Re:Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple
by ornornor on Monday May 22, 2023 @02:00AM
(#36027941)
I have a similar experience. Working as a programmer is what killed my joy of programming. When I’m done working, I don’t want to look at a computer anymore. Or rather I can’t because I’m exhausted of all the firefighting and bullshit I have to go through for a paycheck.
My most enjoyable moments are the times when I’m in between jobs which I try and stretch for as long as I can (months) and which make me start new side projects just for the fun and enjoyment of it. But once I’m back to the grindstone, I start questioning my life again and wish I was doing anything else than programming.
I think turning a hobby into a career is a good way to ruin that hobby, so I can understand clock punchers and sometimes wish I could just “turn it off” and become one. It would save me a lot of frustration, anger, and unhappiness.
If you're passionate about the mission/coding you will just produce a lot of impotent anger, because there's no way an IC is going to restructure the program given the layers of bureaucracy in the way. Maybe if you went management and then spent a decade or two climbing the corporate ladder, and even then you'll run into brand new managerial constraints. So if you're going to stick around, you learn to detach. It's one of the many reasons I plan to have a new job by Christmas :)