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I've reached a point where I don't think you should be looking for something you enjoy. I don't particularly enjoy programming. I didn't start programming becau
by Sakos 4y ago
I've reached a point where I don't think you should be looking for something you enjoy. I don't particularly enjoy programming. I didn't start programming because I think it's fun. I do it because it's satisfying. I like understanding and solving difficult problems. I like doing research. I like writing. I like working with others. Programming was one of a huge number of possibilities that I could've pursued with these characteristics, but life pushed me in that direction and that's where I ended up. I get to do the things I like to do, but the things I like to do aren't necessarily "programming".
There is a fundamental shift of perspective that I think is necessary for people to find work that will fulfill them. More important is to look at what things you enjoy, and then figuring out what exactly appeals to you, really understanding yourself and how you tick, and how that can be applied elsewhere.
I spent much of my childhood gaming (CS, Battlefield, Starcraft, Warcraft 3, Deus Ex, C&C RA2, Dune 2, etc.). It was fun, sure, and going by "look for something you enjoy", maybe I should've become a pro-gamer. But if I look at how I actually spent my time, there are much different conclusions to be drawn about what I like. I liked being in a team with a collective goal. I liked the communication (and arguing). I liked solving situational challenges. I liked being challenged. I liked researching strategies, techniques, and everything around metagaming (countless hours "wasted" on TeamLiquid). I liked learning new things and incrementally improving my skills. I liked documenting and explaining things. It's 100% clear how that translated in a career context, but at first glance, shooting people in CS was just "fun".
- kleiba 4y agoI have a hard time thinking of an activity that I find satisfying but don't enjoy.
- Sakos 4y agoTrying to find a bug for 8 hours isn't fun or enjoyable to me. But it is satisfying and I feel great afterwards and it's exactly what I want to be doing.
- antasvara 4y agoIt feels like you're defining "fun" or "enjoyable" differently than most people would. Most people don't find their "fun" activities enjoyable all the time. Running can be fun, but it also is tiring and sucks sometimes. Practicing a musical instrument isn't the most enjoyable, but playing in a band and nailing songs is. Lifting isn't "fun," but excelling at a sport is. Point being that not liking the boring parts of an activity, but still finding the activity as a whole satisfying, is something that most people would consider to be an activity you enjoy.
- Sakos 4y agoYou're not really disagreeing with me, but you're arguing with me. Maybe I'm not being clear enough. What we "enjoy" (however you might define it), or even what we're good at, is extremely malleable. Yet people try to find that one activity that magically clicks and that needs to then be their career. I learned to enjoy running, because it incorporates elements that appeal to me (incremental improvement, for example), but I fucking hated it when I started. That's how it is with a lot of things.
- antasvara 4y agoI agree with the majority of what you're saying. Knowing what you'll enjoy relies on enjoying the component parts of that activity. Finding new activities that you'll enjoy requires you to look at the reasons why you enjoy that activity at a granular level. Where I disagree is the claim that you don't enjoy programming. If you enjoy most of the component parts of an activity, my claim is that you actually do enjoy that activity. Let's take hiking as an example. I can claim that I don't actually like hiking, I just like being outside, being in the forest, and walking. Hiking is therefore just one of a multitude of activities that could meet those desires. However, because my "likes" comprise the vast majority of the appeal of hiking, it is fair to say that I actually do enjoy hiking. Ultimately, this is a semantic distinction. My claim is that by the commonly used definition of an "enjoyable activity," I would classify programming as an activity that you at least moderately enjoy.
- 4y ago
- heavenlyblue 4y agoI would find satisfying shooting Putin, but I would not enjoy killing him.