Fixed your title: "Programming [JavaScript] is a Terrible Job [for me]"
Programming is a Terrible Job
281–290 of 296 posts
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#282Earlier quoted context omitted.
protip: Be a very picky freelancer and only work on projects that interest you.
I'm having a mid-career crisis much like OP and the notion of freelancing is enticing. Can you tell me more about how it is more fulfilling, lees frustrating and how you find quality gigs?
I freelanced in the UK for 2 years, currently in Canada since the past year. Freelancing is tough here, it doesn't seem like it is the norm. It's tough in the UK too, but if you are good at what you do and/or you work in a niche field (like me) then then you have no trouble finding freelance work.
What I loved: you get to work on pure software. None of the BS with internal company politics, requirements gathering, user analysis etc. You are focused on a specific set of tasks. You are paid much more than as a perm (but not for vacation, sick days etc)
The last part is important to me at this moment in time. It effectively meant I could work for 6-7 months and make as much money as a perm salary. (This is a short term view to take though). This difference should cover down time, when you are looking for new contracts or you just want to take a little time off to upskill. Depending on the availability of jobs, you can be very selective on the contracts you choose. I've known people leave within a few weeks and move onto something else since it was "not as advertised". Because you shift job fairly frequently (3-6 months usually) you get to meet a lot of different people, learn different techniques and different skills.
The bad part: No vacation pay, no sick pay, you work a day you get paid for a day. You are usually hired for a particular skill, so there is no training. If you don't like a job, there's no point in complaining since they will hire someone else - in a decent company, they will try to accommodate your growth, longer term at least. You can be let go on a very short notice and there is no job security (obviously). It can also make it tougher to get loans and mortgages since the criteria is much stricter.
It's not for everyone, and depends very much on what you do, but I have plenty of friends who freelance and would not go back to permanent positions.
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#283You just must of been a bad software engineer who never had a decent job. Sorry, not sorry.
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#284Earlier quoted context omitted.
There' a difference between having "large swaths of time that are a bit mind numbing", and having those swaths taking most, possibly all your working time. OP said: > I don't think I ever caught myself writing code for my employer and thinking "hey, I really enjoy this" ----- > Our job is not to program, our job is to create value. It's supposed to be the job of every worker out there. Even janitors (believe me, clea…
> I don't think I ever caught myself writing code for my employer and thinking "hey, I really enjoy this" Poor guy. I write stuff I enjoy for my employer all the time.
+1
Writing code that gets used by others no matter how cumbersome makes me feel like I've won the lottery.
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#285Earlier quoted context omitted.
A good point. When you look at the top richest people of the world, some of them are (were) programmers. None of them are sports or movie stars.
eh, I don't think that's the same. Bill Gates, Zuckerberg, they weren't top 1% programmers. They are simply people who knew programming (to some degree) and got rich from their business ideas. Whereas the athletes, like Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods, are incredibly talented. The closest you can find in the programming world is probably John Carmack, who found a way to earn a large sum of money based directly on his p…
You can't say that Gates and Zuckerberg were not talented though. They definitely were in the right place in the right time but if you look at their early history you would find people who did their due diligence when it came to programming and got the business running and then stepped into managerial roles. They have multiple talents if you will which is only evident by juggling all responsibilities and seeing things through. Of course athletes like Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods are incredibly talented but only in a single field. They have managers who handle the rest of their business affairs.
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#286Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bingo! Been there for a few years now. It's awesome. :)
Not always possible. I have something like that, then 3 months in the road the company lost his biggest customer and chop down the project/team!
I think you're not understanding the premise.
I don't work for "a company". I work for one of several companies, depending on the week/month, and sometimes two or more at the same time.
Personally I prefer shorter contracts, but I have constant offers of longer contracts, so I could go that route if I wanted. But I also want time to work on my own projects.
Though, in the abstract, sure, it's not always possible. This is advice along the lines of "Be Really Awesome and Have an Excellent Business Network." Not everyone can really follow it.
But there are a LOT of freelance jobs floating around right now, so it's a good time to give it a try if you can.
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#287Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Find a better job. Sure! Can you provide for my family while I do?
Why can't you? It's not like you have to quit your current job to find a better one. My advice to anyone who doesn't like their job: please don't come to work in a shitty mood all the time, bitch and moan, and spread your poison around. You don't have to love your job, but quit making excuses and being lazy and go get yourself one you will love.
> Why can't you? It's not like you have to quit your current job to find a better one.
Finding a job I love would require me to change my career and–in the best case–would most certainly offer a starting salary that's far less than I need, given my current financial responsibilities (e.g., my family and $130K in private student loan debt).
Furthermore, I would most likely have to earn another Bachelor's degree.
See where this is going...?
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#288I'm approaching 20 years of doing this and I would love to have 20 years more. What this really sounds like, and the message gets muted by the complaints, is that the author wants you to find a part of software that interests you and follow that path. I agree 100%. Some people love front-end Javascript websites and all that entails. I find it painful. I still do it when called for but my true love is in low level pro…
> The world is wide open to you. In the United States probably. The author doesn't sound too old, and says that he/she got access to the internet much later. Which means the author is probably from the Middle east or China or South Asia. The work culture there is not as open as in the west. Daily job means monotonous routine work. What excited him about the prime numbers problem was the novel aspect of it, and the fa…
Then move. To a different city or a different country. It is a very difficult thing to do but you shouldn't be miserable for a third of your day!
Get yourself some good skills and apply to jobs you really think you want instead of whatever the local industry has to offer.
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#289Earlier quoted context omitted.
7 years. KILL ME
Oh how I can feel this. After 3+ years of dealing with banker types when I first started (1991ish), I wanted to leap off the building and land on their fancy cars. :) Without a doubt, the tightest fisted, greediest and most short sighted people I've ever dealt with. Save 15 minutes here and waste months in the future when you've forgotten how this hack works. Get it out now . Then I had a few dream jobs. It seems to…
my current job is so boring but the money is so good ~_~
will probably have a 2-3 month break to hack on some project and return to contracting afterwards, hopefully somewhere more interesting.
Re: Programming is a Terrible Job
#290I agree with the Author. He is quite right. My story is really close to his. There are real things in the world, boxing for example, car driving... and so on. I really hate this programming boring stuff like digging through RFCs and implementing them, pushing and popping from the stack, handling memory, and a bunch of other stuff.