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Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

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Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#11

Post by weq »

jlangenauer wrote: post #3

It can be. Certainly for me, the joy I got from experimenting with tech pretty much declined in the decade or so since I started working full time with computers. Now, after the working day, I try to avoid computers, preferring instead things like cooking, walking outside, or playing piano. So I can’t give you any advice, other than to say your fears are well-founded.

I used to be a gamer, then started to code (age 13) Age 21, got first job coding, stopped gaming. Age 25, stopped using tech or computers after work. Age 35, working remotely (coding), want to go off-grid, live a more subsistence lifestyle.

I _still love to code, have a deep passion for it_, i love to create; but anti-tech in general. I call out my phone-abusing friends, and have become very cynical to the whole tech-pr0n-bro-startup hype machine.

They used to call me a nerd at school, because i would skip sport to game/create websites/do infrastructure for pocket money (1998). Now everyone is the hopelessly addicted tech addict they looked down on, and im the only one that apparently can see it.

I will not be letting my child interact with tech until they are sufficently capable of understanding the marketing behind it. Seeing babies who cant get a nappy change without an ipad in their face makes me wonder if the future of tech is anything more then bodyless entities interacting in vRooms with 1000s of companies tapped into your thought streams tailing your dreams to suite their next product launch.

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#12

Post by peanutgal2600 »

All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy.

Call it discrimination, but when I interview people for my team I filter out those who don't have lives or a multitude of interests / passions. I just don't want to be around robots 40-50 hours per week. I apply that same discrimination in my personal and romantic life as well. After 25 years, a computer is just a burden.

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#13

Post by GaelFG »

It's more easily said than done but not every software programming job need to lead to burnout, especially of you are not looking for maximizing earnings.

It may vary individualy but switching context/environnement/project is enought for me to avoid feeling being at work while doing hobby project, so I would advice you to go for it if you like coding, more practice will lead to improvements on your side project productivity.

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#14

Post by Ballas »

It depends on the person. I have found that as long as the work you do at home is different enough, it could boost your productivity at work. Ideally, it should relax you and lower the odds of burnout - if it doesn't, perhaps it is not a good idea.

RSI is a more serious problem, I suggest sorting it out as soon as possible. The split keyboard suggestion is an excellent one.

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#15

Post by Ballas »

rdbell wrote: post #4

Consider trying an ortholinear split keyboard like the Ergodox EZ for your RSI. I was starting to experience wrist pain after several 12-hour days of vim. Ergodox solved the problem for me. The learning process is annoying and you'll probably be tempted to give up during the first couple weeks, but the benefits are worth the learning curve.

The Ergodox was like a magic solution for me too. Another plus is having the arrows on a layer which means I can use any editor/ide and avoid emacs-pinky at the same time.

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#16

Post by truth_be_told »

The answer is simple; if you do NOT need the money from working as a SE in the Tech Industry, don't go in. You will burnout. It will affect your brain and health in ways whose consequences we do not yet fully understand because the effect is cumulative over time. Even if you don't dramatically break down one day, you will be worn down in ways which you may find hard to reconcile with your past self.

Now Tech itself is interesting and enticing. The problem is that the "Tech Development Industry" has made the environment around it poisonous. Everything is judged according to its monetary value, insane competitive pace and work schedule, no planned time for rest, recuperation and recharge, constantly shifting landscapes, herculean demands on your brain as regards coping with complexity and finally, quite complex human interaction dynamics. For some reason the industry completely ignores the psychological aspects involved though it has been studied from the beginning (see the works of Gerald Weinberg) and we now know more about the human brain and how it works. I have come to the conclusion that working in the tech industry is "death by a thousand cuts" where the cuts are in your psyche/brain draining the "joy of life" out slowly.

Very few people are able to come to some sort of understanding between their work and passion such that the downward decline is arrested and settle down to a comfortable plateau.

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#18

Post by Kaiyou »

AlchemistCamp wrote: post #17

Get a truly ergonomic keyboard. I like the Kinesis Advantage 2 for home, and the Kinesis Freestyle Edge when traveling. Both are more expensive than the somewhat ergonomic keyboards made by MS or Logitech, but both are well worth it!

Unfortunately, I never found those truly ergonomic keyboards available with a QWERTZ-layout, which isn't just a software problem, since German has four letters more (äÄ, öÖ, üÜ, ß) and those ergonomic QWERTY keyboards never account for this, so the value is diminished.

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#19

Post by blablabla123 »

weq wrote: post #11
jlangenauer wrote: post #3

It can be. Certainly for me, the joy I got from experimenting with tech pretty much declined in the decade or so since I started working full time with computers. Now, after the working day, I try to avoid computers, preferring instead things like cooking, walking outside, or playing piano. So I can’t give you any advice, other than to say your fears are well-founded.

I used to be a gamer, then started to code (age 13) Age 21, got first job coding, stopped gaming. Age 25, stopped using tech or computers after work. Age 35, working remotely (coding), want to go off-grid, live a more subsistence lifestyle. I _still love to code, have a deep passion for it_, i love to create; but anti-tech in general. I call out my phone-abusing friends, and have become very cynical to the whole tech…

> have become very cynical to the whole tech-pr0n-bro-startup hype machine

Like most people probably I change my job every 1.5-2 years and have become increasingly better at spotting companies where this culture is in place. At the same time I notice there is increase in non-toxic cultures, I think there is hope... ;)

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#20

Post by nestorherre »

For some it is too much, for others not. A lot of people work from 9-5 as developers, and when they get home they put in a couple more hours on their side projects. Others can't stand even looking at a computer afterwards. In your case, you will have to find out, but if you're already asking and have that doubt, I believe that it MIGHT be too much.
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