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Ask HN: How to re-kindle my interest in computer science?

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Re: Ask HN: How to re-kindle my interest in computer science?

#21

Post by jongjong »

My problem is that the software industry has turned into a job-creation scam. The goal of developers and managers is to create as much complexity as possible in order to create as much work for themselves as possible.

If you got into this industry because of passion, this industry is going to be a real brainf**** and there's nothing you can do about it.

Just do it as a hobby and maybe work in marketing or sales where you just bullshit all day and don't have to pretend otherwise.

Or you can do what I did and just teach people how to code. I enjoy teaching young people how to code because they're always looking for the simplest way to get maximum results and this is precisely the mindset that is required to be a good software engineer.

I don't know why people lose this mindset over time, it's absolutely essential.

Re: Ask HN: How to re-kindle my interest in computer science?

#22

Post by kromem »

If there was one psych principle I wish everyone was aware of (and almost no one is) it's the over-justification effect.

From childhood onwards, when you introduce an extrinsic motivator for something that was intrinsically motivated, it basically 'overwrites' it.

Like to read? If you get an ice cream party for reading, while you won't read that much more than before, after the incentive gets taken back away you'll stop reading as much for pleasure.

The most obvious instance of this is getting paid to do something you used to enjoy.

There's not really a specific 'fix' but introspection about why you do the things you enjoy could help shift it. As you are working on something, recognize your enjoyment of it and set aside thinking about the external rewards you get for it. Maybe even make a change in what you do taking a cut in pay for a work environment that's more fun.

It will be a lifelong battle as long as your profession is the thing you enjoy(ed), but mindfulness on a regular basis about why you intrinsically enjoy the things can mitigate it.

Re: Ask HN: How to re-kindle my interest in computer science?

#24

Post by barrysteve »

jongjong wrote: post #21

My problem is that the software industry has turned into a job-creation scam. The goal of developers and managers is to create as much complexity as possible in order to create as much work for themselves as possible. If you got into this industry because of passion, this industry is going to be a real brainf**** and there's nothing you can do about it. Just do it as a hobby and maybe work in marketing or sales where…

It takes a few people in an inner circle turning code to their benefit. Then playing their complexity game is the best way to make money.

Software engineering should have been much more than it is. Dedicating SWE to service jobs in the corporate sector has pushed all the idealized software into very few research streams.

Re: Ask HN: How to re-kindle my interest in computer science?

#25

Post by devwastaken »

Do something else. It's not a secret but people from good backgrounds get comfy and cannot see from the outside how it all looks. The cities of concrete, steel, and the forces of modernism suffocate the human. The endless goal of capital peer pressure. The numbers only ever go up.

Have you made wine before? Spent 3 days in the wilderness? Read the FBI Wikipedia page? Climbed a mountain? Achieved ego death? Make a giant sandcastle? Do you do things where you enjoy being human?

None of those things will give you your infatuation for compsci back, but they can let you fall in love with the human experience. Loving every other aspect of the universe comes naturally with it. You may even find something far better than compsci.

Re: Ask HN: How to re-kindle my interest in computer science?

#27

Post by barbariangrunge »

lifthrasiir wrote: post #14
plants wrote: post #13

I’m in a bit of a privileged position, but I took a fair bit of time off to pursue personal goals. I got extremely burnt out after 6 years of full-time work at big corp (simultaneously being in part-time grad school for the final 3 years). I found it took me 3-4 months of absolutely nothing to not feel burnt out. It took much longer than that to get to a point where I was able to pick up my computer and have fun prog…

> I found it took me 3-4 months of absolutely nothing to not feel burnt out. That seems a universal experience. And to be more clear, absolutely nothing to think about , because even a sabbatical wouldn't save you if you think about post-sabbatical matters. I took a year of non-employment in 2022 after 7 1/2 years of working in the same big corp. My experience shows that it takes me 1 to 2 years until I start to feel…

The thing that makes this so expensive isn’t just the 3-4 months, but the probably not having a job when you go back

Re: Ask HN: How to re-kindle my interest in computer science?

#28

Post by nicbou »

My passion for software development returned when I stopped doing it for money for 40 hours per week.

Now I just use it in support of a different task: helping immigrants settle in Germany. I build little widgets to explain things. I created a static site generator. I write linters for the content and git commit hooks.

But no more tickets, no more stand-ups, no more sprints. I write software like a retired chef bakes a pie: because it's nice.

Re: Ask HN: How to re-kindle my interest in computer science?

#29

Post by lifthrasiir »

barbariangrunge wrote: post #27
lifthrasiir wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I found it took me 3-4 months of absolutely nothing to not feel burnt out. That seems a universal experience. And to be more clear, absolutely nothing to think about , because even a sabbatical wouldn't save you if you think about post-sabbatical matters. I took a year of non-employment in 2022 after 7 1/2 years of working in the same big corp. My experience shows that it takes me 1 to 2 years until I start to feel…

The thing that makes this so expensive isn’t just the 3-4 months, but the probably not having a job when you go back

Entirely correct, it's really unfortunate that this advice is not actionable for everyone. I was able to pull it off partly because I had enough saving and I lived alone.

Re: Ask HN: How to re-kindle my interest in computer science?

#30

Post by collyw »

enasterosophes wrote: post #5

I saw something else pass through hacker news today which looks relevant: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39170399 "A Unified Theory of Fucks." The conclusion is that when you find you've stopped caring, it's because you put too much of yourself into systems and abstractions, instead of giving your love to people. Systems and abstractions can't return your love, and so it is a waste to put your love into them. W…

Pretty much how I feel. Do we need Kubernetes? Do we need elastic scaling and microservices and whatever is trendy. I know how to build an app in fairly standard predictable way, but no one seem interested in that when there are so many fads to chase.
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