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By the time I got my first job in 1996, I had been a hobbyist for 10 years and graduated from college. The last thing I was thinking about doing as a single 22

By the time I got my first job in 1996, I had been a hobbyist for 10 years and graduated from college. The last thing I was thinking about doing as a single 22 year old who had just moved to the big city and had free cash flow was sit down at a computer after work. I have never in 30 years written a single line of code that I didn’t get paid for except a little work I did for charity.

theturtle32 1y ago
That’s heartbreaking. :-(
- scarface_74 1y ago
  It’s heartbreaking for a 22 year old to want to enjoy life outside of computers?
  - ThrowawayR2 1y ago
    On Hacker News, it is.
fuzzfactor 1y ago
There's respectable musicians who are like this too. And plenty who are not, it takes all kinds. It's a matter of taste and still all tastes may not be satisfied anyway :)
- scarface_74 1y ago
  That’s completely different. One of my good friends is a bartender. But his passion is his music. He’s practicing with friends, performing in front of people, etc. It is a social event - not sitting at a computer all day. For years I was a part time fitness instructor and runner. I loved hanging out with friends, being in front of people, meeting them at races and us training together. It’s completely different than being at a computer at home - after working all day on one.
  - bpt3 1y ago
    You're missing the point. Your good friend has to work on his music outside of his paid profession. It's a hobby that is not financially viable for him as a career. You expect someone who writes software for 8+ hours a day professionally to go home and do more of it for fun? Those who are interested in doing that are free to do so, but most people have more than 1 interest or would like to be compensated for the additional hours they are effectively working in their profession.
    - fuzzfactor 1y ago
      Rereading I can't edit now, but I meant there are plenty of respectable musicians who are not like this as well as plenty of great talents that only perform professionally. Not that one or the other is a less-respectable approach. Sorry if my text can be misinterpreted so easily.
deleted 1y ago
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theturtle32 1y ago

That’s heartbreaking. :-(

scarface_74 1y ago
It’s heartbreaking for a 22 year old to want to enjoy life outside of computers?
- ThrowawayR2 1y ago
  On Hacker News, it is.

fuzzfactor 1y ago

There's respectable musicians who are like this too. And plenty who are not, it takes all kinds. It's a matter of taste and still all tastes may not be satisfied anyway :)

scarface_74 1y ago
That’s completely different. One of my good friends is a bartender. But his passion is his music. He’s practicing with friends, performing in front of people, etc. It is a social event - not sitting at a computer all day. For years I was a part time fitness instructor and runner. I loved hanging out with friends, being in front of people, meeting them at races and us training together. It’s completely different than being at a computer at home - after working all day on one.
- bpt3 1y ago
  You're missing the point. Your good friend has to work on his music outside of his paid profession. It's a hobby that is not financially viable for him as a career. You expect someone who writes software for 8+ hours a day professionally to go home and do more of it for fun? Those who are interested in doing that are free to do so, but most people have more than 1 interest or would like to be compensated for the additional hours they are effectively working in their profession.
  - fuzzfactor 1y ago
    Rereading I can't edit now, but I meant there are plenty of respectable musicians who are not like this as well as plenty of great talents that only perform professionally. Not that one or the other is a less-respectable approach. Sorry if my text can be misinterpreted so easily.

deleted 1y ago

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