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Big boomer energy here: it's called work for a reason. You don't have to enjoy every minute on the job. It's not likely that you're going to be working on pass

Big boomer energy here: it's called work for a reason. You don't have to enjoy every minute on the job. It's not likely that you're going to be working on passion projects every day. You're not even going to be intellectually stimulated by the vast majority of tasks you will be given. You need to get used to the fact that almost every job as a programmer is probably going to be working on a system that retains eyeballs on screens, counts something, or shuffles around forms. When you do this for twenty or more years it gets pretty boring. Where are all of the data structures, type systems, formalizations, optimizations, etc? Taken. There are a few people who get lucky enough to have jobs where they can work on things that interest them, where they get to work on hard problems that get them out of bed and plague them while they're in the shower. But they don't leave those jobs and there aren't exactly a ton of new ones being created either. Unless you're lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to get into one of these jobs, you're more likely to be sitting in meetings and filing JIRA tickets. Cherish the times when you do get to work on a project that piques your interest. It can happen. But it's rare for it to last for most people. You have to sustain your interest and curiosity in other ways. And it's totally fine if it's anything to do with not-programming. Meanwhile, on the job? Do your best, show up, be nice and professional. You'll do fine. You're here to clock in your time for money so that you can do other things that you actually like: reading books, spending time with family, doom scrolling, etc.

lambdasquirrel 3y ago
When I was in college I had a professor who joked that her standards had gone down over the years. Nowadays, her only criteria are: "no criminal record." Maybe it's just a joke and we don't need to get that cynical, but I think that in the end, enjoyment of the work comes from: whether you can find some creative process in it, and whether you like your coworkers. I think this is the optimistic way of looking at "work is called work for a reason." To that end, even plain-old programming beats a whole lot of other fields. But to think that we should be drinking the kool-aid and all is definitely not going to stick for the vast majority of us by the second or third decade. I certainly enjoy my job, even though it's just "work." My professional life and mental health definitely improved when I finally accepted this in full. Whereas at my previous job, the entrepreneurs sold everyone on using the tools and languages of their choice (and sacrificing for compensation in a big way). Noble attempt, perhaps, that may have worked in a different time and era of tech, and under vastly different macroeconomic circumstances. But ultimately, it should not have been surprising, in retrospect, that no one would do any of the work-work that it would've taken to make the company work.
- agentultra 3y ago
  > I think that in the end, enjoyment of the work comes from: whether you can find some creative process in it, and whether you like your coworkers Hard agree. I look for the interesting things about it and try to, "find the fun." It's nice when you see something you built work well for people, solve problems, etc. When you get to work on a project that aligns with your values and goals, it's a blessing! Take it, enjoy it, savour it, and write about it. Dive in deep! When it's gone, it's gone. But there's a lot of busy, necessary work in programming that isn't going to be like that and it still needs doing. There are a lot of businesses out there that need people to do that busy work and will pay well for someone capable, competent, and willing to do it. It's not glamorous, exciting, satisfying work... it's work. You get paid for it. Update: s/able/willing/

lambdasquirrel 3y ago

When I was in college I had a professor who joked that her standards had gone down over the years. Nowadays, her only criteria are: "no criminal record." Maybe it's just a joke and we don't need to get that cynical, but I think that in the end, enjoyment of the work comes from: whether you can find some creative process in it, and whether you like your coworkers. I think this is the optimistic way of looking at "work is called work for a reason." To that end, even plain-old programming beats a whole lot of other fields. But to think that we should be drinking the kool-aid and all is definitely not going to stick for the vast majority of us by the second or third decade. I certainly enjoy my job, even though it's just "work." My professional life and mental health definitely improved when I finally accepted this in full. Whereas at my previous job, the entrepreneurs sold everyone on using the tools and languages of their choice (and sacrificing for compensation in a big way). Noble attempt, perhaps, that may have worked in a different time and era of tech, and under vastly different macroeconomic circumstances. But ultimately, it should not have been surprising, in retrospect, that no one would do any of the work-work that it would've taken to make the company work.

agentultra 3y ago
> I think that in the end, enjoyment of the work comes from: whether you can find some creative process in it, and whether you like your coworkers Hard agree. I look for the interesting things about it and try to, "find the fun." It's nice when you see something you built work well for people, solve problems, etc. When you get to work on a project that aligns with your values and goals, it's a blessing! Take it, enjoy it, savour it, and write about it. Dive in deep! When it's gone, it's gone. But there's a lot of busy, necessary work in programming that isn't going to be like that and it still needs doing. There are a lot of businesses out there that need people to do that busy work and will pay well for someone capable, competent, and willing to do it. It's not glamorous, exciting, satisfying work... it's work. You get paid for it. Update: s/able/willing/