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I have literal quantifiable output that supports the claim when I make it. I've literally been building tools for a customer of mine since January, and while i
by piloto_ciego 7d ago
I have literal quantifiable output that supports the claim when I make it. I've literally been building tools for a customer of mine since January, and while it started out kind of slow, it's now paying my bills entirely every month. I am so busy baby sitting the robots and adding new projects on that I don't really have any time to find new customers right now? But I'm thinking I should have most of the stuff they're going to need done here by the end of the year, so next up, I have to find more people and maintain their tooling...
I don't want to get into the nitty gritty, but I'm kind of at the nexus of tech and aviation with my experience in life. The result has been that I can build tools that directly apply to my customers' requirements and I know wtf I'm doing in the industry. I think if I was "just a dev" or "just a former pilot" I'd be kind of screwed because I wouldn't know what I was doing? But, the reality is that because I know how to do both I'm able to make money. I don't have to look up "what an IAP is" means or "what is the 1-4-1 rule and 2-2-1/2 rule" means or "what is an OpSpec?" frantically when I am figuring out what they need. That's quite helpful.
If you know what the hell you're doing, this is a game changer. Like, "oh, I need a custom CRM spooled up that covers things that aren't in typical CRM software" - if you're a developer you probably don't know what people actually want; if you're just an industry expert you don't know wtf sql is. But if you're kind of blend of both you can add real value.
Generalist > specialist right now. I doubt that holds for much more than about a dozen months or so.
- jvanderbot 7d agoGeneralist > specialist. No, my friend, if you are deeper than "just a pilot" and also capable of defining and building software (even with claude) that works and works well as extensions to industry tools like CRM, then you are not a generalist, you are an intersectional specialist of the kind Scott Adams used to talk about as "skill stacks" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG3PcdTyZ6w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG3PcdTyZ6w You have two good skills, median-level among those specializations probably, and combine them into a top-tier niche ability. Also, did you voluntarily disclose that you thought that comment was about you? It feels like you are the friend they were talking about, lol
- piloto_ciego 7d agoI don't know, I was a good pilot, I'm a mediocre programmer compared to some Leet code heros or whatever, but I'm making money? And it's working? I literally see the evidence every day... that was why I responded.
- jvanderbot 7d agoYep, that's how skill stacking works.
- piloto_ciego 5d agoHere’s to hoping it gets me where I want to be in a decade lol
- joe_the_user 7d agoI am so busy baby sitting the robots and adding new projects on that I don't really have any time to find new customers right now? That statement seems to somewhat fly against the statement you have unparalleled productivity. I feel like the way LLMs work involves them allowing you to do things you previously simply couldn't do but doing those tasks involves really a lot of effort at controlling the things. It's compressing "one kind of hard part" (actually writing code is another a hard part that's taken care but articulate/evaluate). Which is to say, it seems like you're "working harder than you say"
- piloto_ciego 7d agoI'd say that I am the main problem. If I was a bit cleverer, or better at time management, I'd be better at finding customers? I don't think that's an AI thing, that's a "me" thing. Still, I'm making a living doing this, working less, and have way more control over my own life. My life kind of rules now compared to what it was a year ago.
- joe_the_user 7d agoI personally am doing some LLM work right now where, if successful, I will have accomplished what was years worth of effort in a couple of weeks. But I feel "totally disorganized" in the way I'm doing it. I think that may be inevitable since becoming organized is a natural part of doing a project the slow, "old fashioned way" and just orienting oneself to the process can be a significant and inevitable part of the effort.
- piloto_ciego 6d agoHonestly, my strategy has been "building custom tools to help me cope" having lots of terminal tabs open, tmux, and hope.
- jdebre 6d agoI'd source for where the signals are first, and do whatever it takes to stay there.