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Ask HN: Is it normal to fall out of love with coding?

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Re: Ask HN: Is it normal to fall out of love with coding?

#121

Yes. When you start out, everything is new and the possibilities seem endless. Whether you're starting your own projects or joining other people's, learning about each new domain or style of programming is exciting. But once you move from exploring to building, it gets to be a lot less fun. It's like the difference between being a tourist in a foreign city vs. getting a job there. You start to notice the poor quality…

Once heard a VP of engineering at Comcast.

One of the key points was that in engineering not everyone enjoys the same thing.

Some people like to begin new things, getting from nowhere to somewhere, to something that's functional enough. The excitement of going where no man has been before.

Others seem to enjoy taking something that's functional but not enough fully-fledged to a fully working product. Iterating on it, improving it. And the comforting knowledge that whatever you are attempting definitely is possible, doable.

And apparently, there even are a few who seem to enjoy the seemingly endless grind of the finishing touches. These elusive "last 10%"

People who truly enjoy going through all three, taking a product, a team, a company, not from 0 to 1 or 1 to 90 but from 0 to 100, do appear to be quite rare.

Re: Ask HN: Is it normal to fall out of love with coding?

#122

It's normal to fall out of love with /anything/, IMO. I fell out of love with playing guitar - I moved to a new city over a year ago, and left my most expensive guitar in its case. Then last month, I bought a bass guitar (I'd always wanted one), fell in love with that, and started playing my guitars again. I think it's natural to reach a plateau with whatever interests you, where you understand enough that the origin…

The right word would have been challenging. It's challenging to talk to customers. But challenges are fun and what got me into CS in the first place

Re: Ask HN: Is it normal to fall out of love with coding?

#123
post #121

Yes. When you start out, everything is new and the possibilities seem endless. Whether you're starting your own projects or joining other people's, learning about each new domain or style of programming is exciting. But once you move from exploring to building, it gets to be a lot less fun. It's like the difference between being a tourist in a foreign city vs. getting a job there. You start to notice the poor quality…

Once heard a VP of engineering at Comcast. One of the key points was that in engineering not everyone enjoys the same thing. Some people like to begin new things, getting from nowhere to somewhere, to something that's functional enough. The excitement of going where no man has been before. Others seem to enjoy taking something that's functional but not enough fully-fledged to a fully working product. Iterating on it,…

Good point. I've seen a few metaphors for this. Commandos, grunts, and MPs. Explorers, settlers, and caretakers. Scientists, engineers, and archivists. No matter what metaphor you choose, the last seems to be the least popular and practically nobody wants to do (or is good at) all three. I've worked three times with a guy who's a fantastic #3, nicely complementing my own #1/#2 tendencies. It's another good axis for people to think about, and understand their own preferences. Thanks.

Re: Ask HN: Is it normal to fall out of love with coding?

#124
post #57
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Got any recommended books on product management?

Here's a list of books I have compiled as a fairly fresh PM (just getting started with the reading). The intention with this list is to built up a good mental tool box to succeed in product management (coming from SW+chip design). PM: - Inspired: How To Create Products Customers Love - The Lean Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback - Escaping the Build Trap: How Ef…

Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
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