Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 69 posts

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#41

Post by whacked_new »

giles_bowkett wrote: post #18

Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them. Your skill will return, the light will return to your eyes, and your career will improve. I'm not even kidding. Take a few years away. You'll build something so much cooler than you would at these apparently soul-destroying jobs you've got. I did it, and I'm now showing off what I've built at damn near every Ruby conference i…

This advice reads like utter insanity, but the even more shocking thing is that there are at least 14 people here who thought positively of it, and a magnitude more that nod in assent but didn't click the up arrow.

I have come to believe this kind of spirit is part of the core of true innovation. If this was posted in another community, I'm fairly sure you would've been treated like a lunatic. How amazing is that!

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#42

Post by Locke »

culley wrote: post #27
Locke wrote: post #24

Here's what worked for me when I was working for the man: Pick an evening sometime this week. Tell people you're not going to be available. Ask your SO to go out with friends or something. I'd grab a quick bite after work, go home to an empty apartment. Close the blinds, dim the lights. Turn off my cell phone, turn off the wifi on my laptop. Put on a playlist of music that puts me in a good, happy, mellow mood. Poor…

My god. Are you making love to your computer or what?

Hey, it sounds like the OP has lost the passion. If all the fire has gone out of his relationship with programming, how should he get it back?

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#43

Post by time_management »

Become a morning person (oddly enough, I'm typing this at 12:45 am... but I'm also unemployed right now). Use brainwave entrainment technologies and meditation to get yourself to sleep in the evening, because you probably haven't had a habit of going to bed before midnight since grade school. Most people need less sleep if they go to bed and rise early, so if you're asleep by 10, you can get up around 4:30 easily.

Why are traditional jobs scheduled between 9 and 5? Because despite claims to the contrary, the majority of people are naturally "morning people" and most productive early in the day. The boss wants the workers' best hours, and most people get up around 8. If you get up much earlier, though, you can use your early morning hours for exercise and side projects. This will be a lot more effective than trying to use your burned-out evening hours, and unlike quitting your job, it won't hurt your career. You'll be pretty tired by 5pm, but the effect that this will have on your performance or career is negligible.

The only downside of this is the effect it will have on your social life, but that's a lot smaller than you think. You'll still be able to manage the occasional late-night party or code-fest, but you'll find your 2am IM chats no longer occur. Socially, you'll be focusing on quality rather than quantity, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

I had a similar experience to yours in previous jobs. I wish I had taken the advice I'm giving you now, and as soon as I'm in a structured work environment again, I'm going to switch to the early-morning rhythm.

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#44

Post by mynameishere »

astrec wrote: post #29
mynameishere wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop This is bad advice.

Sure. But Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them. is stellar advice. Seriously. The sabbatical is the instrument of champions.

No, it's bad advice. Without knowing a lot more about this guy, you can't just say, "quit your job" just because it sounds romantic. It's cheap advice. I notice that every time someone complains about his job the advice coming from the internet is always the same, "Quit". The world doesn't work that way for 99 percent of the population. Decent jobs are no one's birthright, and the poster may be an ordinary, mediocre person who will never make a marketable app. If he's capable of great things, he's not going to need prodding from Mr. Anonymous.

In the meantime, keep your job and do what you can after hours. If you get a good idea and a year's worth of savings, then maybe think of quitting...

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39174

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#45

Post by sutro »

mynameishere wrote: post #44
astrec wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure. But Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them. is stellar advice. Seriously. The sabbatical is the instrument of champions.

No, it's bad advice. Without knowing a lot more about this guy, you can't just say, "quit your job" just because it sounds romantic. It's cheap advice. I notice that every time someone complains about his job the advice coming from the internet is always the same, "Quit". The world doesn't work that way for 99 percent of the population. Decent jobs are no one's birthright, and the poster may be an ordinary, mediocre…

Great link. Should be required reading for everyone on HN.

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#46

Post by astrec »

mynameishere wrote: post #44
astrec wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure. But Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them. is stellar advice. Seriously. The sabbatical is the instrument of champions.

No, it's bad advice. Without knowing a lot more about this guy, you can't just say, "quit your job" just because it sounds romantic. It's cheap advice. I notice that every time someone complains about his job the advice coming from the internet is always the same, "Quit". The world doesn't work that way for 99 percent of the population. Decent jobs are no one's birthright, and the poster may be an ordinary, mediocre…

The purpose of a sabbatical need not be to create a marketable app, nor perform any great deed. In the corporate world it is literally a career break.

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#48

Post by wenbert »

auston wrote: post #33

I am where you were 3 years ago in age. But I work full time... I still have enough energy to do freelance for other people and still work on the stuff that really interests me. I usually take a break after work and let my brain rest while I watch some comedy, exercise(running or skateboard), take a nap (for 1 - 2 hrs) or spend time with loved ones. Then I am usually ready to rock until around 2 - 3 A.M. I think it's…

same here. fulltime and i still do freelance. i have friends who are doing fulltime on freelance projects. we rent a room and hack everynight... this guy should get more people around him. talking and laughing helps a lot. :)

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#49

Post by mleonhard »

felideon wrote: post #11

I'm in a similar situation as you. Recently, however, it's a little worse because I actually do have less time to work on my own projects than I did before. So most of the time I can't work on my own projects, even if I wanted to, because I have other priorities and responsibilities. So at times I feel frustrated when I wish I was hacking and learning but I can't. And it's not that I'm unhappy when I'm not hacking (I…

Are you saving money to start a company?

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#50

Post by Tichy »

mynameishere wrote: post #22
giles_bowkett wrote: post #18

Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them. Your skill will return, the light will return to your eyes, and your career will improve. I'm not even kidding. Take a few years away. You'll build something so much cooler than you would at these apparently soul-destroying jobs you've got. I did it, and I'm now showing off what I've built at damn near every Ruby conference i…

Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop This is bad advice.

Why? I regret never having worked at a coffee shop. Now I am over 30 it doesn't feel so appropriate anymore, and I am spoiled by the IT money. But sometimes I still feel like just working in a coffee shop. Only for a while of course, the money just isn't good enough. But if it leaves you with enough energy to code on the side, it might be OK.

Also, the experience might come in handy if you ever want to open your own cafe later in life...

Post reply on HN