

Relegating software development to a hobby - onthefence

I&#x27;m a self-taught web developer in my mid 30&#x27;s that, after doing web development for the last 8 years, is rapidly moving towards burnout. Over the last few years every time I changed jobs I thought the previous job was the issue (no upward mobility, e-commerce is boring, I don&#x27;t like strongly-typed languages), and only in the past few months have I started to wonder if it&#x27;s not the job but that I&#x27;m in the wrong career.<p>I&#x27;m interested in various languages and software and will do tutorials in new subjects occasionally, but never do the passionate personal-time deep dives that my colleagues do. I read The Passionate Programmer and often times thought &quot;Yeah I&#x27;m not going to do that&quot; regarding things a passionate programmer does. Right now programming feels like a person I want to perpetually date but never settle down with.<p>So for those who have gone through a similar soul-searching period, what helped you to reach a conclusion? Did you relegate software development to a hobby and go do something else instead? If so, are you happy with that decision?
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dorfuss
My situation is somewhat different as I have never been a programmer per se, I
graduaded in cultural anthropology, worked for two years at an insurance
corporation and now for almost a year at a small software developer,
implementing a BPM system which consist of both some coding and meeting with
clients.

I also started studying computer science a year ago. What has crushed my
ambition was the math. It simply requires lots and lots of time to start
solving basic problems at advenced level. Even if I pushed hard, sleep less,
the reality is that I'd never get to the level where my math is useful in CS,
or compete with people who are talented with math. And none of my colleagues
do any sort of calculations. There is no optimalization effort. Deadlines are
short and we just have to get things done. The chief architect even says
"memory is cheaper than processing time" so we shuffle around big chunks of
data instead of making smarter algorhytms. It of course doesn't mean that math
isn't important - I admire anyone who has mastered linear algebra.

So I realised that it wouldn't be worthwile to struggle with math, which was
too hard, but rather try to learn new languages, build something useful etc.

And than I realised that sitting at a computer the entire day is not what I
wanted for myself. When I was young I dreamt of becoming a filmmaker, make
documentaries. A friend helped me to dug this old dream out of my
subconsciousness.

He told me to write down and read a list of my strong sides every evening and
add to it if I find something new. And so I have for over 120 days. And I
focused on what I would like to accomplish and how much I want to sacrifice to
achieve my dreams. So the plan is to try to get to Manchester University and
study Visual Anthropology for a year and move on with a filmmaking career.
Wish me luck

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jf22
I used to be the same way.

Then I started trying to create my own software product and somehow everything
is far more interesting and fulfilling now.

I have a ssdd day job now and I don't even care about all annoyances I used
to.

It's like I have a much bigger dream and goal that outshines the rest of it.

When I think about dynamic vs static languages the only thong I think about is
if I'm productive with it and can get the next project out faster.

~~~
onthefence
This is what I'm leaning towards as well. Either as a hobby or a startup I
have 1-2 projects that already have me more excited than going to work.
Ideally your main job is where you have the most potential for advancement and
career fulfillment since you spend so much time there, but I'm beginning to
understand that that may not be an option.

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sdrinf
In lieu of writing an in-depth answer, I'd refer to a previous thread instead:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1726795](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1726795)

~~~
CmonDev
"...Even further, society isn't merely a collection of engineers, and
scientist: other people have all kind of different jobs. Furthermore, they are
equally convinced, that their field of choice was the right one; and from
their own perspective each one of them was right..."

Whoever's job is not automatable wins :).

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davelnewton
What would you _rather_ do? E.g., are you bored with development per se, or
life in general?

~~~
onthefence
What I would rather do has been the most elusive answer to find during this
soul searching period, but I may be bored with life in general.

Before side-stepping into software development I studied economics and then
environmental policy in school. While studying Geographic Information Systems
I discovered Python and really enjoyed it. After graduation a great
programming opportunity presented itself before I was able to find a
compelling environmental job, so I took it. I told myself it was better to
pick up hard skills like programming while I'm young, and could always go back
and learn additional soft skills for environmental work later. When I made
that decision I'd also envisioned doing more GIS-type work, until I later
discovered that most of those jobs are .NET programming which I'm not keen on.

I occasionally look for environmental opportunities but get discouraged
because I have no real-world experience and 9 years have passed since I
obtained my degree. The possibility of taking an unpaid internship at an
environmental organization just to get some experience is unappealing, I feel
too old to do something like that, and yes it would be a shot to my pride.

Other areas like digital art are interesting to me and I dabble in them, but
at my age I honestly don't know if I can devote years to improving my
abilities in order to carve out a career in a creative field like that. Most
of these possibilities also mean a dramatic reduction in salary and the
lifestyle change that comes with it. I don't have a family to support which
makes it easier, but hobbies like international travel would go away.

And that's why I say I may be bored with life in general. After the years of
school and hard work I'm potentially starting all over again. I come home from
work exhausted and have a few hours to try to figure this out, but have yet to
find something appealing. I've considered just taking a break but think I'll
end up with more questions than answers, and am not eager to put dead zones on
my resume that I'll have to explain. I'd love to hear from people that went
through similar transition periods.

~~~
davelnewton
Personally, I feel that anyone that can't deal with a resume "blank spot"
isn't really serious about finding an actual person: blank spots happen, it's
just that some people stay in a job they hate, so that both the job and person
suffer, rather than taking a step back.

I'd explore why doing something you're interested in, that helps you get on a
path you're interested in, is a "shot to your pride" rather than what it is:
an opportunity that you'd actually enjoy, and would help you down a path you
say you're interested in.

~~~
onthefence
I agree with you on the "blank spot" issue the more I think about it. I don't
currently have any on my resume so adding one by my own choosing in order to
give greater focus to my career path and passion for what I do should be an
easy explanation.

As for my pride, when I wrote that comment I had in mind doing an unpaid
internship alongside recent college graduates. I'd inevitably feel old in that
scenario but you're right, it would help me determine if that path is still
one I want to go down and is low-risk/commitment. Thank you for the feedback
Dave.

~~~
davelnewton
No problem; I wrestle/have wrestled with the same issues.

These days I just accept I'm so very old :/ On the plus side, college kids are
hot. Not that this does me any good.

