251–260 of 438 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’ve been programming professionally for over 25 years. I have not written a line of code for “fun” since I graduated from college.
But did you have fun while being payed to write those lines? I hope so.
It’s the easiest method I have to support my addiction to food and shelter.
In 2 days time I'll mark my 27th year as a professional programmer (and just over 40 years since I started programming). I've worked in small companies, big companies, and mega-corporations. I've been a programmer, manager, team lead and CTO. And in doing so I discovered that I don't like managing people, I don't like meetings, and I don't like paperwork. I like long periods of focus. So I'm a software dev/architect…
I used to love the long periods of focus in my 20s, but ever since more life started happening, I can't do those anymore. It turns out my stress tolerance is incredibly low and when the life outside my work is not completely in order (like it rarely is after the 20s), being able to get into the flow state gets very difficult. I wish I was one of those people who could just forget the problems at home, etc. when they…
I ended up going on a self-funded sabbatical to focus on sorting out my personal and internal life, and the #1 change that has led to rediscovering deep focus was starting a mindfulness meditation and yoga habit each morning. These core habits led to changes in how I was relating to the worries and created space for me to sort through the underlying stressors.
YMMV, but I realized that some of the things I was worrying about were just consuming energy (despite being legit concerns), and I started actively reframing worries using some of the exercises in the book “Learned Optimism” (Martin Seligman, 2006). This book also made me realize how deeply hardwired my pessimistic defaults were, and these defaults were the source of a lot of my daily rumination and worry.
All of this to say, if you are at all similar to me, it might be worth considering the lack of ability to find flow a big red flag worth actively investigating. I don’t know if I could’ve avoided burnout, but I’m sufficiently convinced now that internal work is one of the most important (and accessible) ways of addressing this.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’ve been programming professionally for over 25 years. I have not written a line of code for “fun” since I graduated from college.
But did you have fun while being payed to write those lines? I hope so.
Still, I failed to find a career where what I enjoy is tied to what I am getting paid for. I am pretty sure that is the case for most people around the world. Life can be good regardless (and is for me), but actually enjoying what you are doing professionally, that is a cheat code for living well.
In 2 days time I'll mark my 27th year as a professional programmer (and just over 40 years since I started programming). I've worked in small companies, big companies, and mega-corporations. I've been a programmer, manager, team lead and CTO. And in doing so I discovered that I don't like managing people, I don't like meetings, and I don't like paperwork. I like long periods of focus. So I'm a software dev/architect…
In 2 days time I'll mark my 27th year as a professional programmer (and just over 40 years since I started programming). I've worked in small companies, big companies, and mega-corporations. I've been a programmer, manager, team lead and CTO. And in doing so I discovered that I don't like managing people, I don't like meetings, and I don't like paperwork. I like long periods of focus. So I'm a software dev/architect…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have no idea if I am considered "young" (32), but I taught a few classes over the last few semesters to students who were unambiguously young, and I can definitely say that young people coding for fun are definitely out there. A few students of mine would show me little games they were working on, or websites they were building. Sure, they might be doing this a bit for resume-fuel, but it was abundantly obvious to…
The "it's for the resume" is a convenient excuse when people ask you why are you spending hundreds of hours on something that seems pointless but is fun to code.
I definitely do not think these will benefit my resume in any way.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a current undergraduate, programming for fun is ubiquitous in my peers. Surprises me also that the author has to ask.
In a bit of fairness, I know a lot of very competent engineers who do not code for fun at all. Programming is purely a job for them, and then they go home and hack on nothing. There's honestly nothing wrong with that. It's perfectly valid to do something purely for the pay (so long as what you're doing is ethical, obviously). I suspect there are plenty of young people who see the bloated salaries that software engine…
http://macscene.net/home/features/news-archives/item/intervi...
I find it surprising (in a good way) the author could be a programmer for 26 years at Apple. A lot of corporate places I've worked at are always pushing you to progress in to leadership positions; if you aren't moving upwards then you are "managed out" which I always find really sad, the idea that simply being good at your job is now no longer enough. Good on Apple if they don't follow this type of thinking.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Those kinds of managers may not be coders but assuming they are actually good at managing (and know their limitations), they play an important role. It’s important to respect that other people are bringing different things to the table. Everyone’s got different strengths and weaknesses.
> Those kinds of managers may not be coders but assuming they are actually good at managing (and know their limitations), they play an important role. What role is that?