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Many software developers are 9 to 5-ers meaning when they get home they don't do any more programming and don't do programming on the weekend either. They do mo

Many software developers are 9 to 5-ers meaning when they get home they don't do any more programming and don't do programming on the weekend either. They do most of their learning while on the job. These programmers are of course mediocre at best and typically work at slow paced large companies with lower pay but they're satisfied with their work/life balance and there is nothing wrong with that. If the author is complaining that work leaks into the weekends then perhaps he should communicate with his colleagues and managers to figure out which processes in their workflow can be fixed to avoid that. He also has the ability to jump to another company if he feels his current company is too demanding. Everyone has 24 hours in a day; use it wisely, especially doing something you're good at that makes you money but also enjoy.

Top5a 8y ago
Spot on. Which is why you are being downvoted (no, not sarcastic) for offending the sensibilities of the self-entitled masses who have no innate drive for self-improvement.
wilsonnb3 8y ago
> These programmers are of course mediocre at best This is very elitist and not true. 40 hours a week for 20 years is more than enough to be considered “good” at the very least.
- Top5a 8y ago
  Afraid not. The "good" programmers/engineers/whathaveyou are, more often that not, the ones that proverbially "live and breathe" their craft, and have done so for a very large amount of, how should I say, "units of actual work-effort." Pulling all-nighters on personal projects just for the fun of it, constantly learning and improving for the sheer bliss of the challenge and seeking of knowledge, these are the "good" programmers. They are putting in concentrated, heavy effort, which is far in excess of a mere 40-hours of unfocused, drone-tier non-effort per week. It is also why there are teenagers who can sprint circles around big-corporate code monkeys sporting 35 years of "experience."
- miguelmota 8y ago
  > for 20 years Yes 20 years, but the majority of developers don't have anything remotely close to that many years in the field. I've worked with many developers over my career and the ones who do programming on weekends and off-hours tended to produce significant more output than those who didn't. Anybody who puts any effort to improve themselves and skillsets by working off-hours means they're rising above mediocracy.
  - Top5a 8y ago
    ^This. First Slashdot, then Ars, now HN filled with an ever-increasing amount of mediocrity. But, I passed bootcamp! I have more structured hours of experience sleeping at my desk and slacking off in the nap room -- that makes me a better programmer, I promise! If it wasn't covered in a test or in my assignments, it doesn't exist! The Office Space meme has come full circle, two decades later.

Top5a 8y ago

Spot on. Which is why you are being downvoted (no, not sarcastic) for offending the sensibilities of the self-entitled masses who have no innate drive for self-improvement.

wilsonnb3 8y ago

> These programmers are of course mediocre at best This is very elitist and not true. 40 hours a week for 20 years is more than enough to be considered “good” at the very least.

Top5a 8y ago
Afraid not. The "good" programmers/engineers/whathaveyou are, more often that not, the ones that proverbially "live and breathe" their craft, and have done so for a very large amount of, how should I say, "units of actual work-effort." Pulling all-nighters on personal projects just for the fun of it, constantly learning and improving for the sheer bliss of the challenge and seeking of knowledge, these are the "good" programmers. They are putting in concentrated, heavy effort, which is far in excess of a mere 40-hours of unfocused, drone-tier non-effort per week. It is also why there are teenagers who can sprint circles around big-corporate code monkeys sporting 35 years of "experience."
miguelmota 8y ago
> for 20 years Yes 20 years, but the majority of developers don't have anything remotely close to that many years in the field. I've worked with many developers over my career and the ones who do programming on weekends and off-hours tended to produce significant more output than those who didn't. Anybody who puts any effort to improve themselves and skillsets by working off-hours means they're rising above mediocracy.
- Top5a 8y ago
  ^This. First Slashdot, then Ars, now HN filled with an ever-increasing amount of mediocrity. But, I passed bootcamp! I have more structured hours of experience sleeping at my desk and slacking off in the nap room -- that makes me a better programmer, I promise! If it wasn't covered in a test or in my assignments, it doesn't exist! The Office Space meme has come full circle, two decades later.