> Writing some actually useful code is harder, and it feels pointless, because there's almost always an existing app you can have at a click of a button and it

> Writing some actually useful code is harder, and it feels pointless, because there's almost always an existing app you can have at a click of a button and it does what you thought of and probably better. Well, there are a lot of people who enjoy cooking, or gardening, or carpentry, or making their own clothing, or playing in a local softball league, even though there are many professionals with professional-level skills and equipment who can do those jobs better than they can. I think it's like you suggested in your later comment: you either have the bug for programming, or you don't. There are a lot of programmers nowadays who don't -- they just program to make a buck. Not that there's anything wrong with making a buck, but it's like the guy who flips burgers at McDonalds. He does it to make a buck, not because it's speaking to his inner need to be a creative chef.