
You don't have to be a passionate programmer - itamarst
https://codewithoutrules.com/2016/11/30/not-a-passionate-programmer/
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sparky_
I feel this article is confusing "passionate" with "willing to work crazy
overtime", or "lacking any hobbies beside software". I would argue that most
good programmers _are_ passionate about what they do, in the sense that they
enjoy their work and care deeply about the quality of the work they do. They
genuinely find fun in solving problems and writing code. This, to me, is on an
independent axis from "amount of life-time consumed by coding".

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sidlls
I agree. But I think in this industry those two items are generally what
employers mean by "passionate".

"Passionate", "have a GitHub profile," etc. are all signals that an employer
wants someone who's life is consumed by coding and, ideally, coding for them
(while being willing to tolerate tedium or terrible working conditions).

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anupshinde
If you are not passionate about programming, you must keep looking for your
passion. And take calculated risks. Life is too short to waste on doing
something you don't love. Until I discovered my passion in electronics and
programming, I hated going to school and consistently underperformed. Later I
did better even at unrelated areas

Being a passionate programmer does not always translate well into regular
programming jobs. I love programming but the processes and bureaucracy at a
job always came in my way. Of course, some of the processes are necessary -
but I am not passionate about processes. When my manager asked me to develop a
cool-new-complex-feature-in-bleeding-edge-tech in 72 hours straight, without
paying for overtime - I didn't care about overtime or insane work-hours. That
kind of insanity is possible when one is passionate. However, if that happened
frequently, I'd fire the company.

And you are absolutely right - _most_ companies that look for passionate
programmers are just looking for unpaid overtime from less-experienced
programmers. Companies looking for "Experts in XYZ" are much better.

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Gustomaximus
Sorry don't buy passion in work arguement as an absolute.

This seems to be such a US-centric view. When doing business in US I notice
typically usually within 10min of meeting a new person they tell you how they
love their job. It feels like something Americans have to prove to show their
worth to their company/role.

I like to think I'm good at my job but I dont have passion. I'd prefer to be
out hiking, speding time with the family etc. But I have a sense of pride in
getting results and doing things well. I see people who go down the passionate
route, while effective in some areas blind themselves in others where they
fail to see the bigger picture outside their passion area. Passion can be
good, but it can also be damaging and should not be treated as this absolute
requirement.

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ngneer
Itamar. Great post. Given that work occupies a large majority of our lives,
one should strive to be passionate about their work. That is the global ideal
(global over the lifetime of a person). The local reality is that not all jobs
throughout a career can sustain the same level of passion, and recognizing
that goes a long way towards reconciling those periods of monotony. The post
is applicable as well if one is working in a field that they have mentally
exhausted but cannot yet afford to leave, or else in a new field for which
passion can take time to build. Either way, both mentalities are important as
long as people are not using their lack of passion as an excuse to slack off
or deliver substandard work.

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falcolas
Want to kill a passion? Turn it into a job.

Love playing video games? Play them competitively, or play as a QA tester.

Love working with wood? Add in deadlines, the overhead of running a business,
and build what other people want built.

Love programming? Go work for a company who will throw so much process,
politics, and idiotic requirements at you that you want to pull your hair out
before writing a single line of code.

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ellius
The whole notion of being passionate about a skill or industry without any
context regarding means or ends is odd to me. It's like saying you should be
passionate about banking. Sure, maybe, if you're helping people purchase a
home or save for college or whatever. No so much if you're participating in
ripping off poor people or just participating in a soulless gambling contest.
Anyone who makes simplistic arguments with no reference to reality is either a
lazy thinker or actively trying to take advantage of you. Why listen to them?

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senior_james
You really don't need to be a passionate programmer. However, passion will
bring you much further when you have to work on something that's boring,
tedious, or has no real end in sight.

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sidlls
I've never understood this attitude. Passion doesn't necessarily bring
anything to the table here for everyone. Persistence I think is the word
you're actually looking for.

For example, when I was in grad school my passion for the subject actually
nose-dived as the quantity of tedium and endless iteration increased. It
wasn't passion that carried me anywhere then. It was simple determination.

~~~
anupshinde
Persistence and Passion - both have value and both might result into the same
thing

Passionate person's approach: > I'm looking for something I don't know. > This
framework I read on HN looks cool. I have a busy day, but let me put aside my
boring work and try this new framework > Let me create a NN in my own way
-just for fun. I know libraries exist, but I still want to do it my way. > I'm
bored - let me check HN (I don't remember that I checked it 30 mins back) > I
wonder that I work so long and hard, but I don't achieve anything concrete
(Scattered energies) > I reached goal XYZ because I was trying this and that.
And then the dots connected and I had this eureka moment. And now I have 10K
users (accidentally)

Persistence approach: > This is the goal I want to reach (The goal could be
learning a new thing) > This is the plan that I need to follow. Or experiment
with another plan if this doesn't work. > Don't reinvent the wheel, use the
resources available (exception: re-inventing was a part of the goal) > I need
to read HN twice a day and see if something I can add to my learning/todo-
list. > I need to stay disciplined even if I don't like it (Focused) > I
reached goal XYZ because I planned and strategized for acquiring 10K users.

Combination of both is necessary. Throughout my career, I have seen persistent
people achieve more often. However, if passionate people achieve something it
is significantly larger win (amidst very low probabilities)

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jack9
You don't have to be a good swimmer in the ocean either, but if you have a
specific goal, you might not reach it without. As an engineer, you have to
have the passion to keep learning so, despite the confusion introduced by the
(almost ephemerally tiny) article, I'll just disagree with the title on its
face.

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lacampbell
The "passion" thing is not unique to the software industry. David Mitchell had
a very good take on it.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz2-49q6DOI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz2-49q6DOI)

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rodrigosetti
Agree with the post. But if you want to be amongst the best programmers, being
passionate about your craft is a necessary condition.

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yarou
Why is finding a good tech job like navigating through a maze these days?

You have to watch out for the most esoteric of traps.

