Ask HN: How would you invest in yourself with $10,000

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5682908

by randomCoder • 13 years ago

18 18 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I'm a 35 year old programmer. My background is Wall Street and Google. I'm quitting my job in a few months and taking some time off. I have enough money saved up to not have to work for 8 months to a year. More if i do consulting work part-time. I don't really want to travel fulltime - did a lot of that last year for work. Other than that, i don't have any family constraints so i'm not tied to a particular location.

I've decided to set aside a max of $10,000 during this time for personal improvement. My primary background is in distributed systems but I've taught myself large bits of machine learning (at the level of Andrew Ng's classes on youtube - not the coursera stuff) as well. Initially I was thinking of getting my second master's - this time in machine learning but those are more like 30-50,000 and a 1-2 year commitment. I'm learning things like Android/IOS programming right now but those kinds of subjects i tend to pick up quite quickly from the internet and books so i'm not sure if I would pay for classes on those subjects.

I was also thinking of stuff that's not related to computers like taking part of an mba curriculum or taking lessons in public speaking, negotiation, marketing etc. As a 35 year old coder, i'm also thinking about what's next in my career - i like hacking a lot, but I don't know if I should be investing in more management skills/credentials since i'm not sure i'll be able to get a engineering job at 50 (evidence showing otherwise for 50 year olds on HN notwithstanding).

So, I thought i would ask the HN community for ideas - how would you improve yourself with 10,000$ (or less :))and 8 months ?

jboggan• 13 years ago

Do you want to make yourself more valuable to future employers or do you want to build something for yourself?

dreadsword• 13 years ago

What are your goals? For the next year? Five years? 20? Retire at 40? Start your own business? Start a family? Get in shape? Become a professor? Your goals will help to shape you self-investments. If you don't have goals, perhaps take some time think some through. Without a goal framework, determining the ROI of your alternatives will be difficult.

zalzane• 13 years ago

If I was you, I would probably pick up some hardware and do EE projects. I absolutely love electronics and hardware, but can't afford to buy any of the equipment involved so I saturate my free time with programming. College is like a horrible curse for EE fans, all this free time but don't have any money to afford the equipment required to fill up that free time with interesting projects.

There's loads of exciting stuff you can do with hardware. Some projects I really want to tackle include stuff like fancy led-embedded business cards, disposable USB sticks, and an autonomous drone that can deliver take-out. There's sooooo much cool stuff you can do, but the equipment required is pretty expensive, and mistakes can be costly.

If you want ideas, hackaday is loaded with them. http://hackaday.com/

JHof2• 13 years ago

I would attend the programming boot camp to which I was accepted but will not be able to afford.

In your case, it sounds like you spend much of your time and energy achieving. Instead of using the break to steady yourself for the next leap, why not take time to wander a little? Go experience unique people and places. Set out to change your perspective. Play. It could help you discover what you want or what's next in your career, giving you something to work toward, rather than blindly collecting 'skills' and 'credentials' that may or may not be what you need to take the next step.

areeve• 13 years ago

Which bootcamp? What would you learn at a bootcamp that you couldn't for free on your own volition?

Not criticising, genuinely curious as I've considered attending one myself.

JHof2• 13 years ago

Hack Reactor. Nothing I can't learn on my own, but job prospects seem much better post boot camp. Plus the whole immersion with a sense of urgency idea just seem much more effective than a year of self-study. Not to mention the networking. I think the next best option is self study supplemented with paid resources - Codeschool, Thinkful, Udacity, General Assembly, etc.

argonaut3• 13 years ago

Speaking as someone who used to work at a company that several bootcamps had pitched for recruitment purposes, and having met several grads from bootcamps, I would say that these bootcamps are most certainly not for you. They are almost all universally geared towards beginners. In that sense these bootcamps do add a lot of value. It is really hard to teach yourself to code if you lack any foundation in coding, let alone teaching yourself X or Y technologies.

There is really nothing these bootcamps can offer you except for a boost in your motivation (such a boost is not worth $12-17k+). To give you a sense of what I mean, Dev Bootcmap, for example, spends half of its time on teaching their students Ruby and programming fundamentals, which makes sense if you've never/barely coded before, but does not make sense for someone with experience who can teach him/herself Ruby and most of its advanced concepts over a (focused) weekend. Even Hack Reactor, which bills itself as being more intensive and faster-paced, spends a lot of time on basic language/CS fundamentals.

These programs don't really improve your job prospects beyond the improvements that are due to a beginner learning new concepts, nor do they really provide any sort of networking opportunities beyond the kind of networking you can achieve by hanging out at engineering meetups once a week - the average wage at these programs is almost universally in the $85k area, which sounds like a lot but is essentially entry level for the SF area.

The same applies to most online course material out there, which is geared towards beginners.

tptacek• 13 years ago

The programmer -> MBA track is a popular one, and unless you want to make a move into finance, I have not heard a lot of compelling good things about it. The best thing people usually have to say about it is that it's a networking opportunity.

toutouastro• 13 years ago

I would take some courses on online marketing : how to increase conversion rate , landing pages , email marketing ...

geichel• 13 years ago

Do exactly what I tell my teens to do. Figure out what you want to do. Go hang out with those who already do it. Its not about spending money or age; it is about being useful to those who need passionate people in their field. Time is your greatest asset in this regard. Be known, be available, and good things will happen.

meerita• 13 years ago

I would travel, period.

pasbesoin• 13 years ago

Depending upon your present condition, spend some of that time (and it shouldn't require too much of the money) on your physical health.

Not only will it improve your current cognitive function, it will enhance the likelihood of additional months and years of (higher) productivity and satisfaction on the tail end you your youth as well as your life.

raintrees• 13 years ago

My wife and I hired an investment coach for less than $5000. Now we have our first investment property (cash flows around $10K annual) and a plan for early retirement.

Knowledge is valuable, knowledge that helps me create free time is even more valuable to me...

cdvonstinkpot• 13 years ago

I'd buy server hardware on eBay, rent some colo space to host them in, install OpenStack on them & rent VPS' to clients who need cloud services.

Ask HN: How would you invest in yourself with $10,000

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