Ask HN: What keeps you going? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What keeps you going?

#41

Post by gwbas1c » Tue, May 08, 2018, 9:27 PM UTC

I enjoy it, I'm good at it, and it pays well. It's rare in life that all three line up.

IMO: That's the best way to pick a career. Find something that you enjoy, you're good at, and pays well. It doesn't have to be exotic, BTW. Electricians and plumbers get paid well, and don't have much student debt.

BTW, even when you pick something you enjoy as a career, your job won't always be fun. There will be times your job isn't fun, times you aren't good at your job, and times it doesn't pay well. Part of being an adult is being able to manage the natural ups and downs in life.

Re: Ask HN: What keeps you going?

#42

Post by vanadium » Tue, May 08, 2018, 9:27 PM UTC

Bills. Mortgage. Family. The individuals in the development team I lead. All of these things make getting up in the morning and coming to the office well worth it.

Having a hobby that isn't coding, but just as intricate and puzzle-solving, is another outlet I have. I restore and refurb old video game consoles in my spare time. It restores my sense of patience and want for a carefully-deliberated project with problems to solve and no time horizon should I want to step away for a bit.

Coding used to be that hobby growing up. Then, in the dot-com boom, I made it my career. There are rare times I regret ever doing so, but on the balance I make an excellent salary, have benefits, a lot of flexibility, and I realize I easily made the right choice.

Re: Ask HN: What keeps you going?

#43

Post by cowpewter » Tue, May 08, 2018, 9:30 PM UTC

I've gotten burned out pretty hard before, and also struggle with depression.

It's not a very exciting answer, but mine is "I'm good at it and it pays better than anything else someone would be willing to pay me to do every day." It supports me and my wife in a comfortable lifestyle, and I can work from home in my pajamas if I want to.

If I had all the money I could possibly need, I would probably take a very long break from programming, maybe a year or two. Then I would still code, but it would be only fun little personal projects, game jams, stuff like that. Things to stretch my skills and creativity because learning is fun.

Re: Ask HN: What keeps you going?

#44

Post by aaronbrethorst » Tue, May 08, 2018, 9:31 PM UTC

I make tens of thousands of people's lives easier, safer, and less stressful every day, and I help keep 450 tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere every day.

Re: Ask HN: What keeps you going?

#45

Post by busterarm » Tue, May 08, 2018, 9:32 PM UTC

mikestew wrote: post #14

What makes me wake up and do it again? Mortgage. The desire to eat nice food once in a while. The fact that, as "the system" is currently configured, one pretty much needs to have a job, and writing code is a pretty nice one. That's my take after several decades of doing this. Sounds like the passion maybe went right out, didn't it? No, it didn't. It's like a marriage. Sure, those first few years it's hot as lava, fs…

I want to echo a lot of what was said here.

I've moved around in roles and duties a lot over what is now almost a two decade long tech career. I'm only in the fourth year of it actually paying well, but now it feels like I can do anything I choose to.

That's not to say that I know everything, but I'm pretty sure if I target a specific job, I can learn what's needed in a reasonable amount of time...enough to get hired.

I've had jobs from laptop hardware repair, syadmin for banks, software developer, malware research, NOC tech for an ISP and now systems engineer. Not in that order and I could see doing almost any of these again someday.

Do whatever in this field interests you and you'll be around a long time. When you're doing something that doesn't interest you, work towards the things that do.

Re: Ask HN: What keeps you going?

#46

Post by geoffc » Tue, May 08, 2018, 9:32 PM UTC

The plain joy of solving problems via code. I'm 55 and wake up every day with another set of problems to code against, it never gets old. You can also make a lot of money along the way if you take some risks.

Re: Ask HN: What keeps you going?

#47

Post by akincisor » Tue, May 08, 2018, 9:36 PM UTC

I grew up in a third world country in conditions that would be considered poverty here. Every day I'm thankful to be part of the 1% of the global population whose skills are in demand and who earn big bucks (relatively). I don't need much more motivation than that.

Re: Ask HN: What keeps you going?

#48

Post by mirimir » Tue, May 08, 2018, 9:38 PM UTC

I've strived to do what I enjoy. When that hasn't worked out, I've done whatever necessary to pay the bills. And, as others have noted, doing shit jobs has kept me looking.

There's been a general pattern. I would get tired of my work, and would put more and more energy into hobbies. At some point, then, I would leverage a hobby into a new career. Usually not exactly what I'd focused on, but something that a friend or mentor pointed me to.

So maybe coding per se isn't the rush it once was. But is there something that you're deeply committed to, where coding could make a huge difference?

Re: Ask HN: What keeps you going?

#49

Post by vokep » Tue, May 08, 2018, 9:57 PM UTC

Hoasi wrote: post #34

ironjunkie wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is my biggest take away after almost a decade working in this industry. "Love your job" has been sold to me thousands of times. Yet, I think that people that say they love their job lie to themselves. It is also very unhealthy. Let's do a quick game. If you had all the money in the world, would you still do your job? Probably not. I highly advocate for balance in your life. A job needs to be done properly, and o…

> Let's do a quick game. If you had all the money in the world, would you still do your job? Probably not. Just one data point but I absolutely would.

you would fit into the camp of 'actually loves their job'

Re: Ask HN: What keeps you going?

#50

Post by codegeek » Tue, May 08, 2018, 10:12 PM UTC

Business, Mortgage, Wife, Kids, family, friends and the various lovely moments/things that life has to offer. Thats what keeps me going at the moment.