• jadero@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 year ago

    Don’t sweat it. I used to feel the same way. Then, somewhere in my 50s, I realized that I actually had already been doing what I wanted: everything. “Jack of all trades, master of none”.

    I did strive toward mastery of most things I tried that I liked enough to stick with for awhile. I like to think that I generally achieved competency, but I know that I had a few bosses and coworkers who would dispute that. :)

    Learning new things and having new experiences is priceless. If you can find that within a particular career, that’s fantastic, but it’s not the only approach.

    • OrganicIndependence@lemm.eeOP
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      1 year ago

      Oh definitely. I don’t sweat it. My career has been diverse and I’m completely content with being a jack of all trades! I agree completely. Learning new things is such a joy. That’s why I always say my hobby is finding hobbies 😂

      • jadero@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        my hobby is finding new hobbies

        Sounds a bit like me. I just retired in June and am busy setting up my workshop. The original intention was woodworking with a focus on boatbuilding. As I go, I realize that I’m actually headed more in the direction of hobby manufacturing: a variety of stuff in wood and metal with a side order of 3D printing. On top of rebooting my programming hobby of learning a new language every year from before I “sold out” to Visual Basic and Access.

        • OrganicIndependence@lemm.eeOP
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          1 year ago

          Bit away from retirement so color me jealous. I’ve always loved woodworking, but these current prices are wearing me out. Worked with a guy that funded his whole hobby with some simple hobby crafts. My kid is hard up on a 3D printer, and with prior years of CAD it may mysteriously appear in our house to the surprise of my spouse 😂

          • jadero@lemmy.sdf.org
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            1 year ago

            When I was looking at 3D printers, my wife asked me if I thought I could make money with it. I said “not in a million years.” She asked me what I was waiting for, then. Two weeks later I was printing the test model! Sadly, I’ve made basically no progress with “real” CAD, so I do everything in TinkerCAD.

            Fine woods and metals are crazy expensive, but if you keep your eyes open and aren’t afraid to ask, a lot of pretty nice stuff is available for free or close to it as long as you’re willing to put the time in on reclamation. I just got a nice Schubert chokecherry log for helping take it down and clean up. I got some sheet steel and light duty tubing from some discarded BBQs. And I’ve got more poplar than I know what to do with. Poplar is the go to tree for yards around here and there is hardly a week that goes by without someone taking down an old tree.