I no longer build software • Hacker News Board

Re: I no longer build software

#51

Post by bigbizisverywyz » Mon, Sep 21, 2020, 12:06 PM UTC

metafunctor wrote: post #32

jb1991 wrote: post #20

Amen. Modern software development is frankly kinda sucky. The old days pre-2000 were arguably a lot more enjoyable. Today it's just digital plumbing and dealing with all sorts of issues that are not creative. The sheer complexity is frankly absurd as well. I've thought about moving on from software many times, and I know many who have. Just because you can do something doesn't mean it's best way to spend your short l…

Having been there per-2000, not really. It was not appreciably simpler, most of it was really plumbing (but maybe you were making up the pipes as you went along), and there were assholes abound.

I also feel that back then demand massively outstripped supply which created its own kind of stress as I felt I was working a lot more with much less experienced devs who just got into it because it good paying work, but they didn't really enjoy it.

Nowadays there seems to be a lot more software engineering skill around generally, and a big yay! to github and Stack overflow, and the thousands of developers who freely provide code/frameworks and knowledge to give all developers a leg-up.

It's good to no longer be in the thrall of the large software vendors (sun/apple/MS) to provide frameworks, tools & documentation.

Re: I no longer build software

#52

Post by nicbou » Mon, Sep 21, 2020, 12:07 PM UTC

MaxBarraclough wrote: post #33

busterarm wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Add me to the list of software developers who desires to switch to woodworking/machining.

Less machine learning, more learning machining?

Less training models, more model trains

Re: I no longer build software

#53

Post by irjustin » Mon, Sep 21, 2020, 12:07 PM UTC

This goes hand in hand with "On the Use of a Life"[0].

Please, do what you truly want. Many if not the majority of individuals on this forum have the opportunity to do so.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24537865

Re: I no longer build software

#54

Post by StavrosK » Mon, Sep 21, 2020, 12:07 PM UTC

C1sc0cat wrote: post #47

pliftkl wrote: post #8

This made me laugh, because I actually am planning on making a transition to woodworking. My house is paid off, and I can live on a fairly small income that I can probably generate mostly from passive income. If I can actually supplement that with building furniture, bonus. If not, then I still get to build furniture.

You might find that what was a hobby is not as much fun as a job. I mentioned this to an actual "rock star" developer London session musician with a doctorate in music who moved to development after teaching themselves after an accident.

I have a job writing software, and in my spare time I write software as a hobby. The job is much less enjoyable than the hobby, because in the hobby I'm doing, by definition, only things I like.

I think any hobby is less enjoyable when you have it as a job, since you sometimes need to do things you don't like doing or aren't interested in.

Re: I no longer build software

#55

Post by x87678r » Mon, Sep 21, 2020, 12:08 PM UTC

jb1991 wrote: post #20

Amen. Modern software development is frankly kinda sucky. The old days pre-2000 were arguably a lot more enjoyable. Today it's just digital plumbing and dealing with all sorts of issues that are not creative. The sheer complexity is frankly absurd as well. I've thought about moving on from software many times, and I know many who have. Just because you can do something doesn't mean it's best way to spend your short l…

I remember fondly tasks like writing my own collections and logging pipelines. It wasn't as efficient as connecting libraries but it was more satisfying when you built your own way from the ground up.

Re: I no longer build software

#56

Post by laurentdc » Mon, Sep 21, 2020, 12:09 PM UTC

I used to work in a kitchen for a while. My back hurt most of the time and I always had burns or cuts somewhere, but I was definitely way more happy. Mentally for sure. Also the feeling of building something, I feel like peeling a potato is more enjoyable than shipping modern frontend.

Re: I no longer build software

#57

Post by nicbou » Mon, Sep 21, 2020, 12:09 PM UTC

bilbo0s wrote: post #40

secondcoming wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I too would love to do it. It irks me to this day that I was taught nonsense such as latin in school instead of woodwork or metalwork.

Serious question, didn't anyone else' school have shop class? I was a college prep, NHS, cross country, all AP core courses kind of guy, and I took it all four years of high school. Or was there some kind of restriction on taking it at your school? Or maybe your parents didn't let you? Genuinely curious as to why someone with a professed interest would not have taken shop?

There was a special program at my school that gave you more shop classes. They did everything to discourage me from joining it, because it's where they shoved the struggling kids. I really enjoyed it, and really can't see why it was just for struggling kids.

This was the last year before the school reform. They ended that program. In fact they ended shop class altogether.

Re: I no longer build software

#58

Post by jordache » Mon, Sep 21, 2020, 12:09 PM UTC

jb1991 wrote: post #20

Amen. Modern software development is frankly kinda sucky. The old days pre-2000 were arguably a lot more enjoyable. Today it's just digital plumbing and dealing with all sorts of issues that are not creative. The sheer complexity is frankly absurd as well. I've thought about moving on from software many times, and I know many who have. Just because you can do something doesn't mean it's best way to spend your short l…

If it pays well for as a job, what else can you ask for? Unless you are independently wealthy, how can one be so picky as to complain about the nuances of software development at the tooling/dependency management level? Sheesh

Look at the broader job market. Compare the pros n' cons of any career against software development. Compare the barrier to entry, demand, and other market conditions. Software dev comes out pretty well.

Re: I no longer build software

#59

Post by misja111 » Mon, Sep 21, 2020, 12:10 PM UTC

jb1991 wrote: post #20

Amen. Modern software development is frankly kinda sucky. The old days pre-2000 were arguably a lot more enjoyable. Today it's just digital plumbing and dealing with all sorts of issues that are not creative. The sheer complexity is frankly absurd as well. I've thought about moving on from software many times, and I know many who have. Just because you can do something doesn't mean it's best way to spend your short l…

Pre-2000 it was also plumbing, the difference was that you were mostly plumbing someone else's homegrown cruft. Occasionally you got the chance of building some framework by yourself, probably to the dismay of the developer who had to maintain it after you left. I like today's plumbing better.

Re: I no longer build software

#60

Post by lazyjones » Mon, Sep 21, 2020, 12:10 PM UTC

jb1991 wrote: post #20

Amen. Modern software development is frankly kinda sucky. The old days pre-2000 were arguably a lot more enjoyable. Today it's just digital plumbing and dealing with all sorts of issues that are not creative. The sheer complexity is frankly absurd as well. I've thought about moving on from software many times, and I know many who have. Just because you can do something doesn't mean it's best way to spend your short l…

It can still be fun if you don't follow fads and have no feedback ticketing system/forum/e-mail.