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Why I Love Coding (2012)

henrikwarne.com

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Re: Why I Love Coding (2012)

#51

Post by collyw »

the_only_law wrote: post #7

I feel like I’ve lost most of my interest in it. It’s been years since I’ve been truly excited by it and and motivated to do it, but I had been on and off the edge, losing interest for long periods of time before a random spark of motivation would bring it back, only to go out within a few months at most, and after the most recent spark, I’m not sure if I can see myself coming back to programming. It’s a strange feel…

As I get more senior, I juts keep other people poorly architected monstrosities running rather than writing anything new. It saps any excitement from the job.

Re: Why I Love Coding (2012)

#52

Post by collyw »

jack-bodine wrote: post #9

There really is a special kind of satisfaction when you see something you wrote actually work. I remember the first time I made a sprite move around the screen with arrow keys, I probably moved that guy around for several minutes just out of pride. I'm sure we all have similar memories.

Conversely I get the opposite. I come up with an elegant solution to a problem, but the previous dev has architect things in such a way won't work. Rinse repeat a few times until you have something that will work, but is not elegant at all.

I feel like the people going before me are the "ninja coders" I see in job ads. With all my years of experience I come up with various ways to solve a problem, but these guys are so much more effective than me in anticipating my moves and have a way to block them already.

Re: Why I Love Coding (2012)

#53

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

weinzierl wrote: post #45
domano wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been in a more management or consulting focused role for 3 years now and i already fear that i am loosing my effectiveness as a programmer. How did the transition back to programming go for you?

I second this question. I find that "potentially loosing [..] effectiveness" is the least of the problems though, but that a few years of experience in management makes one essentially unhirable for positions that even involve some coding. I saw this from both sides of the table: as employee and hiring manager. It's also not a money problem, accepting less for a coding position does not work. A career path back to co…

Probably the case. Being older than 35, in this industry, is also a killer.

I just gave up looking for work, and am working with some folks on a nonprofit startup. It's great. best decision I ever made.

Re: Why I Love Coding (2012)

#54

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

domano wrote: post #40
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s sad, to me, but I tend to have the author’s point of view. I support you in whatever endeavor to which your muse directs you. Having a background in coding generally means you’re a good problem-solver, and good problem-solvers are valuable in any vocation. In my case, I was a manager for the last 25 years of my career, and was forced to do my programming as a “nights and weekends” gig. Since leaving my last jo…

I have been in a more management or consulting focused role for 3 years now and i already fear that i am loosing my effectiveness as a programmer. How did the transition back to programming go for you?

In my case, it went well.

I never really took my hand off the programming wheel, while being a manager. I just wasn't being paid for it (bonus was that I have a big open-source portfolio). I just did open-source work in nights and weekends.

When I left my last company, I just made it my full-time vocation, and that went quite smoothly.

I do this for the love of the craft; not the money.

Re: Why I Love Coding (2012)

#55

Post by collyw »

wildmanx wrote: post #39
megamix wrote: post #27

Coding at work sucks. Coding at home is great as a hobby.

Time to find a new employer then.

I have changed job numerous times in the last decade. It's the same shit everywhere. Poorly paid jobs writing fresh projects, or better paid senior roles trying to keep the crap projects started by a junior running a few years down the line.

Re: Why I Love Coding (2012)

#56

Post by knuthsat »

yeswecatan wrote: post #16

I love coding on my own projects. When it comes to work, I get so incredibly anxious about not being able to deliver a good solution. I obsess over every detail fearing I'll make the wrong choice ("this _could_ be a foreign key but should it be?" "Redis or postgres for this very crucial counter data") that most joy is completely stripped away. I admire and envy those who can hear unclear requirements and get excited…

I usually just don't do foreign keys, makes the queries insanely fast :D

Re: Why I Love Coding (2012)

#58

Post by onion2k »

collyw wrote: post #52
jack-bodine wrote: post #9

There really is a special kind of satisfaction when you see something you wrote actually work. I remember the first time I made a sprite move around the screen with arrow keys, I probably moved that guy around for several minutes just out of pride. I'm sure we all have similar memories.

Conversely I get the opposite. I come up with an elegant solution to a problem, but the previous dev has architect things in such a way won't work. Rinse repeat a few times until you have something that will work, but is not elegant at all. I feel like the people going before me are the "ninja coders" I see in job ads. With all my years of experience I come up with various ways to solve a problem, but these guys are…

I come up with an elegant solution to a problem, but the previous dev has architect things in such a way won't work.

Finding an elegant solution to a problem in isolation is usually quite easy because you can ignore all the edges that make it hard. Finding an elegant solution to something within the constraints of where the problem actually lies is what separates great developers from the rest of us.

Re: Why I Love Coding (2012)

#59

Post by onion2k »

yeswecatan wrote: post #16

I love coding on my own projects. When it comes to work, I get so incredibly anxious about not being able to deliver a good solution. I obsess over every detail fearing I'll make the wrong choice ("this _could_ be a foreign key but should it be?" "Redis or postgres for this very crucial counter data") that most joy is completely stripped away. I admire and envy those who can hear unclear requirements and get excited…

Getting past the "fear of getting it wrong" is a powerful skill. Learning that it's actually easier to fix a mistake than to get something right first time is the first step to developing that skill.

Re: Why I Love Coding (2012)

#60

Post by allenu »

jack-bodine wrote: post #9

There really is a special kind of satisfaction when you see something you wrote actually work. I remember the first time I made a sprite move around the screen with arrow keys, I probably moved that guy around for several minutes just out of pride. I'm sure we all have similar memories.

When I was a kid and learned about BASIC, I would write little snippets of code in my paper notebook. I didn’t have a computer at home at the time.

One time we were doing a math test in the computer room with Apple IIes and we were allowed to use them as our calculator. I finished the test early, so I thought, what program can I write in the five to ten minutes I have that would be neat? I ended up just making the screen fill with random characters. I was so proud to get it to work.

In high school I even wrote assembly code in the library on some loose leaf paper as I once was gripped with a really neat idea I had to express.

Honestly, my teenage years were filled with moments like these when I first learned to code.

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