Thoughts on the software industry (2022)
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Thoughts on the software industry (2022)
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Re: Thoughts on the software industry (2022)
#2I thought this was an interesting read.
Key takeaways:
1. Spending a career building computer software around others who build software, influences your worldview.
2. Programming is a skill (like any kind of craftsmanship or performance art); you learn by doing, not just by reading.
Re: Thoughts on the software industry (2022)
#3Since the article jumps around a lot, let me add one more;
Software is an amazing passion, but a terrible job.
Imagine you love music, play the piano for hours every day, then once you grow up someone pays you a huge salary just to play. You're in heaven.
Now imagine someone who loves classical music, but can't play. You see the fortunes being made by piano players, so you decide to learn. Which takes years of doing tedious stuff like learning scales. Then you get a job playing hip-hop (a music style you abhore) for a band you don't like... Then you discover the business crap of "music business".
Programming is the same. If you love it, it's fantastic. But to those in it for the salary it's a mind-numbing hunt for tiny bugs, days spent searching for a missing comma, wading through the same old crud, doing the same task over and over, locked to a desk, dealing with sub-par teammates, inflexible management, projects that get canceled, crunch time, stupid users (and I can go on.)
The passionate thrive because the joy dwarfs the pain. (Also, because they tend to be -very- good so can largely ignore the bullshit. They're paid well doing something they'd do for free.
As a -job- though, every part of it is objectively terrible. From the interview to the firing. (Go on, write a job description of what you do all day. Now consider that description in light of someone who doesn't actually -like- programming...it's terrible right?)
Naturally there's good money in it. If it's not your passion, then by all means, do it for the money. Find your joy elsewhere, that's OK, but do find it. Because without that joy elsewhere, what good is all the money in the world?
Re: Thoughts on the software industry (2022)
#4Since the article jumps around a lot, let me add one more; Software is an amazing passion, but a terrible job. Imagine you love music, play the piano for hours every day, then once you grow up someone pays you a huge salary just to play. You're in heaven. Now imagine someone who loves classical music, but can't play. You see the fortunes being made by piano players, so you decide to learn. Which takes years of doing…
This is really spot on. I realized how soul sucking it was after I got a teaching job. It was low pay English teaching in Japan but I felt a kind of joy, playfulness, humanity and a stress-free life I never experienced in working in tech. I've since gone back to tech and miss my students so much. Don't think I'll ever get that feeling at my current corporate job. I also ended up making way more side projects since my programming brain wasn't being used all day.
Re: Thoughts on the software industry (2022)
#5Since the article jumps around a lot, let me add one more; Software is an amazing passion, but a terrible job. Imagine you love music, play the piano for hours every day, then once you grow up someone pays you a huge salary just to play. You're in heaven. Now imagine someone who loves classical music, but can't play. You see the fortunes being made by piano players, so you decide to learn. Which takes years of doing…
The funny thing is 15 years ago, programming was nearly everyone's passion for those that were in the field. There were very few "job" type programmers. Not the case today.
Re: Thoughts on the software industry (2022)
#6Since the article jumps around a lot, let me add one more; Software is an amazing passion, but a terrible job. Imagine you love music, play the piano for hours every day, then once you grow up someone pays you a huge salary just to play. You're in heaven. Now imagine someone who loves classical music, but can't play. You see the fortunes being made by piano players, so you decide to learn. Which takes years of doing…
This is really spot on. I realized how soul sucking it was after I got a teaching job. It was low pay English teaching in Japan but I felt a kind of joy, playfulness, humanity and a stress-free life I never experienced in working in tech. I've since gone back to tech and miss my students so much. Don't think I'll ever get that feeling at my current corporate job. I also ended up making way more side projects since my…
I spend a lot of time talking to non-I.T people due to my partner being a veterinarian and the local improv/music scene. The absolute disdain people have for the idea of sitting at a desk and taking orders from pointy-haired manager is humbling. They're very envious of things like remote work, etc, so we have it pretty cool in lots of ways, but I think there's something to learn for many programmers on the mental health/spirituality front from that contempt.
The happiest psychologist I know is many, many times more content than the happiest programmer I know at a corporate job. The most passionate software engineers I know might be able to claim similar joy, but they have overwhelmingly quit their corporate gigs and fly solo.
Re: Thoughts on the software industry (2022)
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is really spot on. I realized how soul sucking it was after I got a teaching job. It was low pay English teaching in Japan but I felt a kind of joy, playfulness, humanity and a stress-free life I never experienced in working in tech. I've since gone back to tech and miss my students so much. Don't think I'll ever get that feeling at my current corporate job. I also ended up making way more side projects since my…
I spend a lot of time talking to non-I.T people due to my partner being a veterinarian and the local improv/music scene. The absolute disdain people have for the idea of sitting at a desk and taking orders from pointy-haired manager is humbling. They're very envious of things like remote work, etc, so we have it pretty cool in lots of ways, but I think there's something to learn for many programmers on the mental hea…
>> The most passionate software engineers I know might be able to claim similar joy, but they have overwhelmingly quit their corporate gigs and fly solo.
Yes, I'd agree with this. You make more money in a corporate gig, but if you're doing it for passion, not money, then the money doesn't overcome the corporate shackles.
Re: Thoughts on the software industry (2022)
#8As someone who does play music, although not professionally, I don't really agree with the analogy that writing code is like playing music.
You don’t expect to learn how to play the piano by reading a book, but you might expect to pick up a programming language or concept because you read about it. Really, it doesn’t work that way. You have to read it, and then use it and practice it and make a hundred mistakes, and then you’ll gain the skill to use that concept more correctly over time.
I just don't know of anything even remotely similar to this in programming. Learning how to type fast is the closest analogy I can think of, but being good at typing is almost entirely unrelated to being a good programmer. It would be like a pianist not being able to play chords, yet still being considered a (technically) good pianist.
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If one develops a good technical understanding of their programming language, and reads a lot of code, they could produce some quite good code in that language on their first try. In this case, it would help to have a very solid technical understanding of first principles as well. Asa result, I really think programmers with very strong discrete math skills, for example, can pick up any idea in programming.
Re: Thoughts on the software industry (2022)
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is really spot on. I realized how soul sucking it was after I got a teaching job. It was low pay English teaching in Japan but I felt a kind of joy, playfulness, humanity and a stress-free life I never experienced in working in tech. I've since gone back to tech and miss my students so much. Don't think I'll ever get that feeling at my current corporate job. I also ended up making way more side projects since my…
I spend a lot of time talking to non-I.T people due to my partner being a veterinarian and the local improv/music scene. The absolute disdain people have for the idea of sitting at a desk and taking orders from pointy-haired manager is humbling. They're very envious of things like remote work, etc, so we have it pretty cool in lots of ways, but I think there's something to learn for many programmers on the mental hea…
"contempt" isn't the word I'd used to describe my feelings towards this existence. It would be more like a deep, existential sadness. That life can fall into these local minimums of optimization - where everything is, on average, good.
- I'm happy, but not very
- I'm financially successful, but not very
- I like what I do, but too much
- I'm comfortable, but not too comfortable.
It's like my entire personality, likes, and dislikes have been smeared into a 2-dimensional caricature and propped up by a couple supports, for everyone to see and admire. This sort of existence is safe, inoffensive, and unremarkable.
Love your blog btw, it gives me confidence to be more like myself in my own life.
Re: Thoughts on the software industry (2022)
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is really spot on. I realized how soul sucking it was after I got a teaching job. It was low pay English teaching in Japan but I felt a kind of joy, playfulness, humanity and a stress-free life I never experienced in working in tech. I've since gone back to tech and miss my students so much. Don't think I'll ever get that feeling at my current corporate job. I also ended up making way more side projects since my…
I spend a lot of time talking to non-I.T people due to my partner being a veterinarian and the local improv/music scene. The absolute disdain people have for the idea of sitting at a desk and taking orders from pointy-haired manager is humbling. They're very envious of things like remote work, etc, so we have it pretty cool in lots of ways, but I think there's something to learn for many programmers on the mental hea…
> The most passionate software engineers I know might be able to claim similar joy, but they have overwhelmingly quit their corporate gigs and fly solo.
I have done the solo thing and have come to realize I much prefer coding for others. There’s just too much annoying bullshit in running a business and I don’t need to deal with almost any of that as an employee despite getting basically all the same freedom, impact, and influence as a high level engineer.
There’s even a point where things switch from your boss telling you what to do to your boss asking you what to do.