From disgruntled developer, to founder, to burnout • Hacker News Board

Re: From disgruntled developer, to founder, to burnout

#21

Post by hackula1 » Wed, Oct 02, 2013, 3:56 PM UTC

greenrice wrote: post #18

fro wrote: post #6

In the description of the book the author is pushing, I find this sentence, "A popular trend is to get up at 4am and get some work done before the day’s craziness begins. Others like going to bed at 4am." Do real, professional programmers work this way? It is romantic to think of hacking away in front of a glowing screen at 3am, but I believe most work gets done during the actual work day. Often hacking at night mean…

There seems to be a certain aspect of the night owl that is present in many programmers, I for one am far more productive in the late-afternoon and evening than I am in the morning. Setting a morning-to-evening schedule isn't going to work for a lot of us.

> There seems to be a certain aspect of the night owl that is present in many programmers

This seems likely and could be attributed to the fact that we receive above average artificial light from staring at screens too late into the evening.

Re: From disgruntled developer, to founder, to burnout

#22

Post by badman_ting » Wed, Oct 02, 2013, 6:14 PM UTC

jtreminio wrote: post #3

> Offices showered in natural light. Large windows overlooking a lush green park, playful decor, walls covered in old design projects, sofas in the lounge, shelves full of books on design and marketing. A relaxed culture. > Nobody had any real idea how programmers function. How we think, how we work, what we need to feel productive. For a long time I was the only programmer on the team. This isn't pointed only at you…

Indeed, a gigantic lack of perspective seems to be an occupational hazard.

Re: From disgruntled developer, to founder, to burnout

#23

Post by EdwardDiego » Wed, Oct 02, 2013, 10:52 PM UTC

JanneVee wrote: post #19

knieveltech wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked in the trades (carpentry, roofing, ironwork) for years before I switched careers and became a programmer. The biggest adjustment for me was learning not to cringe whenever one of my coworkers goes on a hyper-entitled rant about working conditions or how our codebase and our company is archaic and shitty because we aren't using .

There are working conditions within software development we can complain about. Starting of with people thinking just because it is not physical labour we can work much longer hours. Yes up to a point we can work a little longer. But if people get sleep deprived then you might as well have free beer instead of sodas in the fridge. Just google "sleep deprivation drunk equivalent" and you will find a bunch research.

Our fridge has free beer and cola, so best of both worlds.

Re: From disgruntled developer, to founder, to burnout

#24

Post by knieveltech » Thu, Oct 03, 2013, 1:20 AM UTC

JanneVee wrote: post #19

knieveltech wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked in the trades (carpentry, roofing, ironwork) for years before I switched careers and became a programmer. The biggest adjustment for me was learning not to cringe whenever one of my coworkers goes on a hyper-entitled rant about working conditions or how our codebase and our company is archaic and shitty because we aren't using .

There are working conditions within software development we can complain about. Starting of with people thinking just because it is not physical labour we can work much longer hours. Yes up to a point we can work a little longer. But if people get sleep deprived then you might as well have free beer instead of sodas in the fridge. Just google "sleep deprivation drunk equivalent" and you will find a bunch research.

Spend 10 hours in front of an industrial milling machine cranking out identical bars for cable trays, or my personal favourite, the epic 22 hour weekend roofing job in 95 degree heat. Just for laughs imagine your skillset isn't particularly in demand and the reality of your situation is you do this shit day in and day out or you're homeless in a matter of weeks.

Sure, there's stuff that crops up in our industry that royally sucks (game industry crunch time comes to mind), but it's relative, and given the amount of demand in the market for programmers, one could argue voluntary.

Re: From disgruntled developer, to founder, to burnout

#25

Post by JanneVee » Thu, Oct 03, 2013, 10:36 AM UTC

knieveltech wrote: post #24

JanneVee wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are working conditions within software development we can complain about. Starting of with people thinking just because it is not physical labour we can work much longer hours. Yes up to a point we can work a little longer. But if people get sleep deprived then you might as well have free beer instead of sodas in the fridge. Just google "sleep deprivation drunk equivalent" and you will find a bunch research.

Spend 10 hours in front of an industrial milling machine cranking out identical bars for cable trays, or my personal favourite, the epic 22 hour weekend roofing job in 95 degree heat. Just for laughs imagine your skillset isn't particularly in demand and the reality of your situation is you do this shit day in and day out or you're homeless in a matter of weeks. Sure, there's stuff that crops up in our industry that…

Yeah, the decision to apply myself to learn programming was a couple of days in plastic factory. I never wanted to do that work again. Yes sometimes programmers complain like spoiled brats. But I've heard a couple of complaints and have had a couple myself that aren't in the spoiled territory. (and I admit I've complained like a spoiled brat myself a couple times also.)