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I just want to code (2023)

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Re: I just want to code (2023)

#71

Post by zeroc8 »

ramon156 wrote: post #68
alkonaut wrote: post #59

Do many people hobby code with that entrepreneur mindset thing? Or sit down to play guitar thinking they want to make a hit and feeling bad if they just noodle some cover songs? What a miserable existence that must be. How do you get that way? Should we blame LinkedIn or what is it?

Because having your own product is something that on paper sounds extremely rewarding. If you do it well, the maintenance might be less than the work you put in your actual job. Some people want to break out of the cycle, and you can't really blame them for it when the economy is hurting working people (ofcourse excluding that writing software is relative to other jobs a cushion job)

It's not a cushion job. At least not when you are working on a huge codebase together with lots of other developers.

Re: I just want to code (2023)

#72

Post by riehwvfbk »

cortesoft wrote: post #36
charlie0 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to be rich either, but it would be awesome to FIRE before I'm 65.

You can do that on a normal salary, too.

But only if you get incredibly lucky. Even in the Bay Area where many an employee became a millionaire the chance of that being you is still a single digit percentage.

Re: I just want to code (2023)

#73

Post by Arisaka1 »

alkonaut wrote: post #59

Do many people hobby code with that entrepreneur mindset thing? Or sit down to play guitar thinking they want to make a hit and feeling bad if they just noodle some cover songs? What a miserable existence that must be. How do you get that way? Should we blame LinkedIn or what is it?

I will preface this by saying that, I decided to stop pursuing a job as a software developer because my 2 years of work experience mean nothing in the job market.

Now that I ended up finding a job as a waiter (of all things) I finally enjoy learning new things again. Before, I would get chronically stressed researching the job market, gathering keywords from job openings, consuming Udemy courses at 2x speed, using AI to plan the project and scaffold it. I was writing projects to save my life, because my finances are just that bad.

Surrendering and giving up the pursuit of work made all this mental load go away, and ironically made me progress in a personal skill level faster than anything else. I can now learn deeply. I can tinker with code to my heart's content. I can see all the warnings. I can research why this and that happen, without feeling like I have to "sigma grindset" every second.

Perhaps when the storm is gone with the whole "AI is gonna take our jobs" and the market demanding every keyword match, and I feel more confident in myself I'll try to get professional again. Or not. All I know is that I love programming.

Re: I just want to code (2023)

#74

Post by milesrout »

Juliate wrote: post #67
blahgeek wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's more common because one doing only coding can get paid reasonably. On the contrary, few people who "bake cakes for fun, make music for fun, write poems, novels, play chess for fun, practice sports, grow potatos" can get paid enough for a living, so that's usually not an option to consider. (Which is the reason that I find us coding people very lucky.)

> only coding can get paid reasonably If you happen to work for a company that's big enough to pay reasonably. And even that is still a very temporary accident of times. There was a time with plenty (comparatively to today) of tailors, living very reasonably, because there was a demand, and the means. Today, you're lucky if you manage to find one that's in your city, and even more if he/she's not too expensive (that…

I'm not sure that is actually true about tailors. My understanding is that most clothing was homemade. I assume people didnt generally make their own shoes but they made their own textiles and basic garments and most people didnt have many garments.

Maybe there is a specific time period you are referring to where this was common but as I understand it, pre-industrially there were very few artisans selling products for money. Clothes were made largely by women and girls for their families.

Re: I just want to code (2023)

#75

Post by milesrout »

mncharity wrote: post #23
codr7 wrote: post #5

I've found that just writing code only takes me so far, I need to share as well to feel good about it. But sharing anything outside of the ordinary with the world means painting a pretty big target on your back. On the positive side, it also opens up an avenue for getting paid. My point is that if you start with the fun and let it grow from there, and you're willing to go through the discomfort of sharing, it doesn't…

> share as well to feel good about it. But I wish to share, but not to helicopter parent. I've long felt this case ill served, from 1995 Perl CPAN's "you own the package name" (vs author -packagename-version triples), to 2025 github's impoverished support for communities of forks. No "past me wrote this; present me frees it to jam; future me isn't involved - play well together, and maybe someday I'll listen in or dro…

[dead]

Re: I just want to code (2023)

#76

Post by swoorup »

IvanK_net wrote: post #45

I have no idea why they mention coding. It is the same in any kind of job. You can bake cakes for fun, make music for fun, write poems, novels, play chess for fun, practice sports, grow potatos ... At a certain stage, you realize that in order to be able to do only that job, you must make someone pay you for it. You must do it in a way (or in a volume) which makes others happy. The fact that it makes you happy is not…

One can combat it by just choosing discipline, grit, perseverance and stop boxing themselves into angel vs devil kind of thinking. You are either working for self or working for someone else.

Life is rather what you make of it than the society perception of it.

Re: I just want to code (2023)

#77

Post by rorylaitila »

I've thought that recently there are things I'm willing to build, things I'm willing to sell, and things I'm willing to support. My desire for each is not in equal measure. There are vastly more things I will build for myself then I can sell, and there are a lot of things I like selling but I hate supporting. Only when I feel the trifecta do I release it to the public. The rest I tell myself I can just enjoy the process of building and throwing it away if I want, it doesn't matter.

Re: I just want to code (2023)

#78

Post by yapyap »

Arisaka1 wrote: post #73
alkonaut wrote: post #59

Do many people hobby code with that entrepreneur mindset thing? Or sit down to play guitar thinking they want to make a hit and feeling bad if they just noodle some cover songs? What a miserable existence that must be. How do you get that way? Should we blame LinkedIn or what is it?

I will preface this by saying that, I decided to stop pursuing a job as a software developer because my 2 years of work experience mean nothing in the job market. Now that I ended up finding a job as a waiter (of all things) I finally enjoy learning new things again. Before, I would get chronically stressed researching the job market, gathering keywords from job openings, consuming Udemy courses at 2x speed, using AI…

In all seriousness, being able to pinpoint what is causing the possible stress / load and making choices to get rid of that is pretty amazing, props!

Though as for the job market, I’m sure the AI hype will blow over but I don’t think it’ll remain silent for long, there’ll be another nonsensical trend within reach.

Tech needs to keep innovating to keep investors happy and keep investing. That’s why it’s going this AI bubble route. Cause they don’t have any groundbreaking innovations at the moment but want to keep the investors they got when the web was newer and was worthy of the real hype.

Re: I just want to code (2023)

#79

Post by TrackerFF »

At least for me, I enjoy trying to solve problems using code. Kind of like how some people enjoy solving cross-words, math problems, and what have you.

As for the larger things that could potentially lead to a business, those types of problems usually come from something I encounter at work. If I'm stuck using software that sucks, identify some obvious demand, etc.

Re: I just want to code (2023)

#80

Post by Juliate »

varjag wrote: post #69
Juliate wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> only coding can get paid reasonably If you happen to work for a company that's big enough to pay reasonably. And even that is still a very temporary accident of times. There was a time with plenty (comparatively to today) of tailors, living very reasonably, because there was a demand, and the means. Today, you're lucky if you manage to find one that's in your city, and even more if he/she's not too expensive (that…

Come on, coding is universally at a premium compared to other trades. Naturally you wouldn't have a FAANG salary at an outsourcing farm overseas but it'll certainly provide you with comfortable living by local standards.

> coding is universally at a premium compared to other trades

It has been and it still is at this time. Just saying that it won't last.

The existential threat, and perpetual adaptation to technology musicians (classical as well as contemporary) have met since the invention of sound recording and its developments, is coming for software developers too.

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