My Biggest Regret as a Programmer • Hacker News Board

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#351

Post by LVB » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 4:34 PM UTC

gwbas1c wrote: post #206

mclovinit wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I took a management path at first, thinking it was a natural progression upon obtaining over a decade and a half of experience and being enouraged by my peers over the years. I was never unhappier. I gave it everything I could. My team loved me and I shielded them from mountains of pain and frustration. I got sick from stress and mildly depressed from lack of a technically creative outlet. It took me over a year to r…

I get the impression that it's always "easy" to move into management, so there's no need to rush into a management role. In contrast, I fear that once I try management, it will be hard to move back to being a developer. How easy / hard was it for you to return to being a developer?

I think it's a function of time and effort. Every day you're not in a dedicated developer role, you will lose a tiny bit of "free" updating about what developers do, use, love, hate, etc. You can offset this somewhat by your own efforts, but they will be limited because the process of working with other developers bringing something to production is its own thing, separate from just keeping tech skills sharp.

I've always been quite active with side projects and moved back into development after about 5 years being in management. It went OK. Everyone was younger than me, stuff had obviously changed and I was out of my comfort zone for sure, but it was a successful transition. If I'd not been so into development on the side (i.e. constantly writing tools and apps with new technologies), I feel it would have been pretty difficult to switch back.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#352

Post by balls187 » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 4:35 PM UTC

Zelmor wrote: post #24

He would have been unhappy with the other choice as well, because then it is the programming side he would be missing out on. I would advise everyone to read The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173536 You chose one option out of many, and the others may no longer be a possibility. However, the writer's unhappiness does not spawn from his inability to be successful at what he does,…

> So typically American [sic].

That's one reason why Frost's poem is misinterpreted, due to American belief in destiny.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#353

Post by yes_or_gnome » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 4:36 PM UTC

Just a quick comment for content creators. On your personal websites, please make yourself prevalent. Most of the time, I like to get to know the author before reading their blog post. Having that background helps to frame the article(post), so I don't have to jump to conclusions about your experience.

In this case, I only have the author's name because of the copyright line at the end of the page. There are quite a few entries in the archive posts, but quickly skimming through them, I don't see an obvious introduction post. The first few posts look well written, but jump right into the subject; again, without giving any background on the author. And, it appears that the articles are out of order (possibly because the earliest articles have been updated).

Google search brings up a few people with the author's name. Researching an author, without a wikipedia article or some other published article, feels more like stalking.

In conclusion, please have an 'about' section. It doesn't have to be your entire CV, but, please, give some basic info about yourself.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#354

Post by cookiecaper » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 4:36 PM UTC

KyleBrandt wrote: post #327

andyjohnson0 wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like you, I don't think the author of the blog post wanted money or power for their own sake. Relevant to your final paragraph: People Want Power Because They Want Autonomy [1]. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11340137

Right. If you get a lot of money it doesn't mean you have to go buy a bunch of crap you don't really want. Rather it can give you influence. You can invest in charities or companies you believe in to shape the future. For example http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/26/us/tangelo-park-orlando-fl...

The only amount of money people really need for autonomy is the amount of money it takes to supply their immediate needs and some reasonable wants; the amount of money necessary to provide for a normal middle-class lifestyle. I would ballpark this around $80k/yr. It's not enough to make big donations to candidates, companies, or charities, and it won't buy the most expensive stuff out there, but it's plenty to keep your life running reasonably comfortably.

Big money is a different ballpark and I don't think that's what most people want. I think they just want to be comfortable in doing what they want to do.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#355

Post by mclovinit » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 4:37 PM UTC

gwbas1c wrote: post #206

mclovinit wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I took a management path at first, thinking it was a natural progression upon obtaining over a decade and a half of experience and being enouraged by my peers over the years. I was never unhappier. I gave it everything I could. My team loved me and I shielded them from mountains of pain and frustration. I got sick from stress and mildly depressed from lack of a technically creative outlet. It took me over a year to r…

I get the impression that it's always "easy" to move into management, so there's no need to rush into a management role. In contrast, I fear that once I try management, it will be hard to move back to being a developer. How easy / hard was it for you to return to being a developer?

I secretly stayed active during that role. It takes dedication. Some of this comes from work ethic. I had that drilled into me with the family biz growing up. My tolerance for abuse and failure is high. I focus on looking at myself as a business entity even if I work full time somewhere. Sometimes it isn't enough, but I think going through a tough upbringing had pulled me through. I always find myself asking the question, "Do I want to just want for the rest of my life or do?"... I also still dream and dreaming is key to driving forward. My wife fills the entrpreneurial role right now with escessive travel trying to build something in a new market. I help where I can...so this is me trying something new again ;) We never know where life will lead us so best to take it by the horns and find out :)

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#356

Post by cookiecaper » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 4:38 PM UTC

kdamken wrote: post #311

ryandrake wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure it's fair to judge without knowing the whole story. Maybe he has other costly obligations that you don't know about. Maybe an expensive health condition. Stock market went down. Debts, whatever. Or, he just encountered a string of bad luck (left Apple in the late 90's--oops!). Without those facts, blanket statements like "how do you manage your money that poorly" are unfair.

True - it's impossible to know every detail of his situation. That's why I put the disclaimer about his health. Regardless of those things though, for most people making a decent salary, they can put themselves in a good position for most scenarios by: - Saving as much as they can of what they're earning. Ideally at least 50% - Avoiding debt - Investing their money in low cost index funds

Much easier said than done, especially when you have children.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#357

Post by aantix » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 4:40 PM UTC

nocman wrote: post #345

aantix wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>My sister started as a programmer 30 years ago but jumped into management [...] My sister has 10X the assets I have. It's so hilarious that he calls himself a "programmer". With 30+ years of experience, you're a software engineer, an architect, and best of all, a consultant. Then you charge 5x the normal rate of a salaried engineer, work normal hours, and start accumulating real assets. He needed to put down the tec…

Gag me with an entire place setting. Might as well add "Rock Star" to the list of meaningless drivel. There is absolutely nothing wrong with describing yourself as a "programmer" when that is indeed what you've been doing for the last 30 years. The world needs less people spewing streams of hype to describe their own self importance, not more.

If someone has been developing for 30+ years, learning to best describe their track record, position their skill set, and demand a premium for the time isn't hype. It's merely capitalizing on their legacy.

There is an issue with calling yourself a "programmer" when one of his main complaints is the lack of monetary return on his career. Don't choose a commodity title if you want a higher than average return on your time.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#358

Post by tanker » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 4:43 PM UTC

Author is not Scott Adams.

I double checked.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#359

Post by lgieron » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 4:43 PM UTC

jdkoeck wrote: post #211

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I just have to say this: So typically american. And without this attitude we wouldn't have the things we have today. Trust me, Gates, Jobs, and a slew of others who built our modern world didn't do what they did for fun. They did it for (mostly) money. The same way the successful people in revolutionary fields today are doing so for money. We can't have progress if we sit back and just judge everyone as "greedy" and…

Steve Jobs had plenty of character failings, but to say that he did what he did "for money" is a gross misunderstanding of what really drove him (a yearn for exceptional design, often at the expense of user choice).

I think he said in his youth to Woz that he wanted to 'one of the important people' - owning and running a multibillion company allowed him to achieve that.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#360

Post by sputknick » Wed, Apr 06, 2016, 4:44 PM UTC

davidw wrote: post #333

> The CIO at the same place never believed anything his employees told him but believed everything vendors told him. Of course we knew he was taking kickbacks as we kept buying things we had no use for and he kept writing articles for them relating how wonderful their products were for us. Yet we used almost none of it. Some time after I left he was fired and perp-walked out of the company yet immediately got another…

Follow the money. The companies he buys products from have a vested interest in him getting a new job, so they start telling all their customers "Bill is a great CIO, he just left his current spot and is looking for a new job, you should definitely hire him as your CIO". And the cycle repeats. Also the people above the CIO will have a vested interest in covering up his transgressions, because it would reflect poorly on them. It's good work if you don't have a conscience.