> Sounds like the OP was never a "programmer", but rather a farmer trapped inside a programmer's job.
I don't know, we keep getting these stories about people that burn out and quit the industry, just when they are beginning to get good at the trade.
I think the ones that drop off might be the proverbial canaries in the coal mine. Many, many of us feel some sort of "ennui" with the realities of the job as it is, but only the most sensitive individuals are quitting now. Just as a token example, earlier this year I felt really down after realizing I might never get paid to work on a code base that I can truly love. I am not sure if this is something that happens to every profession or is just a programmer thing, but I am sure as hell I am not the only one.
It might be misguided to label those that quit as "not real programmers". They are telling us something about who we are and what we are doing, and it's as tempting as self defeating to pretend we didn't hear anything.
I don't know, we keep getting these stories about people that burn out and quit the industry, just when they are beginning to get good at the trade.
I think the ones that drop off might be the proverbial canaries in the coal mine. Many, many of us feel some sort of "ennui" with the realities of the job as it is, but only the most sensitive individuals are quitting now. Just as a token example, earlier this year I felt really down after realizing I might never get paid to work on a code base that I can truly love. I am not sure if this is something that happens to every profession or is just a programmer thing, but I am sure as hell I am not the only one.
It might be misguided to label those that quit as "not real programmers". They are telling us something about who we are and what we are doing, and it's as tempting as self defeating to pretend we didn't hear anything.