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I just don’t want to be a software developer anymore (2017)

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Re: I just don’t want to be a software developer anymore (2017)

#31

Post by wolfgke »

growlist wrote: post #23
rvz wrote: post #8

The OP needs to place (2017) in the title. > I still love coding, but I hate this industry This essentially can be summarised by only doing software development as a hobby rather than as a profession. But again, this industry isn't for everyone. While its always unfortunate that people who once enter this industry have now quit due to the 'long hours', 'deadlines' or 'burnout', perhaps they should have looked twice a…

If the industry is chewing up and spitting out people as a matter of course, perhaps the problem is with the industry rather than the people.

> If the industry is chewing up and spitting out people as a matter of course, perhaps the problem is with the industry rather than the people.

Or with wrong expectations that people who go into the industry have.

Re: I just don’t want to be a software developer anymore (2017)

#32

Post by theworld572 »

I agree with most of what she says about being a software dev, expect, for the long hours - how many companies has she worked in? I have worked in 7 companies over the last few years (mostly as a contractor though a few were permanent) and in not one of them had employees working more than 40 hours a week.

Re: I just don’t want to be a software developer anymore (2017)

#33

Post by jacobwilliamroy »

wolfgke wrote: post #31
growlist wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the industry is chewing up and spitting out people as a matter of course, perhaps the problem is with the industry rather than the people.

> If the industry is chewing up and spitting out people as a matter of course, perhaps the problem is with the industry rather than the people. Or with wrong expectations that people who go into the industry have.

Nope. The bosses are wrong. People are finite. Cant just keep eating people forever. Shit comes back eventually.

Re: I just don’t want to be a software developer anymore (2017)

#34

Post by theworld572 »

Synaesthesia wrote: post #25

I’d love to be a programmer but it seems that my job would likely consist of some database programming or nuts and bolts of a internal corporate program. Not exactly exciting or fulfilling work! Correct me if I’m wrong, I’m not in the industry but that’s my impression. This blog kinda confirms my concerns.

It depends what industry you're in. If you go to work for a boring corporation that doesn't do anything interesting then you will find it boring and unfulfilling. Or you can work for a company that has some kind of ethical mission and you'll probably find that better. Its the same as any job really.

Re: I just don’t want to be a software developer anymore (2017)

#35

Post by bluedevil2k »

jacobwilliamroy wrote: post #15
cerberusss wrote: post #11

Reading this, I have the feeling she quit her career in programming because of the long hours. But why not look for a job with normal hours?

If she lives in the U.S. it can be difficult to find an employer who's willing to cover the cost of living in exchange for labor. Sounds like she's stuck in a positive feedback loop of medical expenses, and that makes it hard to be picky about jobs.

What??? Maybe in Silicon Valley, but everywhere else in the US if you’re a programmer you’re in the top 25% incomes locally, probably higher. In Austin, a good front end dev and you’re living in pretty much any neighborhood you want.

Re: I just don’t want to be a software developer anymore (2017)

#36

Post by deaps »

nkrisc wrote: post #22
deaps wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe her concerns are shared amongst a majority of her female peers - thus leading to women either not wanting to join the field or leaving shortly after entering it. I mean men and women are different. We tend to excel at different things, have different thought processes, process things differently, different strengths and weaknesses (generally, right? - there is obviously overlap). Maybe her complaints help expla…

> We tend to excel at different things, have different thought processes, process things differently, different strengths and weaknesses (generally, right? - there is obviously overlap). This could also be said of all individuals, sex aside. Either way, I don't buy it. Nurses tend to mostly be women and yet the job is far harder than any software development job. It's more grueling hours, physically demanding, and me…

> I think it's absurd to suggest that women as a whole can't handle the hours and demands of software development.

I didn't suggest that at all.

Re: I just don’t want to be a software developer anymore (2017)

#37

Post by mrkeen »

Synaesthesia wrote: post #25

I’d love to be a programmer but it seems that my job would likely consist of some database programming or nuts and bolts of a internal corporate program. Not exactly exciting or fulfilling work! Correct me if I’m wrong, I’m not in the industry but that’s my impression. This blog kinda confirms my concerns.

Nuts and bolts programming isn't a bummer for me. There is room for creativity and ingenuity even in that kind of coding. I find the craftsmanship itself is the fulfilling bit.

The downsides arise when management injects themselves into the process. "Skip testing", "don't use source control", "don't refactor", "don't start building until the spec is complete" are some of the gems I've heard before.

It's one thing to be lazy or make mistakes - we all do it. It's another beast when you want to deliver professionally but you can't because it conflicts with a company's "way of doing things".

Re: I just don’t want to be a software developer anymore (2017)

#38

Post by dagw »

Synaesthesia wrote: post #25

I’d love to be a programmer but it seems that my job would likely consist of some database programming or nuts and bolts of a internal corporate program. Not exactly exciting or fulfilling work! Correct me if I’m wrong, I’m not in the industry but that’s my impression. This blog kinda confirms my concerns.

The cool thing about being a programmer is that you can use it in basically every field of endeavor out there. If you want to work with movies, you can work with movies. Are you passionate about urban planning, ecology or archaeology, there are lots of roles for programming in all those fields. Want to be a journalist, lots of programming and data mining happening within journalism these days.

There are basically two ways to approach a career as a programmer, one is to see programming in itself as your passion and solving the programming problem you're facing at any given moment as an ends in itself. The other is to see programming as a force multiplier to give yourself 'super powers' for doing the thing you actually care about.

Re: I just don’t want to be a software developer anymore (2017)

#39

Post by yitchelle »

After reading this, I felt the she is painting all the industry that software is applicable to with the same brush.

Software development as a discipline is applicable across many types of industry (automotive, mobile, communications, aerospace, Internet, etc).

I wonder how much of her wanting to quit software development is due to the industry that she is in.

Re: I just don’t want to be a software developer anymore (2017)

#40

Post by Isinlor »

fuball63 wrote: post #21

One thing that the article doesn't touch on is how a passion for software craftsmanship can be completely undermined by the recklessness of business decisions. I love the experience of writing and using rock solid programs, but in the real world, there are deadlines to meet, flaky requirements, and tech debt. For people in it for the money, it doesn't affect them. For people that appreciated good software, it turns t…

This is how most chefs lives look like. They prepare the same meals from a menu under time pressure years after years. Maybe it's not flipping burgers in fast food, but there is little space for artisanship in the food industry. You have to be really good to do more than prepare the same thing over and over from a menu.
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