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I know some very good developers who didn't do anything in their spare time. One of them was co-inventor of gif format, another was a core contributor to cygwi

by irahul 15y ago

I know some very good developers who didn't do anything in their spare time. One of them was co-inventor of gif format, another was a core contributor to cygwin gdb and so on. But that was all before their day job. When they started their day jobs, that's all they did. Would you discard them as "not so good" because they don't do anything in their spare time and they concentrate on task on hand? Some people have more demanding jobs and/or prefer to work on their day job in their spare time - not because someone is putting a gun on their head, but because they like doing what they do. Why would they bother with side projects when they already have real life projects? Impressing the interviewer isn't on their agenda and all other aspects viz. gratification, joy of creation are the same.

trustfundbaby 15y ago
One of them was co-inventor of gif format, another was a cygwin to contributor to cygwin gdb and so on. But that was all before their day job. Would you discard them as "not so good" because they don't do anything in their spare time? ----------------------------------- No, because their prior accomplishments speak for themselves. You need to stop looking at it as some yardstick to get over and understand that it is simply an informal measure of a developer's passion and drive, just because you don't do it doesn't mean "you suck. NO HIRE!"
- irahul 15y ago
  > No, because their prior accomplishments speak for themselves. I just quoted examples where their prior accomplishments was public. There were many whose prior accomplishments are not public and were for their employers. > simply an informal measure of a developer's passion and drive. I don't have a problem with using side projects as informal projects as informal measure of passion. I have a problem with your assertion that all good developers have side projects. I have worked with quite a few and most of them didn't.
  - trustfundbaby 15y ago
    what I said was "all the really good developers I've ever known or met have built something in their spare time" you took that to mean that I saying that ALL good developers have side projects ... I'm not stating that as an empirical fact, and if you read the comments I've left its clear that I understand that.

by irahul 15y ago

trustfundbaby 15y ago

One of them was co-inventor of gif format, another was a cygwin to contributor to cygwin gdb and so on. But that was all before their day job. Would you discard them as "not so good" because they don't do anything in their spare time? ----------------------------------- No, because their prior accomplishments speak for themselves. You need to stop looking at it as some yardstick to get over and understand that it is simply an informal measure of a developer's passion and drive, just because you don't do it doesn't mean "you suck. NO HIRE!"

irahul 15y ago
> No, because their prior accomplishments speak for themselves. I just quoted examples where their prior accomplishments was public. There were many whose prior accomplishments are not public and were for their employers. > simply an informal measure of a developer's passion and drive. I don't have a problem with using side projects as informal projects as informal measure of passion. I have a problem with your assertion that all good developers have side projects. I have worked with quite a few and most of them didn't.
- trustfundbaby 15y ago
  what I said was "all the really good developers I've ever known or met have built something in their spare time" you took that to mean that I saying that ALL good developers have side projects ... I'm not stating that as an empirical fact, and if you read the comments I've left its clear that I understand that.