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Hello, World

hello-world.io

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Re: Hello, World

#91

Post by mikeg8 »

sergiosgc wrote: post #54
circlefavshape wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You need an active switch-off. "Relaxing" won't do it, you need to absorb yourself in something totally different

Something physically taxing and which requires complete attention. My best example is skiing. Try to think about a hard problem at work, while doing 15mph on a black slope, and you'll soon be hugging a tree or doing a five point yard sale[1]. Of course, you generally can't ski often enough to relax. Other activities abound. Tennis occupies mind and body, most team sports too. Swimming, cycling and running don't cut i…

30mph*

If I'm only doing 15, i bet I'm still thinking abut work :P

Re: Hello, World

#92

Post by gmfawcett »

chuhnk wrote: post #35

The tech industry for the majority attracts like minded people. We tend to have an all on our nothing mentality. We don't do it on purpose, it's just how we're wired. We work endlessly, hours upon hours, and at some point it starts to take its toll. The mental burn becomes too much, it wears on you. Eventually there is only one option, to walk away, for some time at least. I wish we were able to find balance. I've be…

Walking away or burning out isn't an inevitable outcome. We are all capable of learning new behaviours. It's a learnable skill to notice when you're starting to burn out, and then to take a step back, rest, and correct your behaviour.

Sometimes we have to remind ourselves (and our teams, and our managers) that, in spite of deadline pressures, software development is often more like a marathon than a sprint. Long-distance effort requires personal changes in goal-setting, planning, preparation, and ongoing practice --- all of which can be learned.

Health care professionals have a very high burnout rate, and to address this, "self care" is often stressed in their educational programs. Maybe this should be incorporated into software development education as well.

Re: Hello, World

#93

Post by dismal2 »

probably_wrong wrote: post #48

Maybe I'm just cynical, but I feel this article plugs very well into another article I read this month: "What nobody told me about small farming: I can’t make a living"[1]. [1] http://www.salon.com/2015/02/10/what_nobody_told_me_about_sm...

I got the sense from the article that he wasn't just farming, maybe he is doing some form of sustainable living but he says he's building tiny houses too which would probably be the main income.

Re: Hello, World

#94

Post by sergiosgc »

mikeg8 wrote: post #91
sergiosgc wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something physically taxing and which requires complete attention. My best example is skiing. Try to think about a hard problem at work, while doing 15mph on a black slope, and you'll soon be hugging a tree or doing a five point yard sale[1]. Of course, you generally can't ski often enough to relax. Other activities abound. Tennis occupies mind and body, most team sports too. Swimming, cycling and running don't cut i…

30mph* If I'm only doing 15, i bet I'm still thinking abut work :P

I learned to ski as an adult. I get to 30mph comfortably (my max gps tracking was at 72km/h), but certainly not on difficult slopes. I need to find a good stretch of straight wide slope so I can schuss and pray at the same time :-)

Re: Hello, World

#95

Post by chucksmash »

jwmoz wrote: post #70

This rings true. I'm 30, have a well paid programming job, but I just don't care that much about it anymore. I used to be so passionate and enthusiastic. But now I feel like there's more to life than banging out code. Unfortunately there's not much else I know other than the internet and the fact it's currently making me a lot more money than 95% of my friends. So that leaves me ultimately disenchanted with nowhere t…

With money comes options. I think by default, the option most 30 years choose is to continue living paycheck to paycheck, but to do so in a more extravagant manner.

If you aren't already, consider downsizing, paying off your debts and saving an aggressive percentage of your income. It won't make much of a difference in the short term but you are buying yourself more options down the road. If you can put $3,000 a month away from now until 45 for instance, an 8% annual rate of return would put you at a cool one million in cash on hand. At least if you do that your current unfulfilling job is moving you in the right direction rather than just keeping you afloat in a nice apartment with a nice car.

(That's not to say that you should stay in an unfulfilling job forever - just that you should make hay while the sun is shining).

Re: Hello, World

#97

Post by Kurtz79 »

Nicholas_C wrote: post #77
jwmoz wrote: post #70

This rings true. I'm 30, have a well paid programming job, but I just don't care that much about it anymore. I used to be so passionate and enthusiastic. But now I feel like there's more to life than banging out code. Unfortunately there's not much else I know other than the internet and the fact it's currently making me a lot more money than 95% of my friends. So that leaves me ultimately disenchanted with nowhere t…

>But now I feel like there's more to life than banging out code. Have you thought about moving "up" into management?

This is somehow frowned upon by programmers (as selling yourself out) but as someone that took the plunge it is something I really suggest doing, if you are getting bored or just want to try new things.

You are presented with a new set of challenges and another point of view that, if anything, will make you appreciate more other roles and give you a better view of what delivering a product or a project entails, how different parts in a company interact, and how they are dependent on each other. More than moving "up" it really more like "sideways".

Also, if your company is receptive enough you could ask for an experience in another department, like sales or QA, or testing.

You can go back any time: a normal career spans decades, decisions are rarely definitive.

Re: Hello, World

#99

Post by kghose »

glenntzke wrote: post #52

How did you get back to the software industry so easily after a long industry break working as a bartender... I would like to read the response to this question. I think there are many software engineers out there who would like to take a break from office and/or coding jobs to work simply – be it bartending, woodworking, volunteering – using their hands and interacting with a diverse community of humans. As someone…

I find that owning a house gives me my weekly fix of wanting to build and fix things.

Re: Hello, World

#100

Post by personlurking »

saganus wrote: post #82
jwmoz wrote: post #70

This rings true. I'm 30, have a well paid programming job, but I just don't care that much about it anymore. I used to be so passionate and enthusiastic. But now I feel like there's more to life than banging out code. Unfortunately there's not much else I know other than the internet and the fact it's currently making me a lot more money than 95% of my friends. So that leaves me ultimately disenchanted with nowhere t…

Maybe save some money and go travel for a few months? After I finished college I used all my savings to travel to Japan for a month and a half (I wish it'd been longer) and after returning home, I felt like a I just had a very nice reset. Like cleaning the slate allowing me to start fresh. Maybe you could use a hiatus as well. It's not necessary to go live in a farm for that. Go explore some place you have always wan…

I second this. If a jwmoz can go remote, I'd look towards viewing travel as something that can be done for a 2-3 month span (not just a week-long vacation), then go live on the other side of the world for that amount of time. It's so easy to do if one's work is remote, and now that there's Airbnb, it's even easier. The OP may surprise himself.

I'm on year 6 abroad and very likely make a small fraction of what jwmoz makes (I'm a VA).

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