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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?

#121

Post by phatbyte »

Move!

Here's the thing: I love programming, I've been working has a web dev since I was 18 (34 now), but I always loved design and creating desktop apps. And recently I've been learning Swift and mobile design.

This year, the startup I was working with went bankrupt, and I just dive into depression and self-confidence as a developer. I couldn't stop thinking to myself: "oh no, not again all those web dev interview processes and more JavaScript, PHP code..."

I got burnout of web dev, I just couldn't see myself doing it any longer. I hate JavaScript and the whole current ecosystem, it's a fucking mess, I don't want to have anything to do with it. PHP bores me to death, it's getting more and similar to Java syntax. Traditional web apps are dead. Everything is an API with a frontend-app, and that's fine, but I'm done.

So I decided to move, I'm now learning design, UX, Swift, iOS. And I'm loving it. The creativity and motivation spark are back! I feel so free, the web was a burden to me, a constant pressure to keep up with frameworks and trends.

So before you quit, think of moving to something different. Learn a new paradigm, try something different. Tired of C++, learn Ruby. Tired of Ruby: Learn C# and Unity 3D. Tired of the web? Try building an iOS TV app.

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

#122

Post by pluma »

Extremely happy and thankful. I think it depends more on where you work than what you call yourself or how much you make.

I enjoyed programming as a kid but after learning more about how much programmers were often exploited (especially in the games industry) and having a few bad experiences doing small contract jobs I figured it wasn't for me.

Luckily I somehow stumbled into it again half-way through university and started doing full-time contracting.

With some of my clients, work was a nightmare. They'd demand the impossible and wouldn't be satisfied no matter how much effort and thought I poured into it. The work was unrewarding and I constantly felt like a fraud.

With others it was complete bliss. I got to work with clever people who are good at what they're doing and learned a lot from them. My input was appreciated and I was given a lot of control over my work. The teams were great and the people I enjoyed spending my lunch breaks with.

Over time I earned enough money to be able to search for more of the latter kind of work while turning down more of the former. These days I can pretty much pick and choose and make sure to keep an option to walk away if I'm not certain about a job I'm taking.

I have never been happier. But if you had asked me when I was in long-term contracts with the worst clients, I would have told you a very different story.

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

#123

Post by Joeri »

LoSboccacc wrote: post #41
Joeri wrote: post #22

I have been programming for 22 years. There have been times where i hated it and wanted to get rid of my computers. However, presently I'm really happy working as a programmer. The key for me is curiosity. How do things work? How should i solve this problem? If I'm not curious then I'm not having fun, and if I'm not having fun I'm not happy. My job at present doesn't feel like a job because I'm learning all about Had…

How's the job market 20 years down the line? I'm ten years in the field and trying to switch into management, becase growth prospects and scarcity of senior opportunities scares the hell out of me. Basically I live in constant fear of the day I'll hear 'overqualified' at a interview

Only half of those 22 years have been spent as a professional programmer, so I'm still young enough for it to not be a problem. Besides, i have spent my entire professional career at the same company which is big enough for there to be enough internal opportunities to switch focus. Still, if it ever does get to be an issue I'll just become self-employed. I doubt that age matters all that much if you're a consultant / contractor.

I have been offered a management track several times and always say no. I don't think i would be happy doing it.

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

#124

Post by LoSboccacc »

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…

> compare developer wages to manual labourers or retail staff

apples to oranges.

we're highly specialized knowledge workers. well most of us are, so it is more fair to compare with bankers, lawyers, medics, architects, politician and middle managers which can count on a year to year income growth instead of having to playing idea lottery.

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

#125

Post by tluyben2 »

Been programming for 32 years 25 of which professionally. I never had a job as such; I always started companies based around tech of which I was the lead coder/CTO and it gave me a great life. I have other hobbies but I love coding and find it hard to imagine living without it; the creative process, the making of something that did not previously exist, the idea that you can make something without any funds; be it with or without money. If everything fails today, I can start another company tomorrow without spending any money. I do not know of another field where that works like that.

I still get happy when something I worked hard on works and even sells.

That said; I would not work in circumstances some here work in; commuting for hours a day, glueing together crud apps, tons of stress and no upside besides money. I always say that if you are a decent programmer you do not have to do any of that. Unfortunately people do not like to take risks and apparently working like a dog makes them feel better.

In short; 10/10 happy coding more than fulltime for over 30 years. Hoping for at least another 30.

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

#126

Post by J-dawg »

I'm a programmer who doesn't really get to program. I work for a consulting company. Most development work is off-shored, which means most roles for UK staff are more client facing.

Right now I'm building a web front end for a bloated piece of enterprise software. There's no technical difficulty, it's just frustrating and boring. I can't leave to work in 'proper' software development because I don't have the relevant experience, and because I keep being given crappy jobs like this, I'm not getting the experience I need. Plus my educational background isn't great. To top it all off, I came to programming late, I'm already in my 30s and I'm painfully aware of time ticking away.

I'm in a strange mental state where I feel simultaneously bored and burned-out. The day job saps my motivation so much I find it virtually impossible to work on side projects in my spare time.

I don't think my experience is very typical of the high-achieving HN crowd, but if anyone has been in this position and can offer any advice I'd be hugely appreciative.

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

#127

Post by rudenoise »

codeisawesome wrote: post #98
abalashov wrote: post #6

I'm not. I have been doing it since I was 9. I pulled most of the heavy-duty, hardcore all-nighters during my teenage years; I grew up writing C, and was hacking on socket code and compiling kernels when I was 12-16. So by the time I was 20, I was utterly burned out. Most of my peers discovered the crazy, hyper-caffinated, 24/7 techie life in university years, and still have a few years of this insanity left in them.…

I would sincerely, sincerely suggest to research the MISERY most of our world is in. There are 1 billion people without food or clean water. Imagine what someone with your skills can do to help? You don't need to make any money - and implementing deliverables in that scenario will only alleviate actual, real PAIN for others - not fuel the chase of more profit for someone who has hired you. I'm sure you've probably th…

I'd be interested to know a good place to start with this kind of thing.

Do you have some examples of software engineers contributing their skills to charities, open source projects aimed at assisting in these situations or just some boards or communities that can assist in finding a starting point?

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

#128

Post by littletimmy »

J-dawg wrote: post #126

I'm a programmer who doesn't really get to program. I work for a consulting company. Most development work is off-shored, which means most roles for UK staff are more client facing. Right now I'm building a web front end for a bloated piece of enterprise software. There's no technical difficulty, it's just frustrating and boring. I can't leave to work in 'proper' software development because I don't have the relevant…

Why do you think you came to programming "late" if you are in your 30s? Have you faced any age discrimination?

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

#129

Post by jeletonskelly »

10/10 would choose career again. Just started my own consulting company at 30 years old. I get to work at 5:30 - 6:30am everyday because I can't wait to start hacking and making awesome things that make my clients happy. I like to swap between working on building stuff for my clients and a product and having my own business gives me the time to do both.

I truly love programming and solving problems, so it never feels like work. Well, that's not a completely true statement; not everything is going to be fun and awesome, but 99% of the time it doesn't feel like work.

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

#130

Post by pjc50 »

spacecowboy_lon wrote: post #78
onion2k wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Less stress? Retail workers turn up a 9 leave at 17:30 - they dot get called up outside of work in an emergency to fix some one elses code that causing a problem.

There are plenty of people on so-called "zero hours" contracts who don't know from day to day when their working hours will be, may be called in at short notice to work an off shift, and have no predictability of pay.
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