Originally Posted by njd1

As someone with 25 years of experience doing embedded hardware and software I can say that the tech industry is not what it once was. If you go into the tech industry, either as a backup or a primary gig, be aware:

1) To get most jobs in tech you need a related degree (computer science, math, engineering). Unlike the major airlines that just want to see you with a generic four year degree, a degree in aviation or some such won't matter to anyone hiring in tech. This is why I tell all prospective pilots to get a STEM degree, even if they just want to fly.

10) Pay skyrockets early in one's tech career but reaches a cap sooner too. There are relatively few purely technical workers (i.e. not managerial roles) making in excess of $150K, particularly outside of the bubble of silicon valley. Unless you're a God in your particular technical discipline (and let's face it, most of us aren't, even if we're good at what we do), $100K will likely be the top pay you'll consistently see, and just like in aviation, once you start making that kind of money management will be looking to replace you with two clueless noobs for less than you're making because MBAs don't understand the work we do and the value of an experienced engineer. And they'll be able to boot you without cause, because you're employed at-will and have no union to protect you.

11) Over the last 25 years the tech industry has developed a serious problem with ageism. This is an industry where someone in their late 20s is considered a "senior" engineer. Even if you are making good money, you better have a plan to be working for yourself or doing something else by age 40 or your employment prospects will be diminished. The days of Bell Labs and gray-haired engineers with 30+ year careers are over. Even if you wind up getting stuck in the regionals your entire career you'll make more over your career in aviation by virtue of the fact that you can be employed through age 65. Good luck retiring from a tech gig.

100) People moan about the prospect of commuting every day to the same office and doing the same thing with the same people each and every day. I really liked that degree of predictability in my schedule but I can see how some might hate it. With that perspective I now enjoy my ever-changing schedule in aviation, but there is something to be said for predictability and the associated lower stress levels. If you want a family and don't want your wife blindsiding you with divorce papers because "you're never here", that grind might be worth it.

101) On a philosophical note, I got into tech and enjoyed my job because I was helping build technology that made people's lives easier. Back in the day we built bulletproof systems with 5-9 reliability because we understood the contract of service we had with our customers and engineering requirements ruled the roost. Now tech is all about extracting as much money from the customer as possible while stripping them of their privacy and rights, to the extent that engineers are forced to make bad engineering decisions precisely to fulfill that strategy. If you go into tech, you need to be comfortable with doing lesser quality work to appease the myopic vision of those whose only metric of success is their bank balance.