You make a lot of money. But you never relax. You work long hours, plus you have deadlines, and there's no hiding from your mistakes - if your program doesn't work, everyone will know about it.
You want to make same or more money? Be a plumber or an electrician or an HVAC repairman.
Short version work is work no matter what filed you go into. It is great if you derive satisfaction from the work and the work environment but that is not likely to happen. The idea is to deliver a product and clear a profit that is all work is. Despite being very innovative silicon valley is not going to reinvent work. If you are looking for satisfaction and meaning you have to find that outside of work.
Most S/W Eng jobs are a grind. If you're really good and manage to go a more academic or research route, you can actually get a job that involves some creativity and the suspense of research (your work will occasionally answer a theoretical question whose answer wasn't readily apparent). I find the latter pretty motivating, and the creativity part helps pass the time and keep it engaging. But it is all just tinkering with machines or abstract concepts, so it will still never be sexy or cool and you will always yearn to be in nature or exercising or socializing (unless you're autistic and have never understood the appreciation for such things). The fact that you spend SO much of your time dealing with machines / systems leaves you craving these things, and it can feel a bit like every day after work is a process of rehabilitating yourself and re-discovering your humanness.
I don't know why anyone would consciously choose programming or CS just from looking at it from the outside. If you are going to be good enough that you are going to land a job that is actually sorta fun and engaging, you probably already are the type of person who will fall into CS without any practical consideration. You probably were a bit of a whiz kid, tinkered with machines or abstract puzzles a lot, and are naturally keen on being in your head and don't mind the solitude.
If you do decide to go into it as an adult because of practical reasons, consider that you are getting exactly what you asked for. If you wanted it to be cool and fun you probably already would have found enjoyment in it, and surrounded yourself with friends who think it's cool. If you're getting into it because someone told you it was something, well enjoy grinding away with a bunch of other followers.
6 comments
1 u/Luke_Luck 12 Apr 2016 02:52
You make a lot of money. But you never relax. You work long hours, plus you have deadlines, and there's no hiding from your mistakes - if your program doesn't work, everyone will know about it.
You want to make same or more money? Be a plumber or an electrician or an HVAC repairman.
1 u/AlphaWookie 12 Apr 2016 16:57
Short version work is work no matter what filed you go into. It is great if you derive satisfaction from the work and the work environment but that is not likely to happen. The idea is to deliver a product and clear a profit that is all work is. Despite being very innovative silicon valley is not going to reinvent work. If you are looking for satisfaction and meaning you have to find that outside of work.
1 u/onegin 12 Apr 2016 17:35
Most S/W Eng jobs are a grind. If you're really good and manage to go a more academic or research route, you can actually get a job that involves some creativity and the suspense of research (your work will occasionally answer a theoretical question whose answer wasn't readily apparent). I find the latter pretty motivating, and the creativity part helps pass the time and keep it engaging. But it is all just tinkering with machines or abstract concepts, so it will still never be sexy or cool and you will always yearn to be in nature or exercising or socializing (unless you're autistic and have never understood the appreciation for such things). The fact that you spend SO much of your time dealing with machines / systems leaves you craving these things, and it can feel a bit like every day after work is a process of rehabilitating yourself and re-discovering your humanness.
I don't know why anyone would consciously choose programming or CS just from looking at it from the outside. If you are going to be good enough that you are going to land a job that is actually sorta fun and engaging, you probably already are the type of person who will fall into CS without any practical consideration. You probably were a bit of a whiz kid, tinkered with machines or abstract puzzles a lot, and are naturally keen on being in your head and don't mind the solitude.
If you do decide to go into it as an adult because of practical reasons, consider that you are getting exactly what you asked for. If you wanted it to be cool and fun you probably already would have found enjoyment in it, and surrounded yourself with friends who think it's cool. If you're getting into it because someone told you it was something, well enjoy grinding away with a bunch of other followers.
0 u/DickHertz 20 Apr 2016 10:19
Neither.