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There's nothing wrong with programming for the pay. Your motivations shouldn't have an effect like that on the quality of your work. Even if you love programmin

There's nothing wrong with programming for the pay. Your motivations shouldn't have an effect like that on the quality of your work. Even if you love programming, do you really love the programming you do at work every day? There are lots of great reasons to pursue work in computers, and not wanting to clean toilets for a living is a perfectly valid one.

JohnFen 3y ago
I'm not saying that there's something wrong with being motivated by pay, although I do think that is one of the factors that has led to a decrease in software quality over the years. (If you're doing a job just for pay rather than because you enjoy the work, you're much less likely to go above and beyond to produce the finest work you can do.) It's just not what motivates me, and I'm commenting about why I don't feel like there's a role for me in the industry anymore.
- the_only_law 3y ago
  > If you're doing a job just for pay rather than because you enjoy the work, you're much less likely to go above and beyond to produce the finest work you can do. Just spitballing, but I wonder if that’s in part because theres not much monetary incentive to go above and beyond. Companies don’t seem to give out raises or promotions for good work as much as they do for more political reasons. And I’m sure we’ve all heard stories about the new guy getting hired on for much better pay than the loyal veterans. Personally, this is why I think job hopping and resume driven development are so popular. If I’m someone primarily motivated by money, and there’s no monetary incentive to go above and beyond, why would I waste my time trying?
  - shrimp_emoji 3y ago
    More money won't make me do much more. I already get enough, and my dislike of something and the added stress of slogging through it isn't worth it. I'm not a frycook desperate for more hours to make rent this month. Genuine interest in the technology? That'll boost my competence leaps and bounds (through the experience I have pre-cached from my time off of work alone) for no extra pay! In other words, at dev level, > someone primarily motivated by money is likely far too up Maslow's hierarchy for extra pay to make up for the problem of having pure "hired guns".

JohnFen 3y ago

I'm not saying that there's something wrong with being motivated by pay, although I do think that is one of the factors that has led to a decrease in software quality over the years. (If you're doing a job just for pay rather than because you enjoy the work, you're much less likely to go above and beyond to produce the finest work you can do.) It's just not what motivates me, and I'm commenting about why I don't feel like there's a role for me in the industry anymore.

the_only_law 3y ago
> If you're doing a job just for pay rather than because you enjoy the work, you're much less likely to go above and beyond to produce the finest work you can do. Just spitballing, but I wonder if that’s in part because theres not much monetary incentive to go above and beyond. Companies don’t seem to give out raises or promotions for good work as much as they do for more political reasons. And I’m sure we’ve all heard stories about the new guy getting hired on for much better pay than the loyal veterans. Personally, this is why I think job hopping and resume driven development are so popular. If I’m someone primarily motivated by money, and there’s no monetary incentive to go above and beyond, why would I waste my time trying?
- shrimp_emoji 3y ago
  More money won't make me do much more. I already get enough, and my dislike of something and the added stress of slogging through it isn't worth it. I'm not a frycook desperate for more hours to make rent this month. Genuine interest in the technology? That'll boost my competence leaps and bounds (through the experience I have pre-cached from my time off of work alone) for no extra pay! In other words, at dev level, > someone primarily motivated by money is likely far too up Maslow's hierarchy for extra pay to make up for the problem of having pure "hired guns".