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Ask HN: How happy are you working as a programmer?

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Re: Ask HN: How happy are you working as a programmer?

#101

Post by verbify »

dagw wrote: post #89
laxatives wrote: post #20

6/10. I'm less than 3 years into my career, but I think I've worked for some of the best companies with great pay, benefits, environments, etc, including a tech giant and two startups. End of the day though, work is boring. Its always work. Your time and effort is going towards making someone else rich and their priorities are more important than your own. The only things I really look forward to are vacations and ev…

Its depressing to make comparisons, but 99.9% of developers will never make half of what a specialized MD or successful lawyer or someone in finance might make. What percentage of people with law or finance degrees to you think actually make what you seem to think people with law or finance degrees make?

Not to mention that by being a developer, I started earning money in my early 20's, without hefty university debt. Less risk (plenty people study for the bar and fail) and upfront costs.

There's also less chance of getting a casual 9-5 environment in finance.

Re: Ask HN: How happy are you working as a programmer?

#102

Post by grimman »

Not in the least. I spent a good portion of the past 15 years trying desperately to rekindle the flame that brought me into the business, but I just couldn't seem to do it. As of November last year, I quit, and I'm now back in school at the ripe old age of half_dead.

At present, I have no idea what the future has in store for me, but whatever it is I hope it grants me some level of satisfaction at least.

Re: Ask HN: How happy are you working as a programmer?

#103

Post by i336_ »

jboggan wrote: post #35

Pretty damn happy. I'm a little over 3 years into my career programming and I've just started at Google which has been a goal of mine for awhile. The challenge is pretty immense (in terms of having to learn so many new languages and pieces of tech) and the compensation is unbeatable. Years ago I never would have imagined I could make such a good life for myself programming. I have also met some wonderful friends and…

Ooh, new languages are always interesting to know about. Do you have any sharable things about the design or implementation? :D

Re: Ask HN: How happy are you working as a programmer?

#104

Post by bechampion »

sumitppawar wrote: post #90
bechampion wrote: post #58

I've installed my first linux(Slackware) at the age of 14 (im 35 now) .. since then I think i've been "programming" until i started working , when it became the thing that pay the bills. Now... i think it's like everything in life ... i have bad days and good days , I've worked for places where i felt challenged and for other places where i was in only for the money (that never worked) , at the moment it kind of suck…

Same thing happening to me, in my good days I worked with giant tech people, and I left them because of money and another reason.Now each and every day I feels like doing nothing, don't know how to get out. Just looking where to go, where to concentrate. I really love programming but now days I feel Im lost.

It's a complex place to be , I'm looking for other jobs that seems to be the light at the end of the tunnel , and it makes you feel good that you're working towards a solution in a way, good luck!

Re: Ask HN: How happy are you working as a programmer?

#106

Post by anexprogrammer »

lolptdr wrote: post #45
anexprogrammer wrote: post #29

I quit. I had a nearly 20 year career in software, excellent references and well paid. I became completely burned out and hyper-cynical at the pointlessness and shallowness of it all. I can't get excited or even much beyond passing interest in an industry that is almost completely devoted to making the problem of too much stuff far worse. So instead of getting excited at another pointless startup or tech that's "goin…

I'm curious; what do you consider of something working with your hands? I came from the opposite background (former chemist, process engineer, chemical engineering) and opposed the minimal work that hardly anyone cared for. With programming, moving electrons makes it a much bigger impact with much ease.

Conservation and restoration. Some of the things I do will hopefully outlast me. Your typical piece of software is replaced or rendered obsolete in a year or two.

Unless you do something out of the ordinary, in five or ten years time the app, game or website you built is long forgotten or replaced.

Re: Ask HN: How happy are you working as a programmer?

#107

Post by gedrap »

timwaagh wrote: post #92
gedrap wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I see your point (and I agree a bit), it's not exactly fair to put it this way. There are many people working in these industries who didn't have much opportunity to get decent education, etc. For example, my parents. They are from rural areas from Soviet Union, where getting higher education was not something that goes by default as it is now (which might not be a great thing given the number of people with wo…

I'm saying the job requires zero brains or education. I did not mean to imply people who work in retail have no brains or even less than average. in my country it's not really a legit career choice. it's mostly high school kids or people under 23 who do it as it's compensated below adult minimum wage. after a certain age you either get promoted or fired.

I see, sorry for getting you wrong.

Meanwhile in Lithuania, it's fairly typical that the majority of people working in retail are in their 40s and been doing that for the last ~20 years with very minimal increments in salary (usually because of increased minimal salary).

Re: Ask HN: How happy are you working as a programmer?

#108

Post by yodsanklai »

onion2k wrote: post #46
laxatives wrote: post #20

6/10. I'm less than 3 years into my career, but I think I've worked for some of the best companies with great pay, benefits, environments, etc, including a tech giant and two startups. End of the day though, work is boring. Its always work. Your time and effort is going towards making someone else rich and their priorities are more important than your own. The only things I really look forward to are vacations and ev…

Its depressing to make comparisons, but 99.9% of developers will never make half of what a specialized MD or successful lawyer or someone in finance might make. Why not make a much less depressing comparison and compare developer wages to manual labourers or retail staff? Compare a typical developer to a typical retail worker and we get way more money for way less stress. We're not at the top end of the scale, but we…

> Why not make a much less depressing comparison and compare developer wages to manual labourers or retail staff?

Some software engineers undertook difficult curriculums in highly selective universities. In that case, I think it's understandable to feel a little bit depressed when comparing to former classmates in more prestigious fields. Personally, I have to admit that sometimes I feel that way (even though I'd probably do the same if I could go back in time because I love this field).

Re: Ask HN: How happy are you working as a programmer?

#109

Post by hugovie »

As a programmer, I see some benefits that make me happy. I can list here some of them:

- I have ability to automate something. I can tell the PC import data automatically instead of doing by manual, or make apps let me store some sensitive data that I don't trust anyone else (and their apps, of course).

- I have opportunity to be a digital nomad, work everywhere over the world. Yeah that's just my vision, but now I can work everywhere in my country. Travel and work, perfect couple, especially when I'm single now. I'm trying to do all things that a husband cannot do, before I find my spouse out :D.

- I have skills to turn my ideas to real products which may help someone. Now I'm an iOS Engineer, and yes, making several apps, not big ones but helpful for somebody. But at the first, I always try to resolve my problems, then believe that someone may in trouble like me, they may find my apps useful.

- Because of making apps, I found a romantic approach that I can give my friends as I made an app exclusively for a girl, a drawing tool let us remind our moments in the past.

Re: Ask HN: How happy are you working as a programmer?

#110

Post by phatbyte »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #73
anexprogrammer wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar background here, and complete agreement with you! Started out seriously with the Amiga and it was a delight - the OS was beautifully designed, and there were so many ideas that should have caught on. I'll name just one - datatypes. Work started out with C and Unix, and so long as you had K&R and W Richard Stephens you were good to go. Loved the design of this too until I got to the GUI - X was not fun. Messin…

I remember being 16 and forging teacher's noted to get out of study hall to go to the library. Why? Because they had a REAL computer there! A Commodore PET! With 4K of RAM and BASIC! I came in, sat down, and thought "what do I want this machine to do that would be cool?" And so I wrote a game. Other kids loved the game enough to fight over who could play it. That was pretty cool. But I look at programming now? Damn,…

You know, you have the freedom to NOT pick a framework at all. It's not like it's mandatory. Use components and wire things your way.

Don't like legos? Reinvent the wheel then. Go nuts ;), programming is a way of expressing yourself. Like an artist feel free to do whatever you want.

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