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The passionate developer: I do like my profession, I don't like my job

blog.jonasbandi.net

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Re: The passionate developer: I do like my profession, I don't like my job

#11

Post by imp »

hanskuder wrote: post #4

Do mechanical and chemical engineers have this much mental anguish over their professions?

Sort of, but engineering is more measurable. If you can reduce a component's defect rate, then the company will likely go with your new idea. If you can't reduce a defect rate, then you won't have any lingering feelings that your way would have been better.

Engineers also tend not to have blogs to rant about this stuff, so if they do have anguish they don't publicize it. It's all kind of a generalization though, so YMMV.

Re: The passionate developer: I do like my profession, I don't like my job

#12

Post by pxlpshr »

jcromartie wrote: post #3

I think have become so burnt out that I am now lazy and am not "passionate" anymore. I think it's because I hear my employers telling me that they want me to be "passionate" and, like any jerk, I do exactly the opposite. They say to me: "We want someone who is passionate enough to spend the weekend working on something cool [that they can then give to us]." They assume that my passion for code or building things (or…

Working for a startup can mean a lot more than that if you're not trapped in a mental state of idealism and arrogance. The last startup I was apart of failed (partly due to technical ego), but as a whole it was my real life MBA; a great experience and contributed significantly to personal growth.

Certainly not my place to judge you but if you're so sick and tired of working for someone else — what are you waiting on? If you think working for a startup is challenging, try being the founder of one. Most people can't cut it outside of ~12-24 months.

Re: The passionate developer: I do like my profession, I don't like my job

#14

Post by jcromartie »

pxlpshr wrote: post #12
jcromartie wrote: post #3

I think have become so burnt out that I am now lazy and am not "passionate" anymore. I think it's because I hear my employers telling me that they want me to be "passionate" and, like any jerk, I do exactly the opposite. They say to me: "We want someone who is passionate enough to spend the weekend working on something cool [that they can then give to us]." They assume that my passion for code or building things (or…

Working for a startup can mean a lot more than that if you're not trapped in a mental state of idealism and arrogance. The last startup I was apart of failed (partly due to technical ego), but as a whole it was my real life MBA; a great experience and contributed significantly to personal growth. Certainly not my place to judge you but if you're so sick and tired of working for someone else — what are you waiting on?…

> Certainly not my place to judge you but if you're so sick and tired of working for someone else — what are you waiting on?

Well, what I (think) I am saying is that I have no time or energy for a startup of my own while I'm working at someone else's, and that something has to change to allow me to work towards my own goals. As it is, there are simply no hours left in the day, and even if there were hours the boss wants to own everything I do at any time. So, yeah. I'll work on it.

Re: The passionate developer: I do like my profession, I don't like my job

#15

Post by prpon »

sonofjanoh wrote: post #9
jcromartie wrote: post #3

I think have become so burnt out that I am now lazy and am not "passionate" anymore. I think it's because I hear my employers telling me that they want me to be "passionate" and, like any jerk, I do exactly the opposite. They say to me: "We want someone who is passionate enough to spend the weekend working on something cool [that they can then give to us]." They assume that my passion for code or building things (or…

Couldn't agree more. I feel the same and sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing joining a startup. I agree it is different when it is YOUR startup but on joining one that doesn't have time for your ideas it's pretty painful. In the evening I am shattered...can't put in the hours for my own stuff and all I do is watch it die. Biking (to save money) through the city watching the skyscrapers which housed my office…

Working for a startup taught me more of "how not to screw it up" than anything positive I saw the existing company/founders do. There were some great lessons learnt at the expense of my personal time.

Re: The passionate developer: I do like my profession, I don't like my job

#16

Post by mattm »

sonofjanoh wrote: post #9
jcromartie wrote: post #3

I think have become so burnt out that I am now lazy and am not "passionate" anymore. I think it's because I hear my employers telling me that they want me to be "passionate" and, like any jerk, I do exactly the opposite. They say to me: "We want someone who is passionate enough to spend the weekend working on something cool [that they can then give to us]." They assume that my passion for code or building things (or…

Couldn't agree more. I feel the same and sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing joining a startup. I agree it is different when it is YOUR startup but on joining one that doesn't have time for your ideas it's pretty painful. In the evening I am shattered...can't put in the hours for my own stuff and all I do is watch it die. Biking (to save money) through the city watching the skyscrapers which housed my office…

Same case here. My first job was at MegaCorp but the pay was good and the hours were great. I would be home by 4:30 with lots of energy and time in the day left. I left because of the slow work pace and bureaucracy.

Then went to MediumCorp where the pay was less because I thought I would be happier with the work and would have more opportunity to contribute. I didn't really find much difference and ended up being unhappy that I was making less.

Now I'm at a new company. I have more influence over my work and no bureaucracy but I'm still trading time for money. One good thing I've learned is how fast they get products out there which has been a good lesson for me.

I've also done freelancing full-time which is better in that I get to set my own hours and work with multiple projects but it is not ideal for me.

After a few years in the workforce, I now think the smart thing to do is to find a job that pays the most amount of money for the least amount of work so that I have lots of time and energy left over for working on my own thing.

Re: The passionate developer: I do like my profession, I don't like my job

#17

Post by flooha »

hanskuder wrote: post #4

Do mechanical and chemical engineers have this much mental anguish over their professions?

In my case, it was MUCH worse. I have a BSME and worked as a Product Engineer for 2 years at a spark plug company. I hated it so much, I worked like a dog to get into IT. (There really wasn't much of an IT program at my school when I started and computer engineering was basically mechanical engineering with a computer...sigh) Most engineering work, especially automotive, is extremely boring. I'm sure an M.E. at Nasa is considerably happier, but these types of jobs are extremely rare. Moving to IT was one the of all time best decisions of my life, but it wasn't easy to make the transition.

Re: The passionate developer: I do like my profession, I don't like my job

#18

Post by UncleOxidant »

imp wrote: post #11
hanskuder wrote: post #4

Do mechanical and chemical engineers have this much mental anguish over their professions?

Sort of, but engineering is more measurable. If you can reduce a component's defect rate, then the company will likely go with your new idea. If you can't reduce a defect rate, then you won't have any lingering feelings that your way would have been better. Engineers also tend not to have blogs to rant about this stuff, so if they do have anguish they don't publicize it. It's all kind of a generalization though, so Y…

Wait, you mean we're not engineers? (us Software Engineers, that is)

Re: The passionate developer: I do like my profession, I don't like my job

#19

Post by coliveira »

mattm wrote: post #16
sonofjanoh wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couldn't agree more. I feel the same and sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing joining a startup. I agree it is different when it is YOUR startup but on joining one that doesn't have time for your ideas it's pretty painful. In the evening I am shattered...can't put in the hours for my own stuff and all I do is watch it die. Biking (to save money) through the city watching the skyscrapers which housed my office…

Same case here. My first job was at MegaCorp but the pay was good and the hours were great. I would be home by 4:30 with lots of energy and time in the day left. I left because of the slow work pace and bureaucracy. Then went to MediumCorp where the pay was less because I thought I would be happier with the work and would have more opportunity to contribute. I didn't really find much difference and ended up being unh…

There is something wrong in a profession in which to do better/more work you need to make less money...

Re: The passionate developer: I do like my profession, I don't like my job

#20

Post by californiaguy2 »

jcromartie wrote: post #3

I think have become so burnt out that I am now lazy and am not "passionate" anymore. I think it's because I hear my employers telling me that they want me to be "passionate" and, like any jerk, I do exactly the opposite. They say to me: "We want someone who is passionate enough to spend the weekend working on something cool [that they can then give to us]." They assume that my passion for code or building things (or…

"We want someone who is passionate enough to spend the weekend working on something cool"

Tell them you want more cash and equity for your hard work. If they don't give it to you, quit.

Why are you putting yourself through this torture?

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