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I've been there. My personal take is that the day in and day out life of a coder sucks, big time. Humans weren't designed for it. If you are inventing something

I've been there. My personal take is that the day in and day out life of a coder sucks, big time. Humans weren't designed for it. If you are inventing something novel and new and actually 'engineering' then that's different, but pulling the next React feature from some PM's backlog, that's hell. Look at your cohort, I would venture it's mostly 20 somethings men. Maybe the odd older guy but certainly not a diverse set of people. It's a young man's game because the burn out is real and for most people coding is just an unsustainable profession. Come to grips with the fact that maybe it is unsustainable for you. It's a lot less tedious and easier in many regards working as an engineering manager. Or a product manager. Or something entirely different. Coding as a career isn't for everybody (wasn't for me). YMMV. If it isn't for you figure out how to change it, it might not be easy but it is probably worth it. Source: ex-FAANG SDE.

sushshshsh 6y ago
>Humans weren't designed for it. I don't know why, but I really love coding. I have an expected output of 0% in my mind, so even the most mundane tasks can be fun for me because I'm satisfied with producing any output. I try to learn something new with every task, even if it's just a file path or simple SQL call. And if it's some really horrible spaghetti code abstraction upon abstraction, then my 0% success expectation is even more important for my morale. If my manager isn't happy with the output? Quit and get a higher salary somewhere else :) That's the market we live in right now.
maps7 6y ago
> pulling the next React feature from some PM's backlog, that's hell. Why? The coding I don't like is when there is no requirements or path (architecturally, devops-wise) or when you need approval from too many stakeholders (compliance, managers, release coordinators, etc, etc)
em-bee 6y ago
i hated working as a programmer until i understood what i really hated was the 9-5 office environment. without that suddenly coding was fun. since then i am trying to control for that, and life is much better. i can even tolerate 9-5 for long enough because i find other ways to compensate.

sushshshsh 6y ago

>Humans weren't designed for it. I don't know why, but I really love coding. I have an expected output of 0% in my mind, so even the most mundane tasks can be fun for me because I'm satisfied with producing any output. I try to learn something new with every task, even if it's just a file path or simple SQL call. And if it's some really horrible spaghetti code abstraction upon abstraction, then my 0% success expectation is even more important for my morale. If my manager isn't happy with the output? Quit and get a higher salary somewhere else :) That's the market we live in right now.

maps7 6y ago

> pulling the next React feature from some PM's backlog, that's hell. Why? The coding I don't like is when there is no requirements or path (architecturally, devops-wise) or when you need approval from too many stakeholders (compliance, managers, release coordinators, etc, etc)

em-bee 6y ago

i hated working as a programmer until i understood what i really hated was the 9-5 office environment. without that suddenly coding was fun. since then i am trying to control for that, and life is much better. i can even tolerate 9-5 for long enough because i find other ways to compensate.