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I don't program in my spare time. Does that make me a bad developer?

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Re: I don't program in my spare time. Does that make me a bad developer?

#21

Post by rawsyntax »

unshift wrote: post #5

when i'm working a 9-5 job, the last thing i want to do is go home and program more. i'd rather throw the ball around with the dog or rock out on my guitar. in my experience the people who say "you have to have side projects to be a good developer" are either people who do program in their spare time, or people who want to hire the type of programmers who voluntarily chain themselves to their desk. this is one myth i…

Doctors and lawyers have continuing education requirements that have to be fulfilled to keep their licenses. This is in addition to day job.

Re: I don't program in my spare time. Does that make me a bad developer?

#22

Post by dasil003 »

mirkules wrote: post #18

I mentioned to someone that in my spare time I made iPhone games. They asked, "as a hobby or you trying to make money?" I replied that sure, I'd like to make a few bucks. He said to me "If you let your hobby become your job, what will you do for a hobby then?" At that point, I realized that making a distinction between a hobby and a career path is a good move, and you have to know what you are pursuing. For example,…

I get it, you should be free to enjoy your hobby without money clouding your thinking. Totally agree with that.

On the other hand, I think a hobby that could be something more is totally legit. For instance, I am learning Haskell as a hobby. I'm not really sold on it as a great language for business (yet), but I realize that if I get good enough at it I may be able to shift my career in that direction.

To answer the original question you were asked: If that happens I'll get a new hobby.

Re: I don't program in my spare time. Does that make me a bad developer?

#23

Post by reedF211 »

A good programmer should wake up at 6 am in the morning get a solid 2.5hrs of coding done by 8:30 am, at 8:30 leave for work, work till 6 (it goes without saying that the lunchbreak must be spent trying to learn the Haskell or if you are feeling lazy answering questions on stackoverflow). Commute from 6 to 6:30 (it's a bonus if you listen to a technical podcast during this time and no stuff like TWIT does not count, perhaps audio lectures from the Advanced Algorithms course on MIT OCW). 6:30 to 7:00 time for supper and excellent time to catchup on r/programming and hackernews. 7-8:30pm is the time for relaxation by doing some recreational mathematics, doing problems from project Euler and that proof from The Art of Computer Programming excercises which you have been itching to get a go at! 8:30pm to 1 am code contribute to that open-source project, write patches for the Linux kernal and continue working on your startup.

Anyone who does less programming that what is mentioned above cannot call himself a "good programmer", I would have serious reservations in calling that person even a mediocre programmer.

Re: I don't program in my spare time. Does that make me a bad developer?

#26

Post by impendia »

I am a research mathematician. I work hard, but I also spend a lot of time pursuing other interests such as yoga, swing dancing, and improv comedy. This takes away from the time I do math.

Does this make me less of a mathematician? Of course it does. This is a tautology. I am a mathematician to the extent which I devote my time and energy to learning and doing math.

Sometimes I feel guilty about this, but on reflection, this is a sacrifice I am willing to make. We only get one shot at life, and we have to balance all of the activities we find valuable.

Re: I don't program in my spare time. Does that make me a bad developer?

#27

Post by grok1fy »

unshift wrote: post #5

when i'm working a 9-5 job, the last thing i want to do is go home and program more. i'd rather throw the ball around with the dog or rock out on my guitar. in my experience the people who say "you have to have side projects to be a good developer" are either people who do program in their spare time, or people who want to hire the type of programmers who voluntarily chain themselves to their desk. this is one myth i…

As mentioned, lawyers and doctors are required to stay up to date in their fields in order to continue practicing. In California, lawyers need 25 MCLE credits every 3 years (http://mcle.calbar.ca.gov/) and doctors need 50 CME hours every 2 years (http://www.medbd.ca.gov/licensee/continuing_education.html).

Re: I don't program in my spare time. Does that make me a bad developer?

#28

Post by biafra »

For me it is the other way round. When I program in my spare time, I do it because I need a certain piece of software and no one else (I know of) is building it. I even switched jobs to become better at a specific platform because I was frustrated how slow I am programming for it only in my spare time.

Re: I don't program in my spare time. Does that make me a bad developer?

#29

Post by bad_user »

kenjackson wrote: post #10
raganwald wrote: post #2

Correlation does not equal causation. Asking whether not programming in your spare time makes you a bad developer is the wrong question. The right question is, What is it about certain/many good developers that leads them to program in their spare time? Pursue that something and you may end up programming in your spare time. Or starting a company such that your side project is your job. Or finding something really ex…

The right question is, What is it about certain/many good developers that leads them to program in their spare time? This is a good question, but it does lead me to a thought... why does it seem like most side projects are done by people for whom the predominance of their work appears to be side projects? Let me explain. Most of the programmers who produce large products, don't do much in the way of side projects. Ca…

Linus cooking up Git - that's not a side project; that's what he does for earning a living. They needed Git as a replacement for BitKeeper. I do admire Linus, when he sets his mind on something, he gets things done.

But, about people working for big companies, since you are talking about iOS / WebOS, etc... these people do many times have side projects, but they are internal and in the context of the company they work for, not public. And the cool thing about a big company (versus a startup) is that deadlines are more relaxed (you do have more free time) and you can switch projects when bored to death.

Re: I don't program in my spare time. Does that make me a bad developer?

#30

Post by mikeleeorg »

mirkules wrote: post #18

I mentioned to someone that in my spare time I made iPhone games. They asked, "as a hobby or you trying to make money?" I replied that sure, I'd like to make a few bucks. He said to me "If you let your hobby become your job, what will you do for a hobby then?" At that point, I realized that making a distinction between a hobby and a career path is a good move, and you have to know what you are pursuing. For example,…

I just tell people I have a great job because I'm basically being paid for doing my hobby (web development). Been doing that for ~15 years now and I've still haven't felt any diminished desire for my "hobby", despite it now being my "job".

There are days of frustration, sure - but those pertain more to the business aspects of "monetizing" this hobby (such as dealing with clients when doing contract work), than to the art & craft of the hobby itself.

I don't think a hobby necessarily has to be less enjoyable just because you've made it your job.

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