in today's society (if you ask me).

I couldn't agree more. My parents always taught us growing up that my (and my brother) brain was our biggest asset. We both chose career paths that valued brains over brawn.

I recently helped a friend out build shit for a couple days. It was the best time I'd had in a while. Maybe it's not too late for me to switch.