u/eatenbycthulhu

I've had a very successful career in software engineering. I'm well paid, have cushy benefits, and job security, but I find it soul crushing. I'd love to find something else, but there's a few things holding me back, namely, no idea what I'd even want to change into. I know there's a ton of interesting jobs out there, but not always sure what to search for.I don't know what I don't know if that makes sense.

I still have a family to support, so I can't take a job that doesn't pay well enough to do so. That's not to say I wouldn't take a cut, or even a big one, but doing something as an intern or at a few bucks an hour is simply not feasible.

Any one have any suggestions? Here's a few things about me:

* I have a degree in literature.
* I have a knack for explaining things simply and am a great writer.
* I don't hate computers, but I'd like to spend a little less time at them.
* I wouldn't mind some level of training, especially if it's just like a certificate or something. A new degree might be a big ask.

A few other interests, things I've tried, etc:

* I was sort of looking into being a detective, but I see you usually are a patrol officer first, and I'm just not very confrontational and don't always view cops with the highest esteem, so this path is probably absurd on its face.
* I was looking into some environmental jobs, but dont know that I have the right degree, and the field is so full of jargon, it's hard to know where to look. I've always been interested in weather and the ocean, but I don't really live close to a coast.
* I'd, generally, like to do something that does good for someone somewhere. I'm intentionally wording that as broad and generically as I can. I just wouldn't want to work in like, insurance or a shark loan place or somewhere that arguably does more harm than good.

A few work preferences - dunno if this matters or not:
* I like process, but hate bureaucracy. I once was scolded for weeks for using the wrong file format in an email. I know that's more culture dependent than job dependent, but feels worth mentioning.
* I'm usually more of a details guy than a big picture guy, but I need to know how those details fit into the bigger picture otherwise I don't care.
* On the introverted side, but am relatively charismatic.
* I've never been super athletic.
* Hours probably don't matter much, but relocating would be a much bigger ask.
* I like experiencing new things. That's probably no small part of this post.

In summary, I want to do something new that benefits someone somewhere without disrupting my family too much. I don't know where to look.

I got a MAME and I'm not 100% sure which games I should try to discover. I got interested in these after playing a ton of pac man recently. I've been playing some my long lost NES classics I grew up with, but I sorta dig the short form arcade games. Been playing a lot of millipede, missile command, tempest, joust and robotron. (milliepede, missile command, and tempest I was playing on a arcade1up). Tried a couple shoot 'em ups like Doonpachi and Sunset Riders (is that considered a shmup?), and enjoyed them both.

This cabinet has the mk2 controls, which I've also been enjoying. I've been trying to get into Street Fighter, but for the life of me those controls don't make sense to me, though maybe I just need to git gud, haha.

Any other strong recommendations? Not sure what I might not know to look for other than just browsing lists of "greatest arcade games of all time."

I know this is a bit of a vague question, so apologies, but looking at moving into a house, and I'm trying to get an idea of what projects we could realisitically and somewhat easily do, vs what is expensive and/or difficult enough that I should plan on it being "as is" for some time after moving.

My understanding is that cabinets are hard, time consuming, and expensive. Mirrors are relatively easy to replace, especially smaller ones. What about stuff like, countertops, backsplash, appliances, deck maintenance, etc? Is there a resource that sort of roughly grades projects on cost and experience required? I just want to avoid falling into a trap of "I'd love this kitchen once we replace the counters" and then it's super hard to do, or conversely, "let's not move into this house because of the counters" and it'd actually be a trivial replacement.

I don't have a ton of diy experience, though we did replace carpet with vinyl once.