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Programming is not a Glamorous Job

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Re: Programming is not a Glamorous Job

#21

Post by TallboyOne »

wildmXranat wrote: post #18
TallboyOne wrote: post #7

I hate these broad sweeping titles on HN. Speak for yourself. I love my job, I work from home in an amazing home office I designed. I filled it with plants, little bonzai trees, art on the wall, inderect lighting for the evenings, and all the best work equipment money can buy. My environment is pretty much an extension of me. I have awesome clients that invite me out for events, I go to programming conferences and ha…

I agree with your level of enthusiasm. As I am in the same field, I can relate to the bad and the good sides of being a developer/contractor etc. There are downsides and frustrations that I encounter on regular basis, and while I have learned to avoid and cope with them, they do exist. Managing relationships in your team, building a rapport with your management and teammates, delivering products that match or exceed…

As a very small side note, I noticed you mentioned nutrition and health.

I recently bought a large frame/large top geek desk. Apparently I'm behind in the times when it comes to this desk, as 4 or 5 of my friends have been using a standing desk for years and I never even knew.

It hasnt arrived yet, but I heard a standing desk will skyrocket your stamina, increase focus for most busy or easy work (usually write algorithms sitting down). It will also fix your posture and help your health greatly overall.

That should help a ton, I am going to write about it after a week of using it.

Re: Programming is not a Glamorous Job

#24

Post by nicholasjarnold »

Stop worrying so much about how other people perceive you and your profession. Anyone worth talking to is going to realize that what they see depicted in a Hollywood film and B(or C)-level shows on Bravo is probably not representative of the vast majority of real experiences in the field.

I say stop worrying, not because I simply don't care, but because no matter what we're needed now and will continue to be needed in the future. If public perception sways a bit and begins to define us as 'lazy slacker partiers', then we should just get back to the keyboard and create something. It's just a function of society trying to come to terms with something that many of them don't have the slightest clue about. We all try to categorize the new and unknown using simplistic stereotypes. It's part of how we build mental models of how the world works.

With time, people will begin to understand more realistically what we do. Until then, let's just enjoy our relatively high job security, satisfaction and compensation while continuing to push technology forward.

Re: Programming is not a Glamorous Job

#26

Post by stuff4ben »

ErikAugust wrote: post #17

As someone who worked more than a dozen jobs that no movie has ever depicted as glamorous before becoming a professional programmer, I can say the pay, benefits, relative career security are amazing. Not to mention, the feeling I get from solving problems and creating things others (and myself) find useful (and fun) for a living. Quit programming for a month and work as a menial worker. See how you feel. I dare you.

I agree. I've worked as a developer in places from startups to financial institutions to large fortune 100 tech companies. Definitely not glamorous but sure beats working fast food that put me through school 15 years ago. I derive my enjoyment from solving problems using a computer and seeing people who use what I create enjoy what I've created. I definitely didn't do it for any sort of fame or glamor.

Re: Programming is not a Glamorous Job

#27

Post by stuff4ben »

TallboyOne wrote: post #7

I hate these broad sweeping titles on HN. Speak for yourself. I love my job, I work from home in an amazing home office I designed. I filled it with plants, little bonzai trees, art on the wall, inderect lighting for the evenings, and all the best work equipment money can buy. My environment is pretty much an extension of me. I have awesome clients that invite me out for events, I go to programming conferences and ha…

I am a corporate programmer and even though I work in a cube farm, I thoroughly enjoy my job. I get paid awesomely (at least compared to all of the startups I used to work for), the hours are great (except this weekend because I'm on call and we just deployed some new code), and I get to use the tools, languages, and machines I want. Maybe the company I work at is an anomaly, but it's definitely FUN FUN FUN for me too!

Programming is fun because I derive a lot of my satisfaction from solving problems using a computer. Seeing end-users enjoying my creations is just icing on the cake.

I get that satisfaction when I worked at a startup, now in my cubefarm, and I imagine even if I were a consultant.

Re: Programming is not a Glamorous Job

#28

Post by TallboyOne »

stuff4ben wrote: post #27
TallboyOne wrote: post #7

I hate these broad sweeping titles on HN. Speak for yourself. I love my job, I work from home in an amazing home office I designed. I filled it with plants, little bonzai trees, art on the wall, inderect lighting for the evenings, and all the best work equipment money can buy. My environment is pretty much an extension of me. I have awesome clients that invite me out for events, I go to programming conferences and ha…

I am a corporate programmer and even though I work in a cube farm, I thoroughly enjoy my job. I get paid awesomely (at least compared to all of the startups I used to work for), the hours are great (except this weekend because I'm on call and we just deployed some new code), and I get to use the tools, languages, and machines I want. Maybe the company I work at is an anomaly, but it's definitely FUN FUN FUN for me to…

Awesome! This puts a smile on my face :)

Re: Programming is not a Glamorous Job

#29

Post by ErikAugust »

stuff4ben wrote: post #26
ErikAugust wrote: post #17

As someone who worked more than a dozen jobs that no movie has ever depicted as glamorous before becoming a professional programmer, I can say the pay, benefits, relative career security are amazing. Not to mention, the feeling I get from solving problems and creating things others (and myself) find useful (and fun) for a living. Quit programming for a month and work as a menial worker. See how you feel. I dare you.

I agree. I've worked as a developer in places from startups to financial institutions to large fortune 100 tech companies. Definitely not glamorous but sure beats working fast food that put me through school 15 years ago. I derive my enjoyment from solving problems using a computer and seeing people who use what I create enjoy what I've created. I definitely didn't do it for any sort of fame or glamor.

Right, and to add:

It's an awesome profession: the tiny chance of becoming rich and/or famous coupled with the safe odds of relatively good pay, benefits, job security.

Every other "rich/famous" profession is completely all-or-nothing: actors, musicians, artists, athletes, etc...

Re: Programming is not a Glamorous Job

#30

Post by fatalerrorx3 »

nicholasjarnold wrote: post #24

Stop worrying so much about how other people perceive you and your profession. Anyone worth talking to is going to realize that what they see depicted in a Hollywood film and B(or C)-level shows on Bravo is probably not representative of the vast majority of real experiences in the field. I say stop worrying, not because I simply don't care, but because no matter what we're needed now and will continue to be needed i…

Good points. What's funny is that by posting this, it's almost like temporary fame, albeit to mostly techies like myself, but none-the-less it's kind of ironic how that happens.
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