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I don't have side projects. I don't really want one. What I do is satisfy my intellectual curiosity. I've always been very curious how things work. If I see an

I don't have side projects. I don't really want one. What I do is satisfy my intellectual curiosity. I've always been very curious how things work. If I see an app with a widget that does something, I will (try to) recreate it. I'll then move on to the next curiosity. I like protocols, so maybe I'll implement a minimalist IRC server. Then move on. I don't fully flesh out these applications. I do the minimum I need to understand and learn and satisfy myself and then move on. I am curious about so many things, I don't have time to have a side project. Another thing is, I love reading code, so if I see an Open Source project that does something really interesting, I'll read the code. If there's a particularly tricky piece of code, I'll print it out, grab a sharp pencil and go sit on the back porch to trace through it and understand it. I don't do side projects. I don't have a github account. But I do code a lot. And I do read a lot of code.

foobarrio 7y ago
I end up doing exactly the same thing though I start with the intent of starting a project. What usually happens is there is no particular algo or technique I wanted to explore and once I do that I lose interest and feel bad about never finishing a useful side project. This was especially true with video games when I was younger!
robohoe 7y ago
Would satisfying one's curiosity count as an extracurricular activity on a CV? For example, I love learning about how airplanes work. I spent this weekend reading about Boeing 737 bleed air systems and how they power many things on a jetliner. Sure it's not code, but something interesting.
- non-entity 7y ago
  I don't think so, unfortunately. I think that that sort of thing says something (positive) about a person that the traditional hiring pipeline misses.
lifeisstillgood 7y ago
So you have many interesting side projects. You just don't have a consistent approach to self-marketing. That's fine. But a couple of days to set up a blog may pay you back.

foobarrio 7y ago

I end up doing exactly the same thing though I start with the intent of starting a project. What usually happens is there is no particular algo or technique I wanted to explore and once I do that I lose interest and feel bad about never finishing a useful side project. This was especially true with video games when I was younger!

robohoe 7y ago

Would satisfying one's curiosity count as an extracurricular activity on a CV? For example, I love learning about how airplanes work. I spent this weekend reading about Boeing 737 bleed air systems and how they power many things on a jetliner. Sure it's not code, but something interesting.

non-entity 7y ago
I don't think so, unfortunately. I think that that sort of thing says something (positive) about a person that the traditional hiring pipeline misses.

lifeisstillgood 7y ago

So you have many interesting side projects. You just don't have a consistent approach to self-marketing. That's fine. But a couple of days to set up a blog may pay you back.