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Not everyone who programs loves programming, but everyone needs to make a living. You are lucky that what you love also makes money.

by bfirsh 15y ago

driverdan 15y ago
Make a living doing something you love. If you don't love programming then do something else.
- astine 15y ago
  "Make a living doing something you love." That is ideal, but it is not always feasible. There are some things nobody likes doing, but somebody's got to do them. I'm fortunate that I like programming and that people will pay me to do it, but not everyone is so lucky.
  - jrs235 15y ago
    If someone loves making lots of money, and those things "nobody" loves pay good money because the supply of people willing to do them is low, then those people who LOVE to make money will do them... EDIT: It all comes down to balancing and finding what you truly LOVE. If being a janitor paid $300 an hour because supposedly nobody would do it otherwise... I'd do it knowing, thinking, and planning with what I love in mind... saving up money so I could do/have what I love! My time! Sometimes you have to put in short term pain for a long term gain...
- jquery 15y ago
  How much does playing video games pay these days?
  - tjpick 15y ago
    Like anything: quite well, if you are good at it.
    - getsat 15y ago
      Indeed. There are streamers on twitch.tv who make $500+/day playing video games.
    - jquery 15y ago
      If you're the best in the world at anything there's an audience, sure. But don't pretend it's available to anyone who's passionate about it. I'm passionate about casually playing various games with my fiance while drinking a beer. Who's going to pay for that?
- chc 15y ago
  I think this is the nearest real-life equivalent to "let them eat cake" I have ever seen. Are you going to pay me to play Xbox with my brother or go out to dinner with my wife and talk about interesting books we've read? Neither is anybody else. For most people, the set of "things I love" and "things people will pay me to do" intersect very little if at all. (I don't actually have this conundrum. There are a few things I enjoy doing that people will pay me for. But I'm lucky that way. If I suddenly became unable to do those two or three things, I'd be in the situation I described.)
  - scommab 15y ago
    The adage should really be "Do what you love AND excel at". If the conversation you had with your wife about books you read was very interesting, you could film it, sell it (or more likely ads around it) and make it your job. While some passions are easier to monetize then others if you are in the top 100 people that do it, there is a good chance someone will pay you for it.
    - Drbble 15y ago
      He said he loves hanging out with his wife. He didn't say he loves blogging or being a voyeurism target.
  - nahname 15y ago
    Do something you love is referring to creative passions. Find something creative you love to do and make it your profession. Think of the people making the games you enjoy and how many of them must enjoy what they do because of the obvious quality in the product they are producing. Try to find that for yourself. If you only love consumption habits, try taking up new hobbies. There must be something that you will enjoy that is constructive.
    - mapleoin 15y ago
      Think of the people making the games you enjoy and how many of them must enjoy what they do because of the obvious quality in the product they are producing. Try to find that for yourself. This sounds very naive. I've gone for beer with various people in the gaming industry. From ubisoft QA team leader to indie game programmer to Blizzard Project Manager. All of them were tired of their jobs. For all of them it was "just a job" and sometimes even less. It's these people that I end up going to beer with in normal social contexts. Maybe because the ones who really like their job don't go out. OTOH I know the colleagues in my company who spend too much time on their job and I really wouldn't want to go out with them.
- Tomis 15y ago
  And the award for "scumbag reply from a high horse" goes to driverdan, for telling others what they must and must not do while showing no empathy for their personal situation. You have great talent lad, keep at it.
- sireat 15y ago
  I like the following advice "Work at the job you do not actively hate", this might be paraphrasing Buffett. Very few are lucky that their most enjoyable pastime that they are good at is also the highest paid. As it has been noted, for most of humanity some sort of purely consuming task seems most enjoyable these days. I would much rather play strategy video games or chess, but there is a very limited market for good players. Also, it has been noted playing anything for money actually changes your enjoyment of that task. Corollary - if you are the best at something in the world - you can create your own profession. Programming is something that I enjoy, but it is not something i want to do 24/7. However, it is well rewarded.

Not everyone who programs loves programming, but everyone needs to make a living. You are lucky that what you love also makes money.

by bfirsh 15y ago

Not everyone who programs loves programming, but everyone needs to make a living. You are lucky that what you love also makes money.

driverdan 15y ago

Make a living doing something you love. If you don't love programming then do something else.

astine 15y ago
"Make a living doing something you love." That is ideal, but it is not always feasible. There are some things nobody likes doing, but somebody's got to do them. I'm fortunate that I like programming and that people will pay me to do it, but not everyone is so lucky.
- jrs235 15y ago
  If someone loves making lots of money, and those things "nobody" loves pay good money because the supply of people willing to do them is low, then those people who LOVE to make money will do them... EDIT: It all comes down to balancing and finding what you truly LOVE. If being a janitor paid $300 an hour because supposedly nobody would do it otherwise... I'd do it knowing, thinking, and planning with what I love in mind... saving up money so I could do/have what I love! My time! Sometimes you have to put in short term pain for a long term gain...
jquery 15y ago
How much does playing video games pay these days?
- tjpick 15y ago
  Like anything: quite well, if you are good at it.
  - getsat 15y ago
    Indeed. There are streamers on twitch.tv who make $500+/day playing video games.
  - jquery 15y ago
    If you're the best in the world at anything there's an audience, sure. But don't pretend it's available to anyone who's passionate about it. I'm passionate about casually playing various games with my fiance while drinking a beer. Who's going to pay for that?
chc 15y ago
I think this is the nearest real-life equivalent to "let them eat cake" I have ever seen. Are you going to pay me to play Xbox with my brother or go out to dinner with my wife and talk about interesting books we've read? Neither is anybody else. For most people, the set of "things I love" and "things people will pay me to do" intersect very little if at all. (I don't actually have this conundrum. There are a few things I enjoy doing that people will pay me for. But I'm lucky that way. If I suddenly became unable to do those two or three things, I'd be in the situation I described.)
- scommab 15y ago
  The adage should really be "Do what you love AND excel at". If the conversation you had with your wife about books you read was very interesting, you could film it, sell it (or more likely ads around it) and make it your job. While some passions are easier to monetize then others if you are in the top 100 people that do it, there is a good chance someone will pay you for it.
  - Drbble 15y ago
    He said he loves hanging out with his wife. He didn't say he loves blogging or being a voyeurism target.
- nahname 15y ago
  Do something you love is referring to creative passions. Find something creative you love to do and make it your profession. Think of the people making the games you enjoy and how many of them must enjoy what they do because of the obvious quality in the product they are producing. Try to find that for yourself. If you only love consumption habits, try taking up new hobbies. There must be something that you will enjoy that is constructive.
  - mapleoin 15y ago
    Think of the people making the games you enjoy and how many of them must enjoy what they do because of the obvious quality in the product they are producing. Try to find that for yourself. This sounds very naive. I've gone for beer with various people in the gaming industry. From ubisoft QA team leader to indie game programmer to Blizzard Project Manager. All of them were tired of their jobs. For all of them it was "just a job" and sometimes even less. It's these people that I end up going to beer with in normal social contexts. Maybe because the ones who really like their job don't go out. OTOH I know the colleagues in my company who spend too much time on their job and I really wouldn't want to go out with them.
Tomis 15y ago
And the award for "scumbag reply from a high horse" goes to driverdan, for telling others what they must and must not do while showing no empathy for their personal situation. You have great talent lad, keep at it.
sireat 15y ago
I like the following advice "Work at the job you do not actively hate", this might be paraphrasing Buffett. Very few are lucky that their most enjoyable pastime that they are good at is also the highest paid. As it has been noted, for most of humanity some sort of purely consuming task seems most enjoyable these days. I would much rather play strategy video games or chess, but there is a very limited market for good players. Also, it has been noted playing anything for money actually changes your enjoyment of that task. Corollary - if you are the best at something in the world - you can create your own profession. Programming is something that I enjoy, but it is not something i want to do 24/7. However, it is well rewarded.