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I no longer build software

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Re: I no longer build software

#221

Post by qz2 »

chpmrc wrote: post #208
DarkWiiPlayer wrote: post #168

It seems like nowadays you just can't make money building interesting things anymore. Most of the available programming work is really just writing glue code to make big software systems work as intended, to the point where it can feel more like writing configuration files than actual programming. Put simply, 98% of programming these days is scripting. On the other hand, you have lots of fun things one can do with co…

I can order a comfy car anywhere I am with the tap of a button. I can order food from hundreds of restaurants and have it delivered in less than 30 mins with the tap of a button. I can book flights and hotels with the tap of a button. I can play with friends in virtual reality and actually sweat. I can watch a live stream of SpaceX launching reusable rockets in space. I could buy a car that is almost fully "self driv…

To be fair we could do nearly all of that before without much of an issue.

Now we inherit the overhead of the software, demand pricing, apps that are made of shit and string (uber eats I'm looking at you) and zero customer service...

Re: I no longer build software

#222

Post by SamBam »

CyberRabbi wrote: post #107
nix23 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>maintenance scripts or plumbing between old APIs A big No from me, looks like we just have different tastes.

Both are grunt work, the point is that manual labor grunt work is just as bad or worse. Do you do manual labor?

You keep saying this like it's an objective fact. It's not.

Running a bandsaw 20 times might sound to you like the epitome of boredom. To me, a (poor) woodworking perfectionist (i.e. I'm always trying to make my work furniture-grade, but usually failing) it's an exercise in constant concentration and error-correction. To a master, it can be the epitome of mindfulness.

Re: I no longer build software

#223

Post by XCSme »

lxrbst wrote: post #147

While I occasionally dream about working on cars or motorcycles at times instead of sitting in front of a computer all day, I think we tend to forget how good of a career developing is. When we picture our dream of doing a simple trade, we only think of the most awesome part of that trade. If I'm a car mechanic, most of it too is just trivial oil and tire changes or changing a basic part of two - not working on engin…

> most of it too is just trivial oil and tire changes or changing a basic part of two

I bet that it feels better and more rewarding than updating a dependency and spending 2 days fixing all the errors caused by updating, especially knowing that you will have to do the same thing in a few months.

There is something that feels good when you create/fix/improve a real object compared to a software one.

Re: I no longer build software

#224

Post by notacoward »

fsloth wrote: post #175
notacoward wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good for you. No, really. I wish you nothing but the best. But that's now . After some years, when you have already secured a relatively decent life, your perspective on the value of continuing to do it might change. In fact, it would be rather amazing if it didn't. Yes, it's absolutely a privileged position, but it's still how I feel and how I suspect a lot of programmers my age feel. You can't dismiss our reality a…

I don't think you can secure a decent life by programming outside of US - if this is understood as position of comfortable financial independence. I'm a programmer, my income is in the top 10th percentile, but that just means I'm in the upper middle class with the privilege to pay more taxes. I need to work until I get to retirement to secure myself financially.

> I need to work until I get to retirement

That is true by definition. No matter how much or how little you make, it remains true. The question is: when do you get to retirement? Making a lot of money makes it a lot sooner.

Re: I no longer build software

#225

Post by vncecartersknee »

I haven't even written a single line of 'code' at work in maybe six months now, everything is done in xml configuration files, a bit of sql here and there. Last job before this was more or less the same. Since I was a kid all I wanted to do was be a programmer, I don't really even feel like an engineer or a programmer anymore I just feel like I 'use' a computer all day it's weird. It's like a totally different part of the brain. I think I actually hate computers but I've no idea how to do anything else.

Re: I no longer build software

#226

Post by hamaluik »

intotheabyss wrote: post #143

I'm a mechanical engineer in aerospace looking to move to software. I like the idea of setting up an office at home and working for myself. Is software really this bad, as all of the comments here suggest? Should I make the jump to software from a career in which I have a decade of experience? I just find aerospace boring, unimaginative, stressful and low paying, and if I could work on just building code for web apps…

I think the grass is always greener on the other side. I have a BSc and MSc in biomechanical engineering, was never able to get / keep a job in engineering for long but what I did do sucked—way more rote activities and way less actual problem solving than I was promised. Fell back to software development, my pay has gone up considerably but it is still a lot of rote activities and less problem solving than promised. So far the most interesting stuff I've gotten to do was when working either alone or on a very tiny team (2-3 people)—then you still have a ton of boring work, but you also get some interesting stuff too.

As with any "mental" job, I find I work best when I balance it with a "physical" job on the evenings / weekends, such as renovating my house or basically doing anything with my hands. When physical jobs were my paycheque, all I wanted to do were mental things in the down time, now its flipped. Neither is necessarily better or worse, though I do enjoy the flexibility that software allows / requires.

Re: I no longer build software

#227

Post by abdullahkhalids »

fullstop wrote: post #118
abdullahkhalids wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I won't move away from my main job for a while, but I do want to move to a lifestyle where I grow all my own food. It's a very interesting problem, of whether a single person/family can be mostly self-sufficient on food while spending only a small part of their day growing the said food. Lots of biology, perhaps a little bit of tech thrown in, if it helps.

I thought about this as well. I think that I'd be mostly okay on the vegetable front but I don't think that I'm up to plucking chickens or raising animals. I would also need a bigger yard!

I am pretty okay with it. I eat meat. I have done the dirty work in the past, and I am willing to do it again.

Re: I no longer build software

#228

Post by bmj »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #50
jb1991 wrote: post #20

Amen. Modern software development is frankly kinda sucky. The old days pre-2000 were arguably a lot more enjoyable. Today it's just digital plumbing and dealing with all sorts of issues that are not creative. The sheer complexity is frankly absurd as well. I've thought about moving on from software many times, and I know many who have. Just because you can do something doesn't mean it's best way to spend your short l…

>Not to mention that sitting in front of a computer all day is not the best use of one's body. You can say that about all desk jobs(even bus drivers) since they all sit on a chair the whole day but at least in some cases we get paid better and have more free time to take care of ourselves. And unlike the bus driver, I can leave work or take a coffee/toilet break whenever I want. And labor jobs that don't require sitt…

Any work is going to break down your body. It's the nature of the beast.

Re: I no longer build software

#230

Post by tumetab1 »

intotheabyss wrote: post #143

I'm a mechanical engineer in aerospace looking to move to software. I like the idea of setting up an office at home and working for myself. Is software really this bad, as all of the comments here suggest? Should I make the jump to software from a career in which I have a decade of experience? I just find aerospace boring, unimaginative, stressful and low paying, and if I could work on just building code for web apps…

It's not as bad it might appear from this comments. People are just generally bad managing their own careers and really figure out what they enjoy/want.

This means that you should clarify better what do you want in a software job. Besides working from home, what do you want? Relax workflow? Adrenaline rushes from doing fixes in live/production systems? Do you know work on technical or business features? Does the tech matter (new/legacy) for you? Do you enjoy mastering a tech or just make software work? How much payment is worth a worse job?

My suggestion is that you write down what's your ideal software job and review it several times. Then it's a "simple" tasks of reaching for it and keep your expectations in check.

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