Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If work was always enjoyable, then they wouldn't need to pay you to do it. I can't pay my bills with enjoyable.
what bills do you have if you are permanently joyful?
Food and Shelter.
Programming is a Terrible Job
141–150 of 296 posts
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
>I always have IRC and messages going so I can talk to people a lot of the time In a lot of software shops, you are not allowed to chat, use IM or even bring headphones (like here)
You know, I will give you that. My experience and I would venture to say most of the comments are based on people working in North America (or a similar place). I would say that likely you work for a company that is either based in India or another similar country. I can definitely see how they would treat software developers like a sweat shop. And its tough as "change your job" doesn't readily apply.
I'm not sure iSnow is in another part of the world, because there are actually plenty of companies in North America that do not allow programmers to bring headphones or use IM at work.
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had a colleague once that wanted to invest 4-8 hours writing a script that would save her about 1 hour each time it is run. The script was expected to be ran about once a week. She did the wrong thing and asked her boss. "Not enough time, there's more urgent things to do." She then lost an hour per week, contributing to the general sense of urgency that she lived under. Of course, this wasn't the only such script s…
frankly, it sounds like she could have simply taken the initiative and wrote the script on her own time. seems like she could have simply done it over a weekend, and it would have been worth it if she truly felt that it would save her an hour per week.
> it sounds like she could have simply taken the initiative and wrote the script on her own time
I agree, except no one should ever have to work on their own time. Personally, I think she should have written the script on company time.
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#144I have to agree with the notion that at the end of the day, your job is simply your source of income. Some people are fortunate enough to be in a position where their job is fun for them. Good for them. But I doubt even they have sunshine and rainbow filled days one after the other in the office. There's always the shitty task that comes up that WILL land on you. That's why your job isn't your free time (well, maybe it is for some people). Don't get me wrong, I REALLY enjoy programming. But that's why I have numerous side projects that I'm working on.
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#145> Sometimes I also think if it would be different if I was born several decades earlier.
sigh
I cringe whenever I hear this in any context. If you find yourself feeling this way, you should strive to do the things the next generation will feel this way about.
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had a colleague once that wanted to invest 4-8 hours writing a script that would save her about 1 hour each time it is run. The script was expected to be ran about once a week. She did the wrong thing and asked her boss. "Not enough time, there's more urgent things to do." She then lost an hour per week, contributing to the general sense of urgency that she lived under. Of course, this wasn't the only such script s…
frankly, it sounds like she could have simply taken the initiative and wrote the script on her own time. seems like she could have simply done it over a weekend, and it would have been worth it if she truly felt that it would save her an hour per week.
Yep. The worst thing in the world is to willingly waste your time.
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wow. Who is to say every single professional athlete and musician and actor enjoys every single second of their career? Athletes' bodies are taxed to the maxed. Most of the above are in the public light 24/7, they might feel unsafe and have to hire bodyguards. That's not something everyone is going to enjoy. These people work hard, sometimes long hours. They are on the road, sometimes away from their families for lon…
>Who is to say every single professional athlete and musician and actor enjoys every single second of their career? Why does this "every single second" strawman keep cropping up? The complaint was not that every single second of programming isn't glorious, it is that every single second is shit. The idea is not "other jobs are perfect because they are fun all the time", it is "other jobs are better because they aren'…
I wasn't intending to attack a stawman. I thought the parent implied that. I am sorry if I mistook the meaning of their comment.
Personally, I don't find single second of my job to be shit. I really enjoy my job for the most part. There is some time spend on mind numbing tasks, but I tend to take those in stride. I wouldn't want to do anything else really. There's pros and cons to every occupation.
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#148 > It is now time to conclude this long-winded rant.
> I would like to end with a piece of advice for those who
> are thinking of becoming a software engineer. My advice
> would be - do not become a "software engineer". I know
> there is a lot of demand right now, but 1) the demand
> won't last forever; 2) most of the "software engineer"
> jobs are boring as shit.
Or pick a general boring thing and automate it away. Thats also hard.
Or perhaps enable non-programmers to write programs for their own problem domain without having to learn much (if any) programming, so you don't have to do the "boring shit". Hows that for a challenge? :)
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#149Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If work was always enjoyable, then they wouldn't need to pay you to do it. Why do football players, musicians and movie actors get payed 1000x as much as the software engineers who made the technology to make possible their success? TV, Internet, radio, now all HD quality. So that some people can enjoy their work and earn millions while we who invent and produce the infrastructure should suck it up and call it work…
Wow. Who is to say every single professional athlete and musician and actor enjoys every single second of their career? Athletes' bodies are taxed to the maxed. Most of the above are in the public light 24/7, they might feel unsafe and have to hire bodyguards. That's not something everyone is going to enjoy. These people work hard, sometimes long hours. They are on the road, sometimes away from their families for lon…
So basically the takeaway from all of this is that instead of walking on the backs of the downtrodden, all those immigrants, infrastructure people, poultry producers and programmers should be paid a hell of a lot larger portion of the profits.
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#150noobs gonna noob.