Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#231

Post by truth_sentinell » Tue, Nov 08, 2016, 9:54 AM UTC

JDiculous wrote: post #109

sean_patel wrote: post #83

Programming is a creative art, and when I say that to my non-programmer friends, they laugh it off, but if you think about it, it is true. Just like artists, the programmers, coders, developers all design and create new things that didn't exist before, and no 2 programs or applications or completely functioning code will be identical for anything other than a fizzbuzz type test. So it is natural for the creatives to…

Programming involves very little creativity compared to actual art, so to call it a "creative art" is a gross exaggeration. A programmer is given a very specific set of tasks (eg. send data from A to B, fix bug, implement X), and his problems are mostly technical. This doesn't even compare to the creativity involved in a real artistic endeavor like designing your own videogame, writing your own screenplay, or composi…

Ok. Apparently you have the wrong concept of creativity, or you're looking through it with only one glass.

Creativity is not only doing aesthetics or poetry, the bare concept of creativity is unifying things that otherwise don't seem unifiable. Associate a dog with a circuit, that's creativity; innovation.

And boy, you have a lot in bare programming. There are many ways to write a code that does the same thing. Sure, not every code involves the level of creativity a painting can, but that's not to say programming doesn't have creativity whatsoever.

React, Redux, Sass, those all are great examples of programming creativity, just beginning by the problem they solve, it's creativity on his own...

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#232

Post by uniclaude » Tue, Nov 08, 2016, 9:54 AM UTC

dvrajan wrote: post #93

uniclaude wrote: post #14

I believe a lot of us here on HN would consider leaving programming for doing business. A lot (including myself) already did. Programming being very often about solving business needs, sometime in your career, you might be in a position to realize that it could make sense to go higher up the chain and build a company.

Indeed. Having started a business yourself. What do you think programmers should learn/know before make this feat.

IMHO, that will depend on the type of business, but getting basic understanding of sales (like, actual deal closing), marketing, and hiring are crucial no matter what.

Even if you plan to bring co-founders on board, understanding the basics of what they do goes a long way establishing trust.

Another thing, which is not a skill, is to understand that techcrunch is not a fair representation of the tech world (& neither is HN), and that building a business is not about making the frontpage, it is about bringing solutions to problems so painful that people are willing to pay you for it.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#233

Post by ketpat » Tue, Nov 08, 2016, 9:54 AM UTC

noir_lord wrote: post #210

neom wrote: post #32

Fun reading this as I very frequently wish I was a programmer. :)

I wasn't a full time programmer til 2010, been programming since I was a kid in the 80's, didn't think I was good enough at programming to do it for a living (confidence issues) so I spent 8 years working for Staples and gradually mostly by accidents of the "I can build that for you" sort built up a customer base, one of those customers offered me a full time job as a programmer on double the salary I was on and I ju…

I'm 34, only got into programming this year after completing a boot camp. Got my first full time job in July. I always wanted to be a programmer but also had confidence issues. When I changed my mindset from over thinking to not giving a fuck and going for it, my whole life changed for the better.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#234

Post by vbezhenar » Tue, Nov 08, 2016, 9:57 AM UTC

I fell in love with programming, when I was about 13, and I love it now (29). Commercial programming (e.g. what I'm paid for) is rarely fun for me, but not bad either. And I have a lot of fun doing programming as my hobby, some experiments, etc, when I'm not constrained with anything. I don't think I would ever change my profession.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#235

Post by jasonkester » Tue, Nov 08, 2016, 9:58 AM UTC

mbrock wrote: post #208

jasonkester wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's incorrect. In the US, you take the Engineer In Training (EIT) exam when you graduate university, then require 4 years of industry experience before you can sit the PE (Professional Engineer) exam. If you pass that, you can call yourself an Engineer. But that's only for actual Engineering disciplines. We in software don't need to take an "Engineer" test for the same reason we don't need to take a "Rock Star" te…

What would you call someone who's self-taught and mentored in the typical engineering practices (construction, repairs, engines, etc)? Why would some national laws about certifications prevent you from referring to such a person as an engineer?

For four years, my business cards read "engineering". As in, does engineering work but cannot sign off on documents and thus is not an Engineer.

I left for software before sitting the PE, so they'd read the same were I to return to doing Mechanical Engineering work.

But of course it's silly to stand on principal on such things, so I've never taken offense to anybody calling themselves whatever they like. If the janitor can be an engineer, certainly anybody else can too.

I imagine Architects feel the same way. And Cardiologists will as well, when we start appropriating their title.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#236

Post by romanovcode » Tue, Nov 08, 2016, 9:59 AM UTC

dcw303 wrote: post #61

About ten years ago I took a year off to teach English in Japan. Within a couple of months I was dying to go back to development. Trust me, even compared to other white collar jobs, you would not believe how cushy we have it.

Well to be honest teaching English in Japan is one of the worst careers you can choose. Competition is super stiff and pay is super low.

I don't know what you was expecting.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#237

Post by gmac » Tue, Nov 08, 2016, 10:01 AM UTC

I thought I was leaving programming when I went back to school to do a Masters and then a PhD in environmental economics. I'm now a lecturer (assistant professor) ... but programming is so useful in academia, and such a rare skill, that I hardly do any less now than I did before. And I'm OK with that. :)

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#238

Post by palerdot » Tue, Nov 08, 2016, 10:09 AM UTC

Jeaye wrote: post #45

I'm slowly working my way toward park ranger, though I've considered paramedic. Wood working also sounds interesting, and I'm great with my hands. Certainly, programming is my passion; having to do it under someone else's terms can spoil the deal though.

> having to do it under someone else's terms can spoil the deal though

Exactly. This is my main gripe about programming. I will still be programming at some level as I age, but I don't see myself doing programming competitively after 35 considering the cut throat business needs of a 3rd person/entity for whom I will be programming. My best bet is to program for my own business, and then again money and profitability is a matter of concern and there is no better way to know than trying it out.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#239

Post by iand » Tue, Nov 08, 2016, 10:11 AM UTC

david927 wrote: post #114

I currently work in a good environment where I'm appreciated and paid well. Not many people in the world can say that, so I have a lot to be thankful for. Programming has done good by me. But I don't love it. Alan Kay is right, it's like building "an Egyptian pyramid with millions of bricks piled on top of each other, with no structural integrity, but just done by brute force and thousands of slaves". There's no eleg…

> It's an Asperger profession; smart but artless.

Your point was good, it didn't need this poor stereotyping.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever thought of leaving programming for something else?

#240

Post by _k5mx » Tue, Nov 08, 2016, 10:22 AM UTC

david927 wrote: post #114

I currently work in a good environment where I'm appreciated and paid well. Not many people in the world can say that, so I have a lot to be thankful for. Programming has done good by me. But I don't love it. Alan Kay is right, it's like building "an Egyptian pyramid with millions of bricks piled on top of each other, with no structural integrity, but just done by brute force and thousands of slaves". There's no eleg…

Well, I have an opposite problem. I work in a different industry, but completely adore programming and solving variety of problems that involve data processing or connecting various systems together.