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Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

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Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#51

Post by draw_down »

shubhamjain wrote: post #10

> The respite from programming though lasted maybe about four months after retiring. I started a small project , in part to learn Python, in part to play with e-ink displays. I was back programming (back abusing git) but of course the pressure was off. It both was and wasn’t like the day job I had left behind. This is one reasons I got disillusioned with FIRE and the concept of early retirement. Programming was my fi…

Sure, to each their own. I quit two years ago and have probably spent a few weeks of that programming.

The place I left gave ICs a high degree of agency, and you run projects yourself, get the resources you need yourself. So the issue was never too much red tape or process. So now doing all that stuff just feels like work again. The programming is ok (just ok) but seriously building something involves all that project stuff. Coordination, setting timelines and milestones, design, testing and on and on.

I think it’s ok to acknowledge that there are other things in life besides programming and software projects, and to therefore move on. I love lots of things!

Sometimes the gum loses flavor. But there’s lots of flavors to try.

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#52

Post by rubicon33 »

> I am not sure though if this is still the case for software engineers. Are there younger engineers, new to the career, for whom programming is not merely a job but something they can imagine doing in their spare time? I think I met a few as I was winding down my career. I do feel though that back around 1988 or so when I started getting serious into programming that all fellow programmers I met were also doing it with a kind of passion. How is it you can love a machine?

As someone who went into software development because it was my passion and my hobby, its always disappointing how often that isn't the case for so many people in this industry. It's draining actually; The lack of enthusiasm and genuine interest is replaced by a clock-in and clock-out mentality. Bootcamps have just become farms for people who need a job, but not those who really want this job.

I want to work with more people who LOVE software and find the development of machines and the code that runs on them as fascinating as I do. Unfortunately, its less and less these days.

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#53

Post by Aperocky »

hgs3 wrote: post #49

> But there is something becoming more familiar to me as I go back to the wild west of C programming (where very little happens behind the scenes I might point out - no garbage collection here!). I share this sentiment. I pursued computer science because of the romanticized notation of tracking every bit and byte and talking directly to the hardware. I know I'm not alone given the popularity of old-school fantasy con…

imo a self contained component are the same as bit and byte.

To me, the draw of programming being that it is both a logical puzzle and a constructive endeavor, brings me a lot of joy to be able to see my stuff work. Whether that's manipulating memory bytes or using a package someone else wrote to do something I want, there's little difference in terms of satisfaction.

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#55

Post by zenlikethat »

pinewurst wrote: post #16
shubhamjain wrote: post #10

> The respite from programming though lasted maybe about four months after retiring. I started a small project , in part to learn Python, in part to play with e-ink displays. I was back programming (back abusing git) but of course the pressure was off. It both was and wasn’t like the day job I had left behind. This is one reasons I got disillusioned with FIRE and the concept of early retirement. Programming was my fi…

Speaking as someone planning to "retire" very soon, I don't like that word at all. I'm hardly planning to move to Florida for wife swapping and pickleball with the other oldsters. I'll be doing whatever suits my fancy, including software, albeit sans Jira and keeping GoogSoft suits happy with the proper newspeak.

Indeed. There's plenty of wife swapping up for grabs in the Bay Area.

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#56

Post by protonbob »

rubicon33 wrote: post #52

> I am not sure though if this is still the case for software engineers. Are there younger engineers, new to the career, for whom programming is not merely a job but something they can imagine doing in their spare time? I think I met a few as I was winding down my career. I do feel though that back around 1988 or so when I started getting serious into programming that all fellow programmers I met were also doing it w…

While I certainly clock in and clock out for my day job which is mostly writing crud apps, I still am passionate about programming. I'm just also more passionate about things like family.

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#57

Post by tayo42 »

rubicon33 wrote: post #52

> I am not sure though if this is still the case for software engineers. Are there younger engineers, new to the career, for whom programming is not merely a job but something they can imagine doing in their spare time? I think I met a few as I was winding down my career. I do feel though that back around 1988 or so when I started getting serious into programming that all fellow programmers I met were also doing it w…

Passion for working is different then coding or hacking on stuff or w/e you call it.

Personally, I like learning how things work and doing things at my own pace. Expecting passion for integrating SaaS apis and working with legacy code is not the tech that got me interested, I want to clock out of that ASAP.

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#58

Post by nine_zeros »

rubicon33 wrote: post #52

> I am not sure though if this is still the case for software engineers. Are there younger engineers, new to the career, for whom programming is not merely a job but something they can imagine doing in their spare time? I think I met a few as I was winding down my career. I do feel though that back around 1988 or so when I started getting serious into programming that all fellow programmers I met were also doing it w…

My passion was sucked away by leetcode interviews, BS management processes, writing more JIRA tickets than code and ineffective management mistakenly thinking PIPs will somehow produce better output and improve team morale.

The reality is that this industry operates with a factory worker mentality. It is no surprise to me that young people don't care about programming. It just isn't valued.

Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple

#60

Post by xupybd »

hgs3 wrote: post #49

> But there is something becoming more familiar to me as I go back to the wild west of C programming (where very little happens behind the scenes I might point out - no garbage collection here!). I share this sentiment. I pursued computer science because of the romanticized notation of tracking every bit and byte and talking directly to the hardware. I know I'm not alone given the popularity of old-school fantasy con…

The most unfulfilling days for me are when my dependencies seem to fall over.

I have a project that only builds in one version of Visual Studio on my machine. I know it's bad, I know I should get to the bottom of it before it becomes a real problem, but it's soul crushing work.

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