For the last 3 years I have been developing software of mainly the web kind. Did Clojure dev last year, some C projects before that and have a bunch of scala projects this year and hopefully a bunch of Haskell projects later this year. After failing culture fit tests at companies of interest after passing tehnical rounds, I've taken a step back to examine where things are going. The more I examine my life so far, though plastered with opportunities to work with functional Lang's that most people don't get, everything I've done so far seems meaningless. I excercise regularly, I don't like people that much though I do put up a front, I don't play video games not do I read literature or watch anime or any shows. I am relearning proof writing in math, but after a while it gets boring because there isn't any end goal in mind. Will take up some Bayesian based learning soon.. point is my life feels like it's the programming equivalent of a crack whore's life. Not sure what to do
Ask HN: Life as a developer gets boring real quick.remedy?
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Re: Ask HN: Life as a developer gets boring real quick.remedy?
#2This sounds a lot deeper than just being bored as a developer, maybe see a counsellor? They'll be in a better position to help you than any of us.
Re: Ask HN: Life as a developer gets boring real quick.remedy?
#3http://store.steampowered.com/app/282900/Hyperdimension_Nept... <- Here is how you can play video games and watch anime at the same time;
Re: Ask HN: Life as a developer gets boring real quick.remedy?
#4Language name-drop much?
Yeah.. Maybe you don't really love what you do.
Perhaps, based on your comments and the high buzz-word ratio, you are caught up in staying hopelessly up to date with the useless tech of the week...
It's hard to fit into a team if you're always looking for something better while the rest of the team is looking to solve problems with the tech they chose last year.
At some point in your life, you realize that it's better to surround yourself with smart people who know what you don't and can teach you, than to be alone and try to learn everything on your own.
You might find familiarity in Brian Regan's "I Walked On The Moon." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBJ6yptGqm4
Re: Ask HN: Life as a developer gets boring real quick.remedy?
#5Start your own company, or a side project. See how it goes.
Re: Ask HN: Life as a developer gets boring real quick.remedy?
#6Try to attract interesting parties and make them approach you first by doing projects which are interesting to you. Keep those projects production-ready.
Then the parties who value your work will naturally approach you, and by default value your work and give you more decision power in whatever the two of you will want to pursue together.
Sounds twisted, but that's how life works.
Oh, and making the program is not a goal in itself, solving the problem is.
Re: Ask HN: Life as a developer gets boring real quick.remedy?
#7You sound like you need a hobby. Have you tried baking? Like, get a breadmaking book from a ised book sttore, read it carefully, and make bread. Its super rewarding, not that difficult, you end up with a finished product (that you can eat!) and its not math or programming.
Also, read literature anyway. Learn how to by doing it. If a novel is daunting read short stories (particularly Jorge Luis Borges or Cesar Aira). Reading wasn't important in my life until about 2 years ago, and since then books have improved my life dramatically. Its low cost, high yield, fully analog, ubiquitous, and enriching. Just learning new words makes it easier to form new concepts in your head and be better at stuff like math and programming. Seriously I cant suggest reading enough.
But really, this sounds more serious than just boredom or ennui. I side with Cozumel, and might suggest looking into a counsellor.
Re: Ask HN: Life as a developer gets boring real quick.remedy?
#8Life is all about choices. You can choose what you do next.
It seems your only choice is always programming, of course you get bored.
Try something new and exciting, maybe extreme sports?
Re: Ask HN: Life as a developer gets boring real quick.remedy?
#9What about girlfriend/boyfriend ? How is your love life ?
Re: Ask HN: Life as a developer gets boring real quick.remedy?
#10Start your own company, or a side project. See how it goes.
The former isn't a decision to be taken lightly. It's also not a good idea if you're not in the right place mentally. Think of a company as an automobile that drains your emotional gas tank. If you start out with a low tank, you're going to have a bad time.
Side projects however are great provided you enjoy the experience and don't let it turn into a job.