4 ms·

Speaking personally, I have a bunch of interests outside of work, many of which do not involve a keyboard. However, I also have an interest in programming proj

by Arizhel 10y ago

Speaking personally, I have a bunch of interests outside of work, many of which do not involve a keyboard. However, I also have an interest in programming projects, though I don't get as much time as I'd like to pursue them. Why would I want to do more programming at home when I do that all day at work? Simple: at work, I'm not working on my project, nor do I get to do it the way I want. At home, I can do whatever I want for my project, and I can do it any way I please, organizing my code however I want, using whatever OS on my computer I want, having whatever kind of workstation setup I want, and not having to use a computer that's hobbled by IT.

warcher 10y ago
Fair enough, I been doing the startup thing for so long, I forget about big company problems. My typical workday is probably a lot more wild west than the average coder's. I imagine there are a lot of people out there whose creativity is somewhat stifled in their work. Many times it takes everything I have to keep the lights on around here.
mvindahl 10y ago
This is a pretty accurate description of my motivation for doing side projects. Corporate pays well if you are willing to work on maintaining their existing projects; the catch is that you'll often be working with languages and frameworks which peaked a few years ago. Also, corporate isn't always a productive place. A lot of creative energy is lost on stuff like communication, process and management. Working on your own projects means getting to work with stuff that excites you, and to pave the road for future opportunities. Most of all, to have fun. That being said, my wife and kids have first dibs on my spare time these years and that's fine. I try to squeeze in half an hour of recreative programming a day.
Arizhel 10y ago
Just to add to this: at home, my computer is more like Usain Bolt (well maybe that's exaggerating a bit, but still). It runs the OS I like, with a monitor setup I like, the keyboard I like, etc. At work, my computer runs Windows, and Linux in a VM (but not the distro I want, but rather one which is pre-approved). So instead of a supreme athlete like Usain Bolt, it's like a 60-year old chain smoker who gobbles Twinkies. Then, add in various IT policies and software. This is like taking the Twinkie-eating chain smoker and doing to him what happened to the guy in that movie "Misery". And people wonder why I'd want to do more programming after work... For a car analogy, my computer at home is like a Ferrari. My computer at work is like a 1980s Ford Taurus. And adding IT's changes to it is like trying to make the Taurus tow an 80,000 pound semi-trailer.

by Arizhel 10y ago

warcher 10y ago

Fair enough, I been doing the startup thing for so long, I forget about big company problems. My typical workday is probably a lot more wild west than the average coder's. I imagine there are a lot of people out there whose creativity is somewhat stifled in their work. Many times it takes everything I have to keep the lights on around here.

mvindahl 10y ago

This is a pretty accurate description of my motivation for doing side projects. Corporate pays well if you are willing to work on maintaining their existing projects; the catch is that you'll often be working with languages and frameworks which peaked a few years ago. Also, corporate isn't always a productive place. A lot of creative energy is lost on stuff like communication, process and management. Working on your own projects means getting to work with stuff that excites you, and to pave the road for future opportunities. Most of all, to have fun. That being said, my wife and kids have first dibs on my spare time these years and that's fine. I try to squeeze in half an hour of recreative programming a day.

Arizhel 10y ago

Just to add to this: at home, my computer is more like Usain Bolt (well maybe that's exaggerating a bit, but still). It runs the OS I like, with a monitor setup I like, the keyboard I like, etc. At work, my computer runs Windows, and Linux in a VM (but not the distro I want, but rather one which is pre-approved). So instead of a supreme athlete like Usain Bolt, it's like a 60-year old chain smoker who gobbles Twinkies. Then, add in various IT policies and software. This is like taking the Twinkie-eating chain smoker and doing to him what happened to the guy in that movie "Misery". And people wonder why I'd want to do more programming after work... For a car analogy, my computer at home is like a Ferrari. My computer at work is like a 1980s Ford Taurus. And adding IT's changes to it is like trying to make the Taurus tow an 80,000 pound semi-trailer.