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You don't indicate your current age. Having coded for 30+ years, I'll observe: The complexity of computing has increased to a staggering degree. People discuss

You don't indicate your current age. Having coded for 30+ years, I'll observe: The complexity of computing has increased to a staggering degree. People discuss Moore's Law and variants in terms of transistor count, pixels, bytes, etc - but nobody comments on the sheer scale of library functions/classes/objects/etc to work with. Jumping from classic custom embedded systems to iOS opened orders of magnitude more capabilities & calls to work with - wonderful in the flexibility & power available, overwhelming in the options available & details expected. I come from an age where aspiring computer engineers were expected to understand systems "sand to Skyrim" (my current term); today the same brainpower could remain exclusively within one development platform. To wit: there's so much to know & do I'm not surprised at capable people burning out. Pile on top of that your #1 comment about family. My load surely has increased, a mentally demanding addition on top of my increased job skills & responsibilities. Fortunately anxiety isn't a problem for me, but I certainly understand how it could break someone. So what to do? Simplify. Make clear to family you have limits, that more extracurricular activities are beyond you and boundaries must be set. Remind them you're putting in 40-80 hours a week to provide & support, that your work/sleep/self hours are off limits for their schedules, and you can only do so much at once. Manage development work. Place boundaries, don't say "yes" to everything (the more you do the more you'll be given to do). Work environments can be changed. Change accordingly - even if that means switching employers. Physical discomfort...others can better address ergonomics. I'm blessed with having typed so long it doesn't bother me. Recognize mental changes. They're real. Organize things so they will remind & guide. Get sleep, eat well, exercise. And simplify. Carve out spaces of simplicity. Deny options that don't facilitate your core activities. Better to take longer doing simple tasks than trying to speed thru via increased complexity.

inanutshellus 9y ago
My reply distracts from your point, but he does indicate his current age. It says he's 32 ("almost 33")...
watwut 9y ago
If he is working 80 hours a week, it is not familly that is too demanding. I mean, they tolerate him not being there ever. (Through I don't think it is the case, he referred to job as 9-5. It might also be that his wife works as much as him, so the "I am putting food on table while you do nothing" argument won't work. ). It is more likely that there is either someone sick, they have conflicts, have hard time to keep everything together or something of the sort.
cosinetau 9y ago
> aspiring computer engineers were expected to understand systems "sand to Skyrim" Could you elaborate on your definition of this term? It's my perception that many different kinds of folks, other engineers; managers; employers; etc, in this community are expecting a very broad and thorough level of different languages, systems, patterns, etc at all levels of a person's development, and in spite of creating a learning environment this bias seems to persist.
- ctdonath 9y ago
  "sand to Skyrim" = understand the core concepts ranging across: chemistry & physics for purifying sand into purified silicon + dopants, integrated circuit design (hand layout), digital logic, CPU design, assembler coding, compiler construction, high level language coding, operating system design, direct-screen graphics, software 3d graphic rendering, 3d graphics hardware design, 3d simulations (hard & soft rendering) ... basics of all understood by the end of a master's degree. To wit: start with a pile of sand, and eventually run Skyrim on it. My concern is that today, any given strata of computing is so complex that a fruitful career may not extend very far in either direction.
  - danesparza 9y ago
    "start with a pile of sand, and eventually run Skyrim on it". Well done. A lot of people forget where silicon comes from. :-)

inanutshellus 9y ago

My reply distracts from your point, but he does indicate his current age. It says he's 32 ("almost 33")...

watwut 9y ago

If he is working 80 hours a week, it is not familly that is too demanding. I mean, they tolerate him not being there ever. (Through I don't think it is the case, he referred to job as 9-5. It might also be that his wife works as much as him, so the "I am putting food on table while you do nothing" argument won't work. ). It is more likely that there is either someone sick, they have conflicts, have hard time to keep everything together or something of the sort.

cosinetau 9y ago

> aspiring computer engineers were expected to understand systems "sand to Skyrim" Could you elaborate on your definition of this term? It's my perception that many different kinds of folks, other engineers; managers; employers; etc, in this community are expecting a very broad and thorough level of different languages, systems, patterns, etc at all levels of a person's development, and in spite of creating a learning environment this bias seems to persist.

ctdonath 9y ago
"sand to Skyrim" = understand the core concepts ranging across: chemistry & physics for purifying sand into purified silicon + dopants, integrated circuit design (hand layout), digital logic, CPU design, assembler coding, compiler construction, high level language coding, operating system design, direct-screen graphics, software 3d graphic rendering, 3d graphics hardware design, 3d simulations (hard & soft rendering) ... basics of all understood by the end of a master's degree. To wit: start with a pile of sand, and eventually run Skyrim on it. My concern is that today, any given strata of computing is so complex that a fruitful career may not extend very far in either direction.
- danesparza 9y ago
  "start with a pile of sand, and eventually run Skyrim on it". Well done. A lot of people forget where silicon comes from. :-)