The Reality of Developer Burnout • Hacker News Board

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#21

Post by Bogdanp » Thu, Jan 05, 2017, 8:15 PM UTC

zzzcpan wrote: post #13

paulcole wrote: post #9

> It happens to everyone that writes code all day long More like "It happens to everyone." I know this is a developer-focused site, but this isn't a problem unique to people in software. An old joke, "Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called everybody, and they meet at the bar."

It's different in software, people can't do their jobs when this happens. Otherwise it shouldn't be called a burnout.

I realize you're not saying it's limited to software, but I think it's interesting to note that the term was coined by a psychologist (Herbert Freudenberger) trying to describe a condition he himself experienced.

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#22

Post by bioapparatus » Thu, Jan 05, 2017, 8:19 PM UTC

Humdeee wrote: post #16

dexwiz wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is GA?

General aviation I imagine.

Makes a lot more sense to read it that way. Auto-pilot (...I guess I just did that) caused me to read it as Google Analytics.

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#23

Post by Fnoord » Thu, Jan 05, 2017, 8:22 PM UTC

Animats wrote: post #11

This is not developer burnout. This is Twitter burnout. "So, I unfollowed everyone on Twitter" he writes, which apparently fixed his problem. That has nothing to do with development.

On the contrary; in this case, Twitter is a symptom. Instead, the problem is bubble-based news. The platform could've been something else, like Facebook, or RSS.

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#24

Post by klausa » Thu, Jan 05, 2017, 8:22 PM UTC

pc86 wrote: post #8

coldcode wrote: post #3

If you are developing software as a life, you don't have one; if on the other hand you are developing software for fun, you are having it; if you are just developing software for money; leave it at work. It's hard to be buried 100% in software and realize the rest of life is more important.

The best thing I ever did for my professional life was acquiring new interests that had nothing to do with software but were still intellectually and/or physically stimulating. Weightlifting is cheap, has proven physical and psychological benefits, and is eventually fun (sucks for the first few weeks/months though). I just recently starting taking lessons to get a private pilot's license. GA is expensive (relatively…

Not everyone on HN earns SV money.

Best of luck in becoming a pilot!

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#25

Post by madmax108 » Thu, Jan 05, 2017, 8:27 PM UTC

A lot of my friends working in the industry have limited interest in coding (or computer science), but look at it solely as a job... something that guarantees decent financial freedom to pursue other goals.

For me, it's the opposite. Since I first played Super Mario on the NES and wrote my first line of C a decade ago, I've wanted to have a career with computers. But that means I never get to switch off. If I'm not working on something cool at work (and no, I'm not in a dead end job... In fact love my job and team), then I'm at home trying to code something awesome (Was just setting up a DCGAN when I saw this post).

I have no financial worries and should technically be living the good life, but I always feel that if one day all computers in the world shut down abruptly, I have absolutely nothing to do... for work OR for fun. And when I got close to burning out a year ago, the hardest thing was to find something to do.

The route back involved calling people I hadn't spoken to in years, Reading (and smelling) a dozen books, Quizzing and quite a bit of travel. It was hard at first, but since getting back, has provided a much clearer view of life!

So please, plug off for a bit. Don't wait till you start hating yourself/your life. Life is about so much more. :)

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#26

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jan 05, 2017, 8:29 PM UTC

teabee89 wrote: post #12

It was an interesting read but the solution reminds me of pyramidal "scams" (of course the scam part is where the analogy breaks): the way you avoid burn out, is by delegating it to others and once they too get burned out they have to delegate too. Or they quit and you have to find someone else or let the project die. I'm not disagreeing nor judging, just sharing the thought.

[deleted]

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#27

Post by rubicon33 » Thu, Jan 05, 2017, 8:31 PM UTC

gogopuppygogo wrote: post #10

paulcole wrote: post #9

> It happens to everyone that writes code all day long More like "It happens to everyone." I know this is a developer-focused site, but this isn't a problem unique to people in software. An old joke, "Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called everybody, and they meet at the bar."

Obviously you've never heard of Tim Harris. This guy inspires me to always find a way to love what I do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6He0FWoFj0 Wish everyone was as happy as Tim.

Aw man, that made my day, thanks for sharing it.

I think we could all be a little happier, if we just tried. I'm not saying curing depression or burnout is as trivial as just trying to... But, you can certainly choose to be a notch happier than you are at this moment. Just one notch today, and try for another notch tomorrow. We can start by appreciating what we have.

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#28

Post by paulddraper » Thu, Jan 05, 2017, 8:38 PM UTC

alexmingoia wrote: post #20

I speculate that burnout is more psychological than physical. Ultimately, I think it stems from the shame arising out of the realization that giving 110% instead of 70% at your job accomplishes little but making things harder for yourself. A software engineer doesn't get more money giving 110%, and if they work to finish something quicker they're just rewarded with more work. Often engineers (being human) will want t…

> I speculate that burnout is more psychological than physical

Since programming is mental and not physical....yes?

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#29

Post by poikniok » Thu, Jan 05, 2017, 8:40 PM UTC

Humdeee wrote: post #5

I've been burned out twice. The first and deeper of the two was right after I graduated years ago. It made the whole process of going straight into the workforce bittersweet, as I was mentally not ready to muster the energy to endure the rigors of professional development on-boarding for a new grad. I managed, but no where near at a potential I could of been. A brutal semester of final projects and endless nights had…

You know the one about entering the workforce hits home for me, I feel like this is about to happen to me, but I feel sort of powerless to stop it.

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#30

Post by gideon_b » Thu, Jan 05, 2017, 8:41 PM UTC

zzzcpan wrote: post #13

paulcole wrote: post #9

> It happens to everyone that writes code all day long More like "It happens to everyone." I know this is a developer-focused site, but this isn't a problem unique to people in software. An old joke, "Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called everybody, and they meet at the bar."

It's different in software, people can't do their jobs when this happens. Otherwise it shouldn't be called a burnout.

That's a great point. It's not specific to software but knowledge work and creative work are nearly impossible to do without intrinsic motivation.