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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

#21

Post by imp »

UncleOxidant wrote: post #18
imp wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)

The original article used the word developer, so I just used engineer to refer to the other type of profession. I wasn't trying to suggest anything, just being more concise while writing a comment.

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

#22

Post by benatkin »

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…

I think most startup founders would like to avoid hiring a programmer who was burnt out. While it might help the programmer who was burnt out, that's not really the goal of hiring someone. Someone who has felt burnt out in the last several months is likely to have much less stamina than someone who hasn't.

I'm not even sure if working for a startup is one of the best ways to recover from burnout, in the early stages of recovery. In many cases, the recipe for curing something is different from the recipe for preventing something. Not coding at all for a few weeks might be a better way to undo some of the damage caused by working in an unmotivating environment than trying to jump into a more intense job.

I see a lot of people advocating taking a vacation for the sake of vacationing (not just recovery) as a way to deal with burnout. While I haven't tried it myself (my last couple of trips were to conferences) I've heard the advice repeated enough that I'm willing to give it a shot.

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

#23

Post by mattm »

coliveira wrote: post #19
mattm wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

In retrospect I made some poor decisions as a result of my inexperience but I agree with you. I have found that if you are more productive you are just given more to do. The X-hour work day is a horrible system for programmers that tends to lead to mediocrity over time. Unfortunately I don't have a better solution outside of starting one's own business.

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

#24

Post by dasil003 »

sofal wrote: post #8
hanskuder wrote: post #4

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

I have often wondered that myself. It does seem like engineers have less angst about it because they have been trained since school to play by all the strict rules, standards, and best practices that have been drilled into them. It's possible that software development attracts more creative, nonconformist people than engineering because there is a much higher barrier for creativity and self-direction in engineering.

success, failure, performance and ability are all easier to measure in physical engineering disciplines than in software.

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

#25

Post by berntb »

benatkin wrote: post #22
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…

I think most startup founders would like to avoid hiring a programmer who was burnt out. While it might help the programmer who was burnt out, that's not really the goal of hiring someone. Someone who has felt burnt out in the last several months is likely to have much less stamina than someone who hasn't. I'm not even sure if working for a startup is one of the best ways to recover from burnout, in the early stages…

I can work hard, but I need regular vacations. This is from my experience, your mileage will vary.

I think the trick is to take vacation before burnout feelings. Otherwise, you spend a month just staring into a wall.

If you get vacation a bit more often, then you can do something nice instead (travel is always good; try e.g. scuba diving, wind surfing or hang gliding).

That vacation will probably be a memory for life.

(After writing this, I'm going to go book a vacation for February! It will also give me time to get back into functional programming again, I love that it is becoming popular.)

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

#26

Post by benatkin »

berntb wrote: post #25
benatkin wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think most startup founders would like to avoid hiring a programmer who was burnt out. While it might help the programmer who was burnt out, that's not really the goal of hiring someone. Someone who has felt burnt out in the last several months is likely to have much less stamina than someone who hasn't. I'm not even sure if working for a startup is one of the best ways to recover from burnout, in the early stages…

I can work hard, but I need regular vacations. This is from my experience, your mileage will vary. I think the trick is to take vacation before burnout feelings. Otherwise, you spend a month just staring into a wall. If you get vacation a bit more often, then you can do something nice instead (travel is always good; try e.g. scuba diving, wind surfing or hang gliding). That vacation will probably be a memory for life…

Yeah, if you let yourself get burnt out, even if you plan fun activities while you're on vacation, the burnout will probably take away from it. I went on a sailboat tour while I was on vacation while feeling burnt out, and I remember alternating between enjoying the ride and feeling sad.

I'm glad I helped you remind yourself to book your vacation. :)

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