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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?

#171

Post by 3minus1 »

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 programming jobs where you don't get bothered outside of work.

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

#172

Post by patrickdavey »

wr0ngway wrote: post #148
zzalpha wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhh... I have to ask: what, exactly, were you expecting? Exhilarating highs and a path to millions? It's a job. Most people don't have jobs that'll make them "rich". Be glad you aren't living paycheck to paycheck, or worse, are unemployed because the job you had was optimized away with computers. To be blunt, there's a sense of entitlement evident, here, that I have trouble grokking. You get to spend all day in a com…

Working with your brain takes just as much effort as working with your muscles. Think back to taking a multiple hour exam in school, and how knackered you'd feel at the end of it. Now imagine doing that for 8+ hours every day, trying to solve problems that you don't even know have a solution. Yes, your body may still be ready to go, but there's nothing left upstairs to make it happen.

"Working with your brain takes just as much effort as working with your muscles."

Well, funny you should say that. Years ago when I first moved to New Zealand (as a backpacker) my mindset was to find a job immediately, then look for a better one. My first "job" was as a labourer. Carrying large marble table tops up narrow windy stairs. Hardest job I ever did! Quit after one day, and my back is probably still thankful for it.

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

#173

Post by raverbashing »

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?

How many would be specialized MDs dropped out during the course/residency?

I'm sure something similar happens to top finance positions.

Also, developers have a nice chance of making it big by either starting up or getting equity.

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

#174

Post by ido »

9/10.

Been working as a programmer since I was 18 (32 now): on and off (worked part time & took some time off for studies), but mostly on.

I like the project I'm working on. I only go to the office twice per week and work from home the rest of the time. I like my coworkers. My pay is pretty good (enough that I don't have to worry about supporting my wife & son).

On the downside sometimes xcode crashes or git behaves in weird ways that I don't understand.

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

#175

Post by haphazardeous »

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.…

Apart from the highly rewarding business model I've gone through exactly the same path as you have. I have no appetite for coding now. But at the same time I don't know what else I can do. I don't want to give up the lifestyle I have now but starting from scratch will mean getting a pay cut. It's a vicious circle.

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

#176

Post by arethuza »

Amezarak wrote: post #163
dagw wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I'm 45 minutes late for work 3 days in a row with no good excuse, no one gives a fuck. Retail worker shows up 45 minutes late one day and they're most likely fired. I also don't have to worry about people fucking around with my shifts and thus how much money will be in my next paycheck. Having even a modicum of job and financial security removes so much stress from your life.

> If I'm 45 minutes late for work 3 days in a row with no good excuse, no one gives a fuck. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way for all developers. At my last job there were continual reminders and reprimands for being even five minutes late.

In my first job ~25 years ago I got told off for coming in 5 minutes late even though I had gone on to a customer site at 9pm the previous evening and worked to ~1am to fix the problem.

Left there after 9 months and have never worked anywhere like that since.

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

#177

Post by orangebread »

phatbyte wrote: post #121

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 pr…

I'm in the same boat right now, going to what my brain finds interesting.

Was a hardcore Microsoft shop C# .NET dev. Going full NodeJS/Javascript dev now and learning design and UX (very therapeutic, like a coloring book).

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

#178

Post by morgante »

leftforfinance wrote: post #93

Hate it. I started coding at 14 and had my first paying contract at 16. Worked in a large startup once and freelanced until 22. Even though I was making 6 figures, I was extremely unhappy and depressed with the monotony and boredom my job had become. I was fortunate (and probably lucky) to have been able to move to finance (hedge fund) at 23.

> I was fortunate (and probably lucky) to have been able to move to finance (hedge fund) at 23.

Would you mind sharing more about how you did that?

I like programming and enjoy the challenge, but it depresses me that I'm in my early 20s and have already hit the salary ceiling.

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

#179

Post by mathgeek »

Amezarak wrote: post #166
dizzystar wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In retail, you don't get free food / liquid. You have to stand on your feet all day. Customers are allowed to scream at you and you have to figure out how to make them happy. Bosses are more than happy to fire you because, let's be honest, there are 1,000 others that can do your job. No guarantees of a 40 hour work-week. No paid holidays, no benefits. Raises are like 25c, and that is only if the boss really likes you…

> In retail, you don't get free food / liquid. Water is free, most likely. I've never had free food programming, beyond nutra-grain bars, once. > Customers are allowed to scream at you and you have to figure out how to make them happy. Toxic clients exist in the programming world, too. And as a low-level peon, you have a lot more leeway in telling an abusive customer to get out than you do a multimillion dollar clien…

> I think I personally was happier waiting tables.

Sometimes, the social aspects of your job outweigh other factors. Throw in the simplicity of jobs like waiting tables, and I've found that it can be a lot of enjoyment.

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

#180

Post by mbrock »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #94
mbrock wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You don't sit down and in a day or so create something totally from scratch that people love. Why not? It's up to you.

By "you", in the latter paragraphs, I mean "one" As in "one doesn't just sit down" Apologies. Of course that's what I keep doing. Really happy about it too. That just ain't the way 99% of development happens. ADD: The point of my OP wasn't that I hate programming, it was that programming itself has changed. It used to be a direct expression of creativity and had quite tight feedback cycles. Yes, I still code that way…

I pretty much agree. Just thought your comment sounded a bit defeatist, which I now see you aren't.
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