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Left my job late last year with the intention of striking out on my own. Instead I realized quickly that what drove me to quit had been the fact that the joy o
by MrDresden 4y ago
Left my job late last year with the intention of striking out on my own.
Instead I realized quickly that what drove me to quit had been the fact that the joy of coding had left me. And so for the last two months I have been working towards regaining it.
And at this point I realize I have gained it back.
The only projects I have been working on are small libraries and apps whose ideas had written down over the years but never touched.
The longest project has been 3 weeks. Others, like the library I worked on today, have only taken a couple of days. Also done some open source contributions here and there.
I would now recommend it to anyone, given if their financial situation allows for it, to step off the hamster wheel on occasion and work on the things that really motivate them.
When I re-enter the job market, it will be with renewed vigor and plenty of new know-how.
- hawski 4y agoI think of doing something like this, but I'm afraid my problem is that I'm self-directed and my motivation comes from within. Working for someone makes it again a job and making me fix problems someone else have created within limits they envision. Is it different for you?
- MrDresden 4y agoI think it is the same for me, to a degree. A job always entails working on someone else's problems and working within constraints of their (or their field's) own making. So it could never compare equally to what motivates us when it comes from within. But we get paid to do that work, so it is not a bad exchange. That isn't to say we can't try to be more picky about the positions that we seek out. The problem space might be motivating for us, or it might be that the coworkers are what drives us on. Perhaps the work life balance is really nice and the tech stack is either cutting edge or the internal practices are really solid. Hopefully all of these can be true, to a degree (perfection is unachievable). However if the place is occupied with rock star developers, corporate politicians as well as unrealistic requirements and time constraints then it is just a hands down bad place to work, and the dark cloud over your head has nothing to do with where your motivation comes from.
- HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago> Left my job late last year with the intention of striking out on my own. I read a quote from Amy Hoy (/u/ahoyhere) last week that summed it up pretty well, "most people who think they want to start their own business really just want a better job."