19 ms·

I'm going to take a wild guess and say you don't really care that much about the purpose of your software. You're not a game developer who's been an avid gamer

by blt 11y ago

I'm going to take a wild guess and say you don't really care that much about the purpose of your software. You're not a game developer who's been an avid gamer since age 4, or a silicon valley entrepreneur who truly believes their web app is going to change the world. You've identified a niche that's liable to make some money, and are diligently plugging away at an implementation. Your lack of inherent motivation from the product domain means you don't get any satisfaction from just getting the requirements met, so you hunger for the satisfaction of making a beautiful architecture. But all architectures have flaws. As a competent engineer, you notice the flaws in whatever you design, so your only source of satisfaction is compromised. I would try to find work on a problem that excites you. When you get that giddy rush just from seeing your program give a correct answer. I think most software developers have felt this way about some project during their learning process. Look back and try to remember where it happened for you. You're in trouble if software craftsmanship is your only source of motivation. It's a great motivator, but it is not enough by itself to carry you through a big project. Now that you're in this project, it may be impossible to quit. I would find a side project to work on that provides more satisfaction. That should make it easier to plug-n-chug away at your current project without becoming depressed at the inevitable small failures in elegance and design. I've never understood how developers can be happy writing CRUD apps or wiring together a bunch of pieces made by someone else. You gotta search for meaning. Even if you take a pay cut, it's worth it to find work that you care about.

porker 11y ago
> I'm going to take a wild guess and say you don't really care that much about the purpose of your software. You're not a game developer who's been an avid games since age 4, or a silicon valley entrepreneur who truly believes their web app is going to change the world. You've identified a niche that's liable to make some money, and are diligently plugging away at an implementation. Spot on. I walked into this career by accident, the money was good and I stayed. No, I don't know what I actually want to do - something I've never known :) > You're in trouble if software craftsmanship is your only source of motivation. Spot on again. Pride in what I do is my only motivation at this point. I don't get to see happy users, find out how I've improved lives, get user feedback and make things better for someone. > Now that you're in this project, it may be impossible to quit. It was impossible to turn down, as they're a good client and provide somewhat interesting work (always unusual tasks). Otherwise I wouldn't have touched it. > I've never understood how developers can be happy writing CRUD apps or pushing ads. You gotta search for meaning. Even if you take a pay cut, it's worth it to find work that you care about. CRUD is the most soul-destroying code to write as doing it with good craftsmanship is impossible (there I said it). Concerns overlap between the front and backend. I do share your sentiment, but pay cuts are hard (I suspect I undercharge at the moment, making them harder still). Thanks for commenting!
- richardboegli 11y ago
  Try your hand at Game programming, its great to mix things up and the communities are great: Unreal Engine 4: https://www.unrealengine.com https://www.unrealengine.com Maybe a mod for Unreal Tournament or Ark Survival: https://www.unrealtournament.com/blog/ https://www.unrealtournament.com/blog/ http://www.polygon.com/2015/8/14/9153379/ark-survival-evolved-hunger-games-mod-contest-survival-of-the-fittest http://www.polygon.com/2015/8/14/9153379/ark-survival-evolve... Unity: http://unity3d.com/ http://unity3d.com/ Construct2: https://www.scirra.com/ https://www.scirra.com/
ktt3ja 11y ago
I'm not the OP, but what you say resonates with me as well. May I ask what domain or field you work on?
- blt 11y ago
  I used to work on desktop apps doing interesting stuff with large and/or soft-realtime data. Now I am working on a Ph.D. in CS. I decided I would not be happy in the long term unless I'm doing research-level work. Even though I was developing products much more interesting than the typical CRUD app, I was still spending lots of time on GUIs, undo systems, file IO, etc. I want to avoid that kind of work as much as possible in the future.

by blt 11y ago

porker 11y ago

> I'm going to take a wild guess and say you don't really care that much about the purpose of your software. You're not a game developer who's been an avid games since age 4, or a silicon valley entrepreneur who truly believes their web app is going to change the world. You've identified a niche that's liable to make some money, and are diligently plugging away at an implementation. Spot on. I walked into this career by accident, the money was good and I stayed. No, I don't know what I actually want to do - something I've never known :) > You're in trouble if software craftsmanship is your only source of motivation. Spot on again. Pride in what I do is my only motivation at this point. I don't get to see happy users, find out how I've improved lives, get user feedback and make things better for someone. > Now that you're in this project, it may be impossible to quit. It was impossible to turn down, as they're a good client and provide somewhat interesting work (always unusual tasks). Otherwise I wouldn't have touched it. > I've never understood how developers can be happy writing CRUD apps or pushing ads. You gotta search for meaning. Even if you take a pay cut, it's worth it to find work that you care about. CRUD is the most soul-destroying code to write as doing it with good craftsmanship is impossible (there I said it). Concerns overlap between the front and backend. I do share your sentiment, but pay cuts are hard (I suspect I undercharge at the moment, making them harder still). Thanks for commenting!

richardboegli 11y ago
Try your hand at Game programming, its great to mix things up and the communities are great: Unreal Engine 4: https://www.unrealengine.com https://www.unrealengine.com Maybe a mod for Unreal Tournament or Ark Survival: https://www.unrealtournament.com/blog/ https://www.unrealtournament.com/blog/ http://www.polygon.com/2015/8/14/9153379/ark-survival-evolved-hunger-games-mod-contest-survival-of-the-fittest http://www.polygon.com/2015/8/14/9153379/ark-survival-evolve... Unity: http://unity3d.com/ http://unity3d.com/ Construct2: https://www.scirra.com/ https://www.scirra.com/

ktt3ja 11y ago

I'm not the OP, but what you say resonates with me as well. May I ask what domain or field you work on?

blt 11y ago
I used to work on desktop apps doing interesting stuff with large and/or soft-realtime data. Now I am working on a Ph.D. in CS. I decided I would not be happy in the long term unless I'm doing research-level work. Even though I was developing products much more interesting than the typical CRUD app, I was still spending lots of time on GUIs, undo systems, file IO, etc. I want to avoid that kind of work as much as possible in the future.