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What keeps you going over the long term? What makes you wake up every morning and sit down to code again?
[PhD in CS, programming for 38 years]
I love programming so I look forward to it everyday.
Learning new things, applying things you have learned, solving hard problems keep it interesting for me.
Having your own side projects are a good way to learn new things and look forward to the time you have to spend on them.
A CS degree and a job as a developer can lead to untold riches right now. So having a semi-relaxing job you enjoy that pays really really well (hopefully doing something you enjoy) is something to look forward to.
It's also amazing what one or two developers can create, as far as their own business. From a small SaaS app that brings in $200k/yr to a small team developing something that exits for $1B. Amazing times and knowing how to develop and create is the key to that kingdom.
Enjoy University while you are there, they are some of the best times.
Study and prepare for the real world, keep learning new things.
The money and other benefits allow me to subsidize and fund the kind of life I want to have with my family. I know that my children and my wife in our later years will have the resources we need to be financially, physically, and emotionally healthy.
I think loving your job is a dangerous phantasy sold to CS grads to get the them work longer. It doesn’t mean you have to hate every minute, you can enjoy parts of it.
But passion should be reserved for hobbies outside of work (unless you work for yourself). Be a professional - do it for the money mainly, and don’t put up with horrible work environments. At the end of the day go home and have fun. It’s just a job, and should never define you.
If it's boring, do it differently.
It helps if you’ve had other jobs. Pretty much all jobs have downsides and therefore “suck”. I think loving your job is a dangerous phantasy sold to CS grads to get the them work longer. It doesn’t mean you have to hate every minute, you can enjoy parts of it. But passion should be reserved for hobbies outside of work (unless you work for yourself). Be a professional - do it for the money mainly, and don’t put up wit…
Get yourself healthy. Get some balance -- social interaction. New and different and positive inputs.
I think you'll sit down to the problems you're working on, refreshed.
And problem-solving might have renewed purpose. Improving the world you're engaged in.
Best wishes.
P.S. Another way of looking at this: Get some "domain expertise". I was always a lot more effective when I had a domain to which to apply my skills -- and that motivated me to improve those skills, to improve the domain or the instance of the domain with which I was engaged.
Also, what was it Larry Wall said?
After I started my first job, I had a long period where I no longer had any motivation to code. What snapped me out of it was starting a project that I found interesting and challenging (related to data compression, if I remember correctly). For me, at least, solving a difficult technical problem is what keeps me going.