as typical CS engineer, I spend most of my time at a desk. The problem is: I don't even like spending time at my desk. I don't like sitting and staring at a screen for days, weeks and probably years on end. Now say that I'd want to get away from said desk, while still doing those task most of us relish and take pride in - thinking, organizing, solving problems in creative ways.
So as main questions: Do you actively work in or know of a profession that enables you to have it all - physical activity, creativity, problem solving?
I know that there are many ways to alleviate the problems of sitting and staring at a screen for too long like intermediate pauses, standing desks, treadmills and so forth - but I want to look forward to the activity itself, not find ways of making it bearable.
Thanks for your input
- Infantry Small Unit Leader or Officer: Involves tons of thinking about small unit tactics and logistics, planning missions, etc. My military experience was quite demanding mentally as well as physically.
- Martial Arts Instructor: I'm currently learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and it's both physically and mentally demanding. The strategy aspect can be quite deep. Adding the demands of teaching and instructing others brings in a whole other set of considerations. It takes a few years of training before you can start instructing other people and ~10 years of training before you can become a black belt which would enable you be an instructor in your own right.
I found that these jobs did not pay as well as pure boring Software, but the projects were fun and always engaging.
I recently left software development partially because of the complaints you mentioned.
Machining doesn’t pay much these days though so don’t expect software money