I no longer build software

I'm at the end of my software development life cycle, but I've got the opposite perspective on java vs javascript. There's just so much boiler plate and unnecessary typing to implement solutions in java relative to javascript. The amount of stuff I can accomplish per line of code is significantly higher than any other language I've worked with, with possible exception being python.

I agree. I came to realize a few years ago how arbitrary the HTML, CSS, JS separation is. It makes sense if you think of the web as simply a set of documents (with progressive enhancement and all that), but we've gone way beyond that metaphor. If you're building a web app, separating the three is cargo-culting.

At least for me, this is exactly why I do personal projects. E.g., here's something random I did a couple weeks ago. It's so simple that it's almost embarrassing to post, but it's:

    100% vanilla Javascript
    no dependencies
    no cookies
    100% client side; no server side state, no ajax
    state is stored entirely in the URL
    state is correctly maintained across page loads (i.e. page edits its own URLs to maintain state)
    Javascript is 100% local, so it's instant and doesn't require any data fetch
    correctly detects a potentially spoiler-full page load by looking at the referrer (so it doesn't annoy you as you navigate around the site)
    ... and the entire thing is less than 100 lines of code

And it was surprising to me how genuinely fun this project was. I work on compilers/runtime systems for a living and I often get stuck in large code bases. I enjoy what I do, but working with a small codebase that's not massively overabstracted is just so fun.

https://exanderproject.com/spoiler-test/

The other thing that stuck me, as I was doing this, was how much the Javascript ecosystem has improved over the last 10-15 years. It was possible to do this in a very small amount of code with no dependencies precisely because of the all the bells and whistles that have been added to Javascript over the years. Maybe this isn't so obvious to someone who has been neck deep in Javascript for 15 years, but as someone who has been mainly in other languages, it was a very noticeable and dramatic improvement. The web platform is way, way nicer to develop for now than it used to be when I first got started.

Now I'm trying to figure out what other small projects I can get involved with.

All these complaining is funny. I was building software since the later 1990's. I'm not tired of it. Sure, most of the jobs out there are your standard CRUD stuff. But I still like it.

A lot of people complain about not having interesting stuff to work on in the day job. Well, that's why it's called a job.

I was burnt out from my software job as well until I got a shift in perspective. I picked up a photography hobby and got pretty good. In fact, I was seriously contemplating changing careers and was gaining steam. But I realized the more clients I picked up, the more uninspiring crap I had to shoot. This wasn't your everyday wedding or family photos. It was fashion photography where the industry was seen as more "creative" and "edgy." But once you get down to it, it was the same crap as any other job.

Sure I shot a lot of my own personal projects as well (like open source projects for software engineering). In fact, in that industry it's more required to have a huge portfolio of test shots where you're constantly evolving. In software engineering, that's not as required. But even that became a grind since you're pressured to constantly hone your blade while new, younger, more creative people were coming up.

Is it hard dealing with your manager, product managers, changing requirements, etc. in your software job? Well it's the same stuff in commercial fashion photography. Change their minds constantly. Sometimes I doubt they know what they want either. Budgets change, scope changes, a ton of politics, and so on. It's all the same.

This is when I realized I actually liked software engineering better. I found it more fun solving "boring" problems and learning the new technology of the day instead of hustling hard in the photo industry.

I get people complaining about not doing interesting work in their job. But that's what 99% of the industry is. You'll most likely create another CRUD app or work on stuff that is the least interesting to you. Only the lucky/elite 1% (just like in other industries) gets to do cool, interesting stuff.

Grass in greener on the other side. But I've stepped my toes on the other grass, and it's the same shade of green. I learned to enjoy my job as a software engineer. I'm in the 40's, and hopefully I'll have enough energy to keep it up for 20+ more years.

> I sincerely feel bad for people who have to stay in it.

I'm in my 50s, and I've been getting paid to build software for over 27 years now, and started programming on a near daily basis on a TRS-80 in the 1970s.

Please don't feel sorry for me. I still very much enjoy building software.

I won't necessarily disagree with the particular challenges you cite.

The total complexity is enormous now, but the tools and abstractions, which themselves have variable quality, and bring their own complexities, are tremendously powerful, and, though it often doesn't feel like it, effective.

Beyond the specifics, I acknowledge that 'the industry' has evolved in many ways and directions, not all of which are positive.

I face non-technical challenges today that, had I known about them 30 years ago, would have probably caused me to switch careers.

So, I acknowledge what you're saying, and to it I will only add this: each of us exerts a great deal of control over how we perceive the world around us. It's possible that the difference in the way you and I 'grade' the software industry is that I am, for no knowable or particular reason, more fundamentally optimistic about things than you. It's also possible that, primarily for reasons beyond our control, I've ended up working in more positive organizations.

To other people reading this far: two specific anecdotes about how the software industry has changed over three decades provides very little concrete indication for how your personal experiences are likely to go.