Fuck You Sunday(fuckyousunday.com)
fuckyousunday.com
Fuck You Sunday
https://fuckyousunday.com
380 comments
This is me right now. Work starts in 4.7 hours. Retaliatory is an interesting word to apply to this behaviour, I hadn't thought of it like that but it's kind of true: I am struggling with the bounds of my weekend (or spare time in general) and trying to make the most of it while the clock ticks down. I'm not scrolling a feed exactly, but I logically know that I should be sleeping so it's also not good use of my time. Thanks for sharing this.
Idleness is important. You get your best thinking done in the shower because there is little else to do there. We got really good at filling that time with music, podcasts and feeds, but we should leave some of it to process our thoughts and let new ideas in.
I miss walking to work for those 20 minutes of reflection before and after my shift.
Now I ride motorcycles. That gives me hours to think.
I miss walking to work for those 20 minutes of reflection before and after my shift.
Now I ride motorcycles. That gives me hours to think.
Learned from my VC: "if you ever spend more than 20 minutes in the shower, it's time to change jobs." But these days I no longer shower in the mornings, but in the evenings, so...
There is a corollary for relationships, where you should not dread walking into your own house.
That being said, sometimes I have 20 minute showers because the thinking session is just that good. I have drawn more than a few diagrams on the foggy shower door.
That being said, sometimes I have 20 minute showers because the thinking session is just that good. I have drawn more than a few diagrams on the foggy shower door.
Getting a motorcycle and riding around without a GPS in my face or earbuds has been amazing for getting away from screens and tech.
I highly recommend it.
An unexpected side effect is a new small group of friends who don't give a shit about tech, but share an interest in sampling food from faraway restaurants and getting there using as few highways as possible.
I highly recommend it.
An unexpected side effect is a new small group of friends who don't give a shit about tech, but share an interest in sampling food from faraway restaurants and getting there using as few highways as possible.
Long distance motorcycle travel stretches this to a few days, weeks or months. When you reach your hotel after hours of riding, you're too tired to reach for your laptop.
Unfortunately, it also makes sunny days unbearable when you're stuck at the office. Never park your bike within sight of your desk.
Unfortunately, it also makes sunny days unbearable when you're stuck at the office. Never park your bike within sight of your desk.
I live in Melbourne, Australia. Whilst I understand the reasons and generally approve of our COVID-19 response, a side-effect is that any activities outside of 5km from one's home have been banned for the last three months (and with about a two week break in the middle, effectively the last six months.) Riding a motorbike within that 5km radius is not considered exercise, which is otherwise permitted. Net result - no riding for me... :-(
I miss exactly what you're describing. It's amazing how much solo time on a bike clears my head!
I miss exactly what you're describing. It's amazing how much solo time on a bike clears my head!
Oh that stinks. I hope things get better and you are able to ride again soon!
This whole comment. It's nice to know that I am not the only one. There's even a name for it!
aka making yourself redundant through better tech and processes; and / or laziness as a Good Thing.
My ultimate goal as a software developer is to make myself redundant.
Not a great goal financially, but there's always another job out there. Until there isn't, and at that point we'll either be living in a utopia or the robots will have exterminated us.
Not a great goal financially, but there's always another job out there. Until there isn't, and at that point we'll either be living in a utopia or the robots will have exterminated us.
Here's my take on it (and why I don't do side projects anymore).
Roughly:
As musician you grab your instrument and play. As a writer you pick pen and paper and write. As a chef you slice your stuff and cook.
Me, starting with an idea:
- Turn on computer. Oh no, updates galore. Ok fine.
- Those updates broke my IDE/dependencies/network driver etc. Let's fix that as well.
- Let's research a gazillion libs to see which one can help with my idea. Ah, none of them. So let's first implement this (for the actual problem) irrelevant, but elaborate base module.
- Meanwhile: more updates.
- Grrr. I should have picked another language. Or no, let's start again with new shiny, because it's better suited (also not BLUB programmer).
- My wife got the updates too. Guess what I have to fix now because I'm into computers.
- Damn, hours passed and I achieved nothing valuable so far. Back to work. Wait what? Work?.
- Screw that, I'm spending the time with my son playing electric guitar.
So, there you have it.
Edit: Corrected typos.
Roughly:
As musician you grab your instrument and play. As a writer you pick pen and paper and write. As a chef you slice your stuff and cook.
Me, starting with an idea:
- Turn on computer. Oh no, updates galore. Ok fine.
- Those updates broke my IDE/dependencies/network driver etc. Let's fix that as well.
- Let's research a gazillion libs to see which one can help with my idea. Ah, none of them. So let's first implement this (for the actual problem) irrelevant, but elaborate base module.
- Meanwhile: more updates.
- Grrr. I should have picked another language. Or no, let's start again with new shiny, because it's better suited (also not BLUB programmer).
- My wife got the updates too. Guess what I have to fix now because I'm into computers.
- Damn, hours passed and I achieved nothing valuable so far. Back to work. Wait what? Work?.
- Screw that, I'm spending the time with my son playing electric guitar.
So, there you have it.
Edit: Corrected typos.
> As a writer you pick pen and paper and write
I wish it was that easy. Idea generation; research; plot outlines; character sketches; continuity; deliberate discontinuity; word choice; dialogue flow; action scene planning ...
Editing the first draft is so much easier than writing it.
I wish it was that easy. Idea generation; research; plot outlines; character sketches; continuity; deliberate discontinuity; word choice; dialogue flow; action scene planning ...
Editing the first draft is so much easier than writing it.
Yes, but:
- Was there ever a moment like "Oh no, I should rewrite my story in german, because I could better express the ideas"?
- Have you ever left your pen on the desk, coming back the other day, just to find out it does not work if you write the letters z and I?
- After fixing said pen, you wife asks you to do the same with hers because she needs to write a notification for the kids?
- Coming back and after finding out what exactly you want to write, seeing that you can't buy paper anymore that works with that stupid pen, so you have to make your own?
Actually I was waiting for a writer to respond this ;-). All the problems you mentioned above are key points relevant to your idea/product. In my view, the things I listed are just annoying, irrelevant distractions.
- Was there ever a moment like "Oh no, I should rewrite my story in german, because I could better express the ideas"?
- Have you ever left your pen on the desk, coming back the other day, just to find out it does not work if you write the letters z and I?
- After fixing said pen, you wife asks you to do the same with hers because she needs to write a notification for the kids?
- Coming back and after finding out what exactly you want to write, seeing that you can't buy paper anymore that works with that stupid pen, so you have to make your own?
Actually I was waiting for a writer to respond this ;-). All the problems you mentioned above are key points relevant to your idea/product. In my view, the things I listed are just annoying, irrelevant distractions.
> Was there ever a moment like "Oh no, I should rewrite my story in german, because I could better express the ideas"?
I wonder if this 2 page free-verse poem work better as half a dozen rhymed couplets?
> Have you ever left your pen on the desk, coming back the other day, just to find out it does not work if you write the letters z and I?
"Where's my favourite pen? Did you steal my pen??" - stares accusingly at the cat.
> After fixing said pen, you wife asks you to do the same with hers because she needs to write a notification for the kids?
"Why did you give the pen to the kid? Is it out of ink because he's been drawing on the walls again?? What do you mean he tried to flush it down the toilet???"
> Coming back and after finding out what exactly you want to write, seeing that you can't buy paper anymore that works with that stupid pen, so you have to make your own?
"Don't you dare wipe down that wall! Yes, I know it's blood. It's my blood! You drop that cloth now!! Dammit - I spent ages getting those end-rhymes right ..."
I wonder if this 2 page free-verse poem work better as half a dozen rhymed couplets?
> Have you ever left your pen on the desk, coming back the other day, just to find out it does not work if you write the letters z and I?
"Where's my favourite pen? Did you steal my pen??" - stares accusingly at the cat.
> After fixing said pen, you wife asks you to do the same with hers because she needs to write a notification for the kids?
"Why did you give the pen to the kid? Is it out of ink because he's been drawing on the walls again?? What do you mean he tried to flush it down the toilet???"
> Coming back and after finding out what exactly you want to write, seeing that you can't buy paper anymore that works with that stupid pen, so you have to make your own?
"Don't you dare wipe down that wall! Yes, I know it's blood. It's my blood! You drop that cloth now!! Dammit - I spent ages getting those end-rhymes right ..."
Thank you very very much.
This made my day :-).
This should be at the top. This is why at home I read about tech and at work I execute tech. There's reading and then there's doing. Reading should be considered a side project when you work full time executing.
Reading should be considered a side project when you work full time executing.
I've felt this way before. The only thing that's worked is to either take a bunch of time off, or change jobs.
I don't really try to do "productive side projects" on weekends; mostly I read books, go outside, play music, spend time with friends and family, etc. But if my 9-5 job doesn't scratch the itch of "using my hard-earned talents for a constructive purpose", then the inexorable approach of Sunday night brings with it a deep feeling of dread: freedom to pursue things I enjoy is coming to an end, mandatory drudgery is fast approaching.
I don't really try to do "productive side projects" on weekends; mostly I read books, go outside, play music, spend time with friends and family, etc. But if my 9-5 job doesn't scratch the itch of "using my hard-earned talents for a constructive purpose", then the inexorable approach of Sunday night brings with it a deep feeling of dread: freedom to pursue things I enjoy is coming to an end, mandatory drudgery is fast approaching.
The author of the page we're discussing recommends unproductive side projects and presents us with one. This is worth emulating. Productive side projects are just more work, and sometimes you're tired of work. A good unproductive side project gives you something fun to think about all the time. If your mind wanders at work, this gives it a good place to go. It only works if you're having fun though.
I go for time well spent, which encompasses productive activities, but also the activities you listed.
If I could spend the rest of my life having similar days, then it was a good day. That metric allows for more than just productive work.
If I could spend the rest of my life having similar days, then it was a good day. That metric allows for more than just productive work.
I like that metric. I've definitely done projects in the past, just haven't had an inspiration in a while.
Please don't fuck with Show HN like that. The rules are here: https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html. Note the part that says "Off topic".
(I've taken "Show HN" out of the title now.)
(I've taken "Show HN" out of the title now.)
Reading all of the opinions on side projects is interesting. Particularly those of you who think rather negatively of it (or the expectation of it). And probably rightfully so. When I was picking my major/profession, I liked coding as a hobby and thought hard about going the CS route. Even just taking a few 100 level courses turned me off because it wasn’t fun. I even took on a small consulting gig and didn’t enjoy building things to someone else’s spec. Or working on things that I subjectively found boring. I realized coding was my hobby and making it my profession would take away the joy. Some 20 years later, I work in finance. I don’t love it. It pays the bills. I don’t keep up with finance, markets, etc. in my off time but I still code as a hobby and enjoy my side projects. No chance I’d be happy as a software engineer. It’s dizzying seeing how much has changed in past 20 years and how much you have to keep up with. I have the flexibility to ignore things that don’t interest me (eg. I have no interest in the cloud or learning 500 products offering of AWS). I don’t know if that helps you feel better or worse, but it’s at least one alternative reality to the one some of you are living.
I was just thinking about this yesterday. During the week I do my 9-5 and my mind is mostly numb after that. Enough for some exploratory stuff, but hard to get a lot of 'real' grind work done.
Then it's Friday night and you think how great it is that the weekend is here to get stuff done. Saturday arrives and if you're a home owner like me it's full of house and yard work (which in itself is fine, just time consuming).
So what you have left is Sunday. Relax in the morning with a cup of coffee and watch a relaxing show with the wife. The rest of the day is ahead, and based on how relatable this article is you know where that goes. Welcome to Sunday night and the cycle continues.
Then it's Friday night and you think how great it is that the weekend is here to get stuff done. Saturday arrives and if you're a home owner like me it's full of house and yard work (which in itself is fine, just time consuming).
So what you have left is Sunday. Relax in the morning with a cup of coffee and watch a relaxing show with the wife. The rest of the day is ahead, and based on how relatable this article is you know where that goes. Welcome to Sunday night and the cycle continues.
If you're trying to "break out" instead of "just existing" (although there's nothing wrong with the latter; we put too much demands on ourselves) the winning play, for most, is to get up as early as you can stand. Most people's best hours are from 1 to 4 hours after waking, and it's a shame to give those to a boss.
I relate to this (and upvoted), but it’s worth acknowledging that some people have more energy in evenings or even the dark of night. The key, if you’re trying to best utilize your time:
1. Your point: don’t give your most productive time to someone who uses you as a resource.
2. Try to structure your schedule so that you can best utilize your most effective energy without it being solely devoted to the obligations outside of being a profit center for someone else.
1. Your point: don’t give your most productive time to someone who uses you as a resource.
2. Try to structure your schedule so that you can best utilize your most effective energy without it being solely devoted to the obligations outside of being a profit center for someone else.
I spent today walking around a gorgeous park I didn't know existed in a city I've lived in for almost thirty years total, then hung out in a cafe discussing the interpretation of a favorite piece of fiction online, and drawing a goofy Halloween image.
Sunday is what you make of it. Get the hell out of the house and you're less likely to sit on your ass scrolling all the endless scrolls. It helps if you forgot to charge your phone last night so you have barely enough battery for stuff you actually need, too.
Sunday is what you make of it. Get the hell out of the house and you're less likely to sit on your ass scrolling all the endless scrolls. It helps if you forgot to charge your phone last night so you have barely enough battery for stuff you actually need, too.
When the weather allows it, I love to pack an "adventure" backpack and ride my bicycle to interesting places. I carry a notebook, some pens, a water bottle, snacks, warm clothes, and other things that might help on my journey. I'll stop for coffee, museums, interesting scenery, sketching, etc.
These little adventures give me time to relax, reflect, do some exercise and explore my city. It's thoroughly satisfying.
These little adventures give me time to relax, reflect, do some exercise and explore my city. It's thoroughly satisfying.
Show HN: Drunk Posting.
Call me a Hedonist but the point of life is to enjoy it. If you spend your time with people who make you happy your weekend is a success at minimum.
Call me a Hedonist but the point of life is to enjoy it. If you spend your time with people who make you happy your weekend is a success at minimum.
> If you spend your time with people who make you happy your weekend is a success at minimum.
I wish I had friends.
I wish I had friends.
Hello, Friend.
I was just speaking to a friend about this a few hours ago -- there's always some feeling of guilt that creeps up on me on Sunday evening, like I'm questioning if I spent the weekend well. But honestly, I don't think I would avoid that feeling if the weekend went completely unproductive, productive, or a combination of that. I've come to accept this, and I know I only need to stave off this feeling for a few hours per week.
I've been sitting on a nice domain name (no specifics...) and it's been a "someday, I'm going to build this simple idea" application.
A few days ago, someone offered to buy the domain. Not for much money, but still, it's a kick in the pants.
I'm going to build that thing. Probably take me a few weeks, it'll scratch the itch, and it might even be useful. I've spent a couple hours fleshing out some user interaction and it looks like it'll be fun.
What else are rainy days for?
A few days ago, someone offered to buy the domain. Not for much money, but still, it's a kick in the pants.
I'm going to build that thing. Probably take me a few weeks, it'll scratch the itch, and it might even be useful. I've spent a couple hours fleshing out some user interaction and it looks like it'll be fun.
What else are rainy days for?
Can we form a club? For co-motivation (read: guilt).
I would like to second this.
3rded... wait maybe there's an idea here.
If you don't build somethhing for this $SuperAwesomeDomainIdeea in 30 days, it will start auctioning.
lol
lol
haha
so put the unused projects/domains/whatever into a central trust. If you don't 'do' something with it in the 30 days it becomes 'available' to anyone else in the pool.
We need to talk about your side projects.
- Really? I... I did forty hours of my actual job this week. I, also...
Well, okay. Forty is the minimum, okay?
- Okay.
Now, you know it's up to you whether or not you want to just do the bare minimum. Or... well, like Brian, for example, has three side projects, okay. And a terrific smile.
- Okay. So you... you want me to work more?
Look. Joanna.
- Yeah.
Companies can get software engineers anywhere, okay? They look to side projects for the atmosphere and the attitude. Okay? That's what side projects are about. It's about fun.
- Yeah. Okay. So more then, yeah?
Look, we want you to express yourself, okay? Now if you feel that the bare minimum is enough, then okay. But some people choose to work on side projects and we encourage that, okay? You do want to express yourself, don't you?
- Yeah, yeah.
Okay. Great. Great. That's all I ask.
- Really? I... I did forty hours of my actual job this week. I, also...
Well, okay. Forty is the minimum, okay?
- Okay.
Now, you know it's up to you whether or not you want to just do the bare minimum. Or... well, like Brian, for example, has three side projects, okay. And a terrific smile.
- Okay. So you... you want me to work more?
Look. Joanna.
- Yeah.
Companies can get software engineers anywhere, okay? They look to side projects for the atmosphere and the attitude. Okay? That's what side projects are about. It's about fun.
- Yeah. Okay. So more then, yeah?
Look, we want you to express yourself, okay? Now if you feel that the bare minimum is enough, then okay. But some people choose to work on side projects and we encourage that, okay? You do want to express yourself, don't you?
- Yeah, yeah.
Okay. Great. Great. That's all I ask.
If anyone does NOT get this reference... please watch
Office Space https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151804/
Office Space https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151804/
Thanks for the reference, I personally didn’t do the connection.
But wanted to mention that its so cool that offices no longer look like that, at least where I live.
It used to be similar, even worse as a post soviet country. But it’s now so soo much better.
I haven’t seen most of the puns and sarcastic observations from that movie in quite a while.
Now we have different problems of course, but it all seems a bit more sensible now, as if we as a society have grown up a bit.
But wanted to mention that its so cool that offices no longer look like that, at least where I live.
It used to be similar, even worse as a post soviet country. But it’s now so soo much better.
I haven’t seen most of the puns and sarcastic observations from that movie in quite a while.
Now we have different problems of course, but it all seems a bit more sensible now, as if we as a society have grown up a bit.
It's funny, I was thinking the opposite. How I would love to have a cubicle all to myself. They had soooo much more desk space in the Office Space days. You could really spread out without knocking elbows with your desk buddies.
Yup. All I need for comfortable work is a set of obstacles that break line-of-sight between me (and my screen) and everyone else. Noise I can kill with headphones. Having walls on which I could hang diagrams and printouts would be a nice benefit.
That reminds me: I have literally written a TPS report before. In my case, it stood for "Test Plan & Strategy," and I made sure to use the new cover sheet, so it all worked out.
That’s why I’m such a huge proponent of company sponsored open source.
You wrap your infra/core functionality into an os project, and keep the businessy things in the private repo.
You get to work on it during your work hours. It inevitably ends up much better documented and tested code than the usual company developed tooling. And you get to keep it when you leave.
No need to spend time on it at home if you don’t want to.
And the company benefits as well as it now has much better internal codebase, people might consider maintaining it even after they’ve left the company, and it acts like a pr/recruitment hook.
You wrap your infra/core functionality into an os project, and keep the businessy things in the private repo.
You get to work on it during your work hours. It inevitably ends up much better documented and tested code than the usual company developed tooling. And you get to keep it when you leave.
No need to spend time on it at home if you don’t want to.
And the company benefits as well as it now has much better internal codebase, people might consider maintaining it even after they’ve left the company, and it acts like a pr/recruitment hook.
So I'd like to know which companies support this -- and do not support this.
I know some companies are famously leave-water-at-home-we-drink-koolaid-here cough! (apple) cough!
I know some companies are famously leave-water-at-home-we-drink-koolaid-here cough! (apple) cough!
Granted I've worked only for smallish companies (<2000 people) but most places don't have specific policies _not_ to do it, especially if you do your due diligence security wise, and don't show the company in bad light.
If you make it a very nice looking OS project, most of the time they are either on board or don't care too much.
But I really check for this at the interview stage, and they must have a really good reason not to, compensated accordingly.
Didn't Apple start doing OS as well though? I think there are a bunch of projects from them already.
If you make it a very nice looking OS project, most of the time they are either on board or don't care too much.
But I really check for this at the interview stage, and they must have a really good reason not to, compensated accordingly.
Didn't Apple start doing OS as well though? I think there are a bunch of projects from them already.
Apple has been gradually declining in open source stuff.
They have opened swift, but that's sort of a funnel anyway.
The real problem is folks who work there say it's really hard to open source stuff as an employee.
They have opened swift, but that's sort of a funnel anyway.
The real problem is folks who work there say it's really hard to open source stuff as an employee.
> That’s why I’m such a huge proponent of company sponsored open source.
The flip side of this (and I don't think it's what your advocating for, btw), is companies like Gatsby who's entire product is "open source", and when they have a deficiency in it they ask/expect you to submit PR to fix it, but then will immediately turn around and sell that on to others.
No thanks, im not going to write code and give it to you, to fix your broken product, for you to make money off it.
The flip side of this (and I don't think it's what your advocating for, btw), is companies like Gatsby who's entire product is "open source", and when they have a deficiency in it they ask/expect you to submit PR to fix it, but then will immediately turn around and sell that on to others.
No thanks, im not going to write code and give it to you, to fix your broken product, for you to make money off it.
Lol, love this movie.
Btw did anyone ever say a side project had to be coding? Maybe you like to paint, or do dances on Tiktok, or read mystery thrillers.
Btw did anyone ever say a side project had to be coding? Maybe you like to paint, or do dances on Tiktok, or read mystery thrillers.
No one ever says a project has to be, at all. They just frown and look disappointed when you say no.
Very same reaction if you have a side project and want to protect the IP you're doing outside company hours to work on that same side project. All the contracts I have signed had that unfair but standard clause that say all the IP you are producing outside company hours belong to company
How is that legal?
In other words, your side project is just more, unpaid work?
In other words, your side project is just more, unpaid work?
It's worse than unpaid work, it's taking ownership of your personal hobbies. Presumably your side projects aren't for your work but for yourself. Imagine if a chef had to pay his employer for the meals he makes at home. Makes no sense.
More reasonable would be an industry non-compete or technology NDA which are more specifically about you not taking company secrets and making money from the company's efforts.
More reasonable would be an industry non-compete or technology NDA which are more specifically about you not taking company secrets and making money from the company's efforts.
I have always been able to get that clause stricken from a contract. It's totally unreasonable.
Granted I’ve only worked for small, software-focused companies, but the companies I’ve worked for have had pretty reasonable contracts saying that anything I create outside of work hours without using work equipment or work secrets is mine and not theirs.
Daddy's little tax deduction... er... side project.
Also, doing a view source it's funny that "minimal CSS" is sort of like my "minimal python", which includes at least 10 lines of magic preamble devoted to import and argparse that I sprinkle in every script I write.
Also, doing a view source it's funny that "minimal CSS" is sort of like my "minimal python", which includes at least 10 lines of magic preamble devoted to import and argparse that I sprinkle in every script I write.
how do you do the tax deduction part? Probably this is American specific, I don't think I can deduct time on a side project here in Denmark but tell me anyway, maybe I can translate the ideas.
Here in Australia, I could deduct any costs associated with a side project from my income, things like cloud hosting, subscriptions etc.
Australia has a very accomodating approach towards personal income tax deductions. I can deduct any work or business related expenses. If the expense was also for personal purposes, I can still claim the portion used for work. For example, if I buy a Macbook and use it for working 40 hours a week, and then 10 hours of personal use, I can deduct 80% of the cost from my income.
As I'm working from home, all my office furniture is tax deductible, as well as my power and internet bills.
Then because I'm a software developer, any software or hardware that I use while I'm working is also deductible; keyboards, monitors, cables, etc. I can even deduct the cost of a new backpack if I use it to carry my laptop!
Australia has a very accomodating approach towards personal income tax deductions. I can deduct any work or business related expenses. If the expense was also for personal purposes, I can still claim the portion used for work. For example, if I buy a Macbook and use it for working 40 hours a week, and then 10 hours of personal use, I can deduct 80% of the cost from my income.
As I'm working from home, all my office furniture is tax deductible, as well as my power and internet bills.
Then because I'm a software developer, any software or hardware that I use while I'm working is also deductible; keyboards, monitors, cables, etc. I can even deduct the cost of a new backpack if I use it to carry my laptop!
In the UK, businesses can claim tax relief for R&D [0] - there may be something similar in the US.
[0] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/corporation-tax-research-and-dev...
[0] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/corporation-tax-research-and-dev...
I'm sorry I was trying to say "my side project is my family" and misremembered the title of an old movie.
It was actually this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%27s_Little_Dividend
It was actually this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%27s_Little_Dividend
So good!
You know the Nazis had side projects that they made the Jews do.
(Please get the reference or this just sounds weird out of context)
(Please get the reference or this just sounds weird out of context)
I got a fevah ...
... and the only prescription
... is MORE BLING!!!!!!
:-D
... and the only prescription
... is MORE BLING!!!!!!
:-D
I’m taking a month off work and it is amazing. I was sitting quietly thinking about how not doing anything important frees you up to just be a good person. Listen to a friends story? sacrifice sleep or a workout to do someone a favor? It’s easy once you remove that constant feeling of needing to be somewhere or be doing something. It sucks that work forces us to not only make the most of our working hours, but also our free ones.
Relatable, so here's my advice for side-projects (take it or leave it):
- Build what you're interested in, not what other people on the social feeds are doing.
- Things that were built for fun can end up making money. So why not aim to build for fun first!
- Build pointless things! (like this). They're great to express yourself and they're much easier to finish and release (less pressure).
- You don't need to finish anything!! But if you really want to finish that side-project, try a pointless project to boost your morale.
- Divide and conquer - Large side-projects can be overwhelming. Divide that MMO game into smaller projects which are easier to finish.
Maybe this is all pretty evident to most people... but it doesn't hurt to see it written explicitly.
- Build what you're interested in, not what other people on the social feeds are doing.
- Things that were built for fun can end up making money. So why not aim to build for fun first!
- Build pointless things! (like this). They're great to express yourself and they're much easier to finish and release (less pressure).
- You don't need to finish anything!! But if you really want to finish that side-project, try a pointless project to boost your morale.
- Divide and conquer - Large side-projects can be overwhelming. Divide that MMO game into smaller projects which are easier to finish.
Maybe this is all pretty evident to most people... but it doesn't hurt to see it written explicitly.
I can relate to the feeling of anxiety when the all-too-short weekend is drawing to a close. Glad you put this up! Hope it helps you feel a little more in control and able to do something creative. It makes sense that you chose to just get something out there without worrying about the details or polishing up the rough edges.
Happy Sunday! :)
Happy Sunday! :)
Thanks a lot, happy sunday too !
Bon Dimanche ! (am I late for last sunday or just early for next?)
Love it - this is so relatable. Having so much time to myself recently has really made me reflect on my job and its impact on my personal life.
I have managed to keep up some of my hobbies and relationships during isolation, but it is certainly much more difficult when I don't feel engaged or valued at work.
I have managed to keep up some of my hobbies and relationships during isolation, but it is certainly much more difficult when I don't feel engaged or valued at work.
I'm seriously worried about this generation's inability to stop scrolling their social feeds nonstop. You don't have to start a company in your free time. You don't have to create things or contribute to the world. But please enjoy your lives. Read a book. Do some gardening. Learn to bake. Watch junk TV. Do anything other than constantly comparing yourself to what acquaintances are doing this second.
It’s also the need to monetize everything in your life. The “hustle” life, glorifying entrepreneurship, and the need to “advance your personal brand” were big statements made when I was in college. This was right when LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter were hitting exponential growth (Facebook already had many years earlier).
Either it’s because I personally experienced the Great Recession, the launch of social media and the iPhone, and my worldview expanded greatly as one does in undergrad all at once, or it really is a new phenomenon that your employer has no loyalty to you, so one must rely on their own. With social media, these themes are just further perpetuated and there’s a pressure to start companies.
I’ve already worked my ass off at my day job, and just want my hobbies to not turn into side projects or “side hustles”. I don’t intend on starting companies based on them.
Either it’s because I personally experienced the Great Recession, the launch of social media and the iPhone, and my worldview expanded greatly as one does in undergrad all at once, or it really is a new phenomenon that your employer has no loyalty to you, so one must rely on their own. With social media, these themes are just further perpetuated and there’s a pressure to start companies.
I’ve already worked my ass off at my day job, and just want my hobbies to not turn into side projects or “side hustles”. I don’t intend on starting companies based on them.
Not just monetize but package. For a while, I measured experience in terms of likes, upvotes and views. Being there wasn't enough. I had to check in and prove that I have fun. Curating my online life put a lot of pressure on me, even when money wasn't involved.
> Watch junk TV
Agreed with you until this point. At least the junk TV I know also involves (be it consciously or not) comparing yourself, this time with celebrities instead of acquaintances.
Agreed with you until this point. At least the junk TV I know also involves (be it consciously or not) comparing yourself, this time with celebrities instead of acquaintances.
For me it has to be the right kind of junk. There's junk, like in a junkyard, and then there's a toxic waste dump. Stick with the junkyard. The stronger a show's resemblance to your current reality, the more likely you'll find someone in it with whom to compare yourself. So right off the bat, so-called "reality" TV is off the table. Anything where you're able to forget about "you" and be transported into someone else's world, is good. That takes good writing, i.e. yes, an actual script. Old stuff works too - anything so old that you can't possibly imagine yourself in that milieu, that helps. We watch old Columbo episodes from the 70s on network TV on Sunday nights. Granted we are then bombarded with ads for Sono Bello, Consumer Cellular, and every drug on the market (and then ads for the lawyers suing the makers of last year's drugs), and anything else an advertiser has deemed likely to appeal to the demographic that cares about Columbo or the 70s... and all those ads in themselves are an assault on your self-esteem, so just mute that shit or do chores.
Mostly though it just takes time to build a life, and a you, that you love enough that you win most of those comparisons to celebrities. Think about how most celebs are basically slaves in various ways: slaves to public opinion, to the Hollywood social hierarchy, to the crappy contracts under which most of them are laboring, and especially to the fear of not being famous/loved/accepted tomorrow, of being replaced by one of the thousands of others who (maybe just as tragically) would jump at the chance to have that person's shitty contract and precarious perch on the ladder of fame. Slaves to the empty holes in their souls that they have been filling with the quest for fame probably their whole lives. Ah, but to the extent that you spend time on social media, seeking approval from strangers, you are (or your avatar is) kind of a micro-celebrity and would tend to be plagued by all those same problems! So yeah, that ruins it. All the more reason to get the hell off of there, ideally permanently!
Mostly though it just takes time to build a life, and a you, that you love enough that you win most of those comparisons to celebrities. Think about how most celebs are basically slaves in various ways: slaves to public opinion, to the Hollywood social hierarchy, to the crappy contracts under which most of them are laboring, and especially to the fear of not being famous/loved/accepted tomorrow, of being replaced by one of the thousands of others who (maybe just as tragically) would jump at the chance to have that person's shitty contract and precarious perch on the ladder of fame. Slaves to the empty holes in their souls that they have been filling with the quest for fame probably their whole lives. Ah, but to the extent that you spend time on social media, seeking approval from strangers, you are (or your avatar is) kind of a micro-celebrity and would tend to be plagued by all those same problems! So yeah, that ruins it. All the more reason to get the hell off of there, ideally permanently!
Although one shouldn't need to read a book on quitting social media. They can be cathartic if written well. I am fan of this one [0]. A favourite quote of mine from it:
>Cats have done the seemingly impossible: They’ve integrated themselves into the modern high-tech world without giving themselves up. They are still in charge. There is no worry that some stealthy meme crafted by algorithms and paid for by a creepy, hidden oligarch has taken over your cat. No one has taken over your cat; not you, not anyone.
Your writing here is now in the quote collection along with a number of other HN comments over the years. Thanks for sharing your thoughts :)
0. https://www.amazon.com/Arguments-Deleting-Social-Media-Accou...
>Cats have done the seemingly impossible: They’ve integrated themselves into the modern high-tech world without giving themselves up. They are still in charge. There is no worry that some stealthy meme crafted by algorithms and paid for by a creepy, hidden oligarch has taken over your cat. No one has taken over your cat; not you, not anyone.
Your writing here is now in the quote collection along with a number of other HN comments over the years. Thanks for sharing your thoughts :)
0. https://www.amazon.com/Arguments-Deleting-Social-Media-Accou...
Commenting just because I think this is well-said and would like to come back and read it again, from time to time. Nothing else of substance to add, but much thanks.
Nothing at all wrong with a good compliment (I thought it was well-written as well), but worth knowing that you can click the "n hours ago" link to get to the comment page, which has a "favorite" option, where you can collect a private library of favorite HN posts.
Heh, thanks, hope it helps somebody!
A more good-faith definition of junk TV might be "television with an emphasis on entertainment and a notable lack of educational content". No need for trash celebrities.
I see it as a bit of a feedback loop. I think that If you're the kind of person who is stuck in the mentality of having to be efficient and productive with every single second you have, then you're more prone to be the sort of person to try and keep up with the Jonses. But, if you're able to disconnect and to have a healthy work life balance then you're less likely to compare yourself to what you see.
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Depends what you class as junk I guess. I'd say there's junk like sitcoms and the latest marvel tv series or whatever, you don't learn anything from it but you can relax and have a good time, and then there's absolute trash reality tv about celebrities and making fun of poor people. Junk tv is fine in reasonable amounts. Trash tv is on the same level as social media.
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I’m seriously worried about my own ability to do those things. I’d throw my smartphone away, but there’s so many things that currently expect you to have one that it’s frankly impossible.
One interesting idea I have seen is getting a smartwatch with 4g and then leaving the phone at home. The watch is good enough to send an important text or take a phone call but its not good enough to scroll social media.
Deinstall the social apps, stay logged out of their web version, aggressively disable notifications, and turn off data unless you need it.
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I completely agree.
In fact, it's useful to consider that many, if not most people do the job that they do not because they enjoy it or find it fulfilling, but because if they don't, they and/or their family will starve in the street.
If you have a job/career that's intellectually stimulating and personally satisfying, you already have it much better than a whole lot of other people.
And if that's the case for you, celebrate that!
While it may seem like if you aren't spending every waking moment focused on being able to write the most beautiful or performant code, or trying to found the next unicorn, that you're wasting your life.
And depending on who you are, that may be enough.
But I guarantee you, that when you're lying on your deathbed, you won't be thinking about how many patches you submitted to open source projects, how optimized your code is, or how numerous and helpful your StackExchange posts were.
It might surprise you to know that a very large number of people's primary interests/focus have absolutely nothing to do with how they support themselves.
In fact, there's a whole big world out there that has absolutely nothing to do with technology.
I'm not trying to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do, but as someone whose identity was strongly tied to my career for decades, while it was certainly worth it in many respects, my world could have been much richer and fuller if I'd taken the time to metaphorically stop and smell the roses.
So if you feel like you need to be "always on" and permanently focused on the next professional challenge/opportunity, maybe you could step back once in a while and consider not just what's good for you professionally, or will make you more competitive in the marketplace, but what gives you joy as a person.
For a lot of us, that's building technology. And that's a good thing.
But technology isn't the entire universe, and if you limit your focus and interests really narrowly, you're going to miss out on the beauty and the worthy challenges in the wider world.
Even more, having those non-work related interests/experiences can, give one a broader perspective on your professional life that makes you better and more useful/productive/engaged in your professional life.
I suggest taking Bill Shatner's advice[0] as a metaphor. Or don't. It's your life and that's (as it's always been) up to you.
[0] https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xmagzq
In fact, it's useful to consider that many, if not most people do the job that they do not because they enjoy it or find it fulfilling, but because if they don't, they and/or their family will starve in the street.
If you have a job/career that's intellectually stimulating and personally satisfying, you already have it much better than a whole lot of other people.
And if that's the case for you, celebrate that!
While it may seem like if you aren't spending every waking moment focused on being able to write the most beautiful or performant code, or trying to found the next unicorn, that you're wasting your life.
And depending on who you are, that may be enough.
But I guarantee you, that when you're lying on your deathbed, you won't be thinking about how many patches you submitted to open source projects, how optimized your code is, or how numerous and helpful your StackExchange posts were.
It might surprise you to know that a very large number of people's primary interests/focus have absolutely nothing to do with how they support themselves.
In fact, there's a whole big world out there that has absolutely nothing to do with technology.
I'm not trying to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do, but as someone whose identity was strongly tied to my career for decades, while it was certainly worth it in many respects, my world could have been much richer and fuller if I'd taken the time to metaphorically stop and smell the roses.
So if you feel like you need to be "always on" and permanently focused on the next professional challenge/opportunity, maybe you could step back once in a while and consider not just what's good for you professionally, or will make you more competitive in the marketplace, but what gives you joy as a person.
For a lot of us, that's building technology. And that's a good thing.
But technology isn't the entire universe, and if you limit your focus and interests really narrowly, you're going to miss out on the beauty and the worthy challenges in the wider world.
Even more, having those non-work related interests/experiences can, give one a broader perspective on your professional life that makes you better and more useful/productive/engaged in your professional life.
I suggest taking Bill Shatner's advice[0] as a metaphor. Or don't. It's your life and that's (as it's always been) up to you.
[0] https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xmagzq
I have been fortunate enough to be able to focus on nothing but AI for the past year or so. I don't talk about it as much as I'd like, because it feels like talking about the mansion you got to live in for a year, among people who don't have mansions.
I just try to work as hard as possible every day and hope it benefits others in the end, somehow.
There are some lessons that might be worth sharing, though, so maybe I should talk about it anyway. When I was much younger, a sharp programmer in #gamedev on Afternet – a sort of guru figure named Washu – was talking with me, which is to say I was rambling to him in the way teenagers do about hopes, dreams, life, all the ways you want to change the world, etc. I was saying things like, "If only I didn't have to work. I would do so much. It feels like my potential is being drained."
He replied, "If you're not productive at work, you won't be productive outside of work."
That always stayed with me, partly because it made me mad. Who does he think he is? He doesn't know me or my situation at all. And yet, over the last decade-and-change, it's been an inescapable truth. I left that job a couple years later with $15k in the bank, exhausted, and thoroughly not looking forward to the next one. So I sat down, finally free of job, and started to change the world...
... by playing dota. All day, every day.
Now, I wouldn't trade those days for anything. It was necessary soul-searching, and it prepared me for this last year, where I was able to be productive. But you must understand: unless you're disciplined, you need to focus on simply being happy at work, before you can be happy outside of work.
There's a very good chance that you're making yourself unhappier than you need to be, because instead of simply choosing to be happy (which is often, but not always, a choice), you are choosing to be unhappy (by dreading that alarm).
The flipside is, once you're ready, you really can do so much more, when you get to focus for multiple days on problems of your choosing. Or multiple weeks.
I don't know if anyone needed to hear that, but... just remember, you can choose your mindset, even though you can't choose your emotions. Mindset != emotion, and emotions tend to follow mindset in the long run.
I just try to work as hard as possible every day and hope it benefits others in the end, somehow.
There are some lessons that might be worth sharing, though, so maybe I should talk about it anyway. When I was much younger, a sharp programmer in #gamedev on Afternet – a sort of guru figure named Washu – was talking with me, which is to say I was rambling to him in the way teenagers do about hopes, dreams, life, all the ways you want to change the world, etc. I was saying things like, "If only I didn't have to work. I would do so much. It feels like my potential is being drained."
He replied, "If you're not productive at work, you won't be productive outside of work."
That always stayed with me, partly because it made me mad. Who does he think he is? He doesn't know me or my situation at all. And yet, over the last decade-and-change, it's been an inescapable truth. I left that job a couple years later with $15k in the bank, exhausted, and thoroughly not looking forward to the next one. So I sat down, finally free of job, and started to change the world...
... by playing dota. All day, every day.
Now, I wouldn't trade those days for anything. It was necessary soul-searching, and it prepared me for this last year, where I was able to be productive. But you must understand: unless you're disciplined, you need to focus on simply being happy at work, before you can be happy outside of work.
There's a very good chance that you're making yourself unhappier than you need to be, because instead of simply choosing to be happy (which is often, but not always, a choice), you are choosing to be unhappy (by dreading that alarm).
The flipside is, once you're ready, you really can do so much more, when you get to focus for multiple days on problems of your choosing. Or multiple weeks.
I don't know if anyone needed to hear that, but... just remember, you can choose your mindset, even though you can't choose your emotions. Mindset != emotion, and emotions tend to follow mindset in the long run.
I think you're talking about something slightly different to what I felt reading the article.
I think there are two reasons to say fuck Sunday, one is dreading the work day that's coming up because it stresses you out and you hate it. Which I think is what you're talking about.
And the other, which I feel the website is talking about, is dreading the fact that the weekend is over and you haven't done any of the things you wanted to use the weekend for, such as working on your personal projects, hitting the gym, getting that cabinet in order, finally putting a budget together, etc. Which comes to you with a feeling of guilt and having wasted the weekend and your time.
You can obviously have both feelings at ounce, but I think you can also only suffer from one of these. I for example enjoy my work, but I have that latter feeling which is that none of my other goals are being worked on and met.
I think there are two reasons to say fuck Sunday, one is dreading the work day that's coming up because it stresses you out and you hate it. Which I think is what you're talking about.
And the other, which I feel the website is talking about, is dreading the fact that the weekend is over and you haven't done any of the things you wanted to use the weekend for, such as working on your personal projects, hitting the gym, getting that cabinet in order, finally putting a budget together, etc. Which comes to you with a feeling of guilt and having wasted the weekend and your time.
You can obviously have both feelings at ounce, but I think you can also only suffer from one of these. I for example enjoy my work, but I have that latter feeling which is that none of my other goals are being worked on and met.
Excellent point. Parents, especially, I admire. There was a dev at S2 who somehow had two kids, attended university to finish up his degree, and worked at S2. As far as I know, he had a very happy family life and was a great dad. It was almost frightening seeing just how much a disciplined and motivated person can do with the time they’re given.
The other aspect I wanted to share, if it helps at all, is... it’s truly fine to waste your weekend, or to be unproductive and do nothing. There’s so much stigma attached to that, and almost every system in a capitalistic society would have you believe it’s a terrible sin or that you’re less of a person.
But I get that your point is more along the lines of “I just wish I had time for everything I wanted to do.” For whatever it’s worth, the feeling doesn’t go away. I feel guilty about not being as focused as I could have been yesterday, for example, and it’s hard to shake the idea that 24 hours are simply too few.
I should probably stop here, since the obvious reply is “yeah, that sure sounds like an awful problem to have, with all that time available to you. /s” which is entirely valid.
But! You can get it for yourself, depending on what you can exchange for it. In truth, my laptop’s internal keyboard has been dead for four years or so. I just bring an external everywhere, since it’s $500 to fix.
Unfortunately parents don’t have the luxury of simply choosing to save up money and then take a year off work, because the cost of family often scales with time. So, those of you who have children and still manage to do a lot of other things: you’re real heroes in my eyes. Fuck Sunday!
The other aspect I wanted to share, if it helps at all, is... it’s truly fine to waste your weekend, or to be unproductive and do nothing. There’s so much stigma attached to that, and almost every system in a capitalistic society would have you believe it’s a terrible sin or that you’re less of a person.
But I get that your point is more along the lines of “I just wish I had time for everything I wanted to do.” For whatever it’s worth, the feeling doesn’t go away. I feel guilty about not being as focused as I could have been yesterday, for example, and it’s hard to shake the idea that 24 hours are simply too few.
I should probably stop here, since the obvious reply is “yeah, that sure sounds like an awful problem to have, with all that time available to you. /s” which is entirely valid.
But! You can get it for yourself, depending on what you can exchange for it. In truth, my laptop’s internal keyboard has been dead for four years or so. I just bring an external everywhere, since it’s $500 to fix.
Unfortunately parents don’t have the luxury of simply choosing to save up money and then take a year off work, because the cost of family often scales with time. So, those of you who have children and still manage to do a lot of other things: you’re real heroes in my eyes. Fuck Sunday!
I don't necessarily agree with that axiom. I'm far more productive in my hobbies (art) than my actual IT job. Theres no correlation between my performance or enthusiasm for my real work and other stuff, unless my work is just making me extremely miserable. In that case it's closer to suffering from depression than a lack of 'productivity'
That axiom is not necessarily true. You could be unproductive at work due to crappy managers and crazy productive outside of work. Maybe that's a sign you should be starting a company? Or at least I hope it is.
I entirely disagree, I've had jobs where I was very unproductive at work (because I didn't care for the subject matter) and quite prolific outside it.
OMG, so I actually pushed to gh my latest sunnday project with that repo name.
It's yet another ( unfinished ) template using my TypeScript fav stack.
I managed to make AcccountsJS work in nextjs API which was an awesome feeling after weeks of struggling with it lol. at the end I managed to provide my TypeORM connection in a differeent way using conneecctionManager instead of createConnection, which didn't work nicely with Next's HMR
Now I need to get the fontend apollo parts...
Anyway just in case someeone is interested: https://github.com/agustif/sunday/
AccountsJS Boilerplate template with TypeScript, NextJS, Apollo and GraphQL.
Also under the hood TypeORM and Postgres for the ORM and DB.
Working on the frontend now, gonna use bumbag.style for UI frontend.
It's yet another ( unfinished ) template using my TypeScript fav stack.
I managed to make AcccountsJS work in nextjs API which was an awesome feeling after weeks of struggling with it lol. at the end I managed to provide my TypeORM connection in a differeent way using conneecctionManager instead of createConnection, which didn't work nicely with Next's HMR
Now I need to get the fontend apollo parts...
Anyway just in case someeone is interested: https://github.com/agustif/sunday/
AccountsJS Boilerplate template with TypeScript, NextJS, Apollo and GraphQL.
Also under the hood TypeORM and Postgres for the ORM and DB.
Working on the frontend now, gonna use bumbag.style for UI frontend.
Yeah, fuck sunday! You inspired me to make something too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzkO4ODjqnA
I love go, congrats on putting up that video
I think creating a side project just because all the cool kids are making money doing it can make you exasperated.
It looks like when the reason for doing it is not to solve your own or anybody else's problem, your focus becomes more and more about technology, competition, process, etc.
Otoh when you're alleviating the pain, your focus is always to get it done as quickly as possible no matter how many corners you need to cut.
So yes it's time to take a step back and figure out what your goals are and if they align with whatever it is you're doing with your time.
It looks like when the reason for doing it is not to solve your own or anybody else's problem, your focus becomes more and more about technology, competition, process, etc.
Otoh when you're alleviating the pain, your focus is always to get it done as quickly as possible no matter how many corners you need to cut.
So yes it's time to take a step back and figure out what your goals are and if they align with whatever it is you're doing with your time.
I work on side projects as an escape of competence because all the cool kids complain about how hard life is and cry about unnecessary framework bullshit.
This reminds me of another site I recently found. A decidedly different tone, but a similar goal I think: https://sundaysites.cafe/
I haven't been able to participate in a session yet, but I have used some of the prompts to create a few "for fun" sites of my own: https://sundaysites.justus.ws/
It's fun to make things just for the sake of making them.
I haven't been able to participate in a session yet, but I have used some of the prompts to create a few "for fun" sites of my own: https://sundaysites.justus.ws/
It's fun to make things just for the sake of making them.
I love the concept, thanks for sharing
I really, really hate the expectancy of software developers to have side projects at home.
Do we ask lawyers what free cases they take over the weekend?
Doctors about the diagnoses they make for fun on Saturdays?
Teachers about their open source lesson plans?
I'm sure many of the above DO these things.
Worst yet its often phrased in the interview as "do you have any hobbies?"
Yeah - I do, I spent the weekend figuring out how to replace parts on my car. Why wasn't I writing the next Linux? Because I get enough screen time at work.
Do we ask lawyers what free cases they take over the weekend?
Doctors about the diagnoses they make for fun on Saturdays?
Teachers about their open source lesson plans?
I'm sure many of the above DO these things.
Worst yet its often phrased in the interview as "do you have any hobbies?"
Yeah - I do, I spent the weekend figuring out how to replace parts on my car. Why wasn't I writing the next Linux? Because I get enough screen time at work.
Here's how I look at it, if you're a musician, you probably play at home sometime. If you're a mathematician, you probably solve some maths at home. If you're a writer, you probably write at home. Most people that can practice their craft do so at home. I don't expect a hunter or a fisherman to hunt or fish at home. But a chef? A chef might have an idea for a meal and experiment at home. So a software developer that doesn't practice their craft at home is very suspect. I don't expect a side project, just practice, but very often, we have an idea that does turn into a side project. I don't expect this side project to make money, to have a website, to have a beautiful code, to be in github, but if you can't tell me anything that you have worked on just for the hell of it in the past year, I will be very and highly suspicious of how good you are.
Let me guess, you're single and 24 years old.
You know what I do at home "just for the hell of it"? I play with my kids.
You know what I do at home "just for the hell of it"? I play with my kids.
While I don’t think there’s anything wrong with not having side projects, I also understand how it can be a (somewhat sloppy) proxy for evaluating if somebody treats it as a profession vs a job.
could just as well indicate someone who's due to crash.
I don’t know, but I suspect the proportion of those who are consummate professionals with side projects is greater than those with side projects who are about to crash.
I guess it matters whether those side projects are intrinsically motivated. If you’re just doing it because you’re expected to, I can see it leading to burn out as it’s essentially a side job. But if you’re doing it out of intrinsic interest, it’s more of a hobby that also builds your professional skills
I guess it matters whether those side projects are intrinsically motivated. If you’re just doing it because you’re expected to, I can see it leading to burn out as it’s essentially a side job. But if you’re doing it out of intrinsic interest, it’s more of a hobby that also builds your professional skills
Have you ever lost a job because you don't have side-projects? This notion that we're being forced out of software jobs because we don't have side-projects just hasn't manifested anywhere that I've seen. It very much feels like an argument that you should be able to advance in your career with 40 hours/wk as much as the person willing to spend 50.
So, you have kids, great! Spend time with them, enjoy your life. Presumably you're a software engineer so you're making more money than the vast majority of the world. Enjoy that, but do you feel entitled to go as far in your career as someone who dedicates more of their life to their career? Should those people be punished by being displaced by someone like you who presumably has less expertise due to spending less time on your career? I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, but I'm struggling to understand why our current system should change to cater to your lifestyle choices of having kids.
So, you have kids, great! Spend time with them, enjoy your life. Presumably you're a software engineer so you're making more money than the vast majority of the world. Enjoy that, but do you feel entitled to go as far in your career as someone who dedicates more of their life to their career? Should those people be punished by being displaced by someone like you who presumably has less expertise due to spending less time on your career? I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, but I'm struggling to understand why our current system should change to cater to your lifestyle choices of having kids.
> Have you ever lost a job because you don't have side-projects?
I am aware of hiring decisions between several candidates that hinged on their side projects (or lack thereof).
I am aware of hiring decisions between several candidates that hinged on their side projects (or lack thereof).
so what?
some workers like to spend time coding off-clock: that's fine.
some employers prefer those workers: that's fine too.
I'm not interested in being one of those workers, and quite happy to avoid those employers. I have no trouble finding workplaces that respect my time.
some workers like to spend time coding off-clock: that's fine.
some employers prefer those workers: that's fine too.
I'm not interested in being one of those workers, and quite happy to avoid those employers. I have no trouble finding workplaces that respect my time.
I think you mistake my comment. Perhaps I just should have said "yes".
Then isn't it the pool of candidate that is setting the norm, and not the employer ?
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Yup. Personally, I like doing coding stuff on the side. And even though I'm not going to let any company tell me what side projects to do (I use these projects to reclaim some autonomy), I'm also not going to leave them out of my CV to be "fair" to other candidates. After all, they won't leave out their superior university or FAANG experience either.
I think what we want to limit is employers pressuring people into side-projects as a form of unpaid overtime. Other than that, I'm not sure if I see the problem here - but I guess I'm a part of it too.
I think what we want to limit is employers pressuring people into side-projects as a form of unpaid overtime. Other than that, I'm not sure if I see the problem here - but I guess I'm a part of it too.
COBOL?
> by being displaced by someone like you who presumably has less expertise
Can you see how this presumption could be problematic?
Edit: fixed grammar
Can you see how this presumption could be problematic?
Edit: fixed grammar
A system that doesn't "cater" to people having and raising kids has trouble coming up about 20 years down the road.
If the general solution to career advancement is just to work more hours, we'll be a bunch of unhealthy, overworked burnouts.
If the general solution to career advancement is just to work more hours, we'll be a bunch of unhealthy, overworked burnouts.
The general solution to getting better at anything is to put more hours into it.
Where's that expectation that you have to be best of the best coming from?
(Not to mention, the expectation to be seen and treated as the best of the best, without putting in the work.)
Where's that expectation that you have to be best of the best coming from?
(Not to mention, the expectation to be seen and treated as the best of the best, without putting in the work.)
True but the false narrative lie elsewhere.
Sure you can put more hours into something to get better and improve your performance.
But why should you spent more hours on your free time? Some employers grant a free "afternoon" every-week for employees side projects. Guess what more side projects, less burnout...
Source: The company that support PostgreSQL for my workplace do that. Which we were doing the same.
Sure you can put more hours into something to get better and improve your performance.
But why should you spent more hours on your free time? Some employers grant a free "afternoon" every-week for employees side projects. Guess what more side projects, less burnout...
Source: The company that support PostgreSQL for my workplace do that. Which we were doing the same.
Few companies live longer than 15 years, even fewer employees and managers. In my experience, people rarely cares about consequences, they won't suffer from.
If anything our world is overpopulated. It seems to me we'd be remarkably better off with fewer kids. I reject the notion that systems optimizing for raising kids would put society in a superior place. I'm not against anyone having kids, but I reject the notion that it's a benefit for society that we encourage people to bear and raise children. People will bear and raise children regardless and I think reducing incentives there would ultimately have better societal outcomes. This is reflected all over the world with developed countries having fewer kids per family. Correlation != causation, but it's certainly evidence.
I would guess that the optimal state would be at or just below replacement fertility rates (because immigration will bump your population growth up a bit).
People are going to have kids regardless. So, the question we're really asking is, should we structure things so that people have time to raise those kids that they are already going to have. I haven't reviewed the literature, but I'd guess kids who have their parents present in their life have better outcomes.
People are going to have kids regardless. So, the question we're really asking is, should we structure things so that people have time to raise those kids that they are already going to have. I haven't reviewed the literature, but I'd guess kids who have their parents present in their life have better outcomes.
There’s an interesting statement there that the extra ten hours makes a difference for career advancement. I wonder how much that’s really true.
>Should those people be punished by being displaced by someone like you who presumably has less expertise due to spending less time on your career
In my experience, the people who have kids generally have more experience because they built up the experience before getting the kids.
In my experience, the people who have kids generally have more experience because they built up the experience before getting the kids.
> Enjoy that, but do you feel entitled to go as far in your career as someone who dedicates more of their life to their career?
As a 20-something year old with no kids, I certainly do not feel any more entitled to "go far in my career" than anyone else, just because im dead inside and write code on the weekends after work. Anyone who thinks like this is an asshole who I don't want to work with.
As a 20-something year old with no kids, I certainly do not feel any more entitled to "go far in my career" than anyone else, just because im dead inside and write code on the weekends after work. Anyone who thinks like this is an asshole who I don't want to work with.
This seems like an unnecessarily hostile response. I hope you find a hobby or passion that gets you out of any funk you might be in. I hope you can understand my opinions are made with good intentions. Feel free to disagree with them and feel free to avoid working with people who hold these opinions, but I'd prefer if you avoided calling me names just because you're incapable of understanding my good intentions at the moment.
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Since you asked, nope. I'm with really young kids, one an infant. So sleep is a luxury. ... and kids are a time sink. I'm also a senior engineering manager, I don't have to code again in my life if I don't want since I committed to and enjoy the management track. But with that said, here's a few tech I have learned as in really dove into in the last few years by myself that I didn't need to learn for work, golang, angular, typescript, kubernetes, some ML, scikit-learn, J(APL), couchbase, hybrid mobile development with ionic framework, these are just a few that I can think off my head. I started & run the k8s meetup in my city. In the last 5 years, I have probably build 20+ side software projects for the fun of it and currently have 3 brewing in my head right now. Besides wasting time on social media (twitter, facebook, reddit) and watching netflix/prime/hulu like normal folks, I also have the occasionally hobby of minor home repairs (My house is over 100+yrs old), fixing up my "classic car" 85 bmw, and teaching myself the piano. My typical work week is about 50-60hrs. Since March I have been the one to take care of the kids while WFH since my wife is an essential health care worker. So what's the point of telling you all this? I'm not single, not young, now north of 40+. I'm just a doer.
Here's what I googled and read up on this weekend, how to repair rotted roof rafter tails because the garage needs work. I was looking at the repair manual of the broken elliptical to see if I can repair too. As for coding, I was building a daycare app before the pandemic put a lid to that and I shelved that for now. Since the pandemic, I have just written toy throw away sim codes to run simulation of whatever that came to my head, predicting the pandemic numbers, housing market, etc.
Point is, I can somehow find out a little time here and there to play on the computer, most people can.
Here's what I googled and read up on this weekend, how to repair rotted roof rafter tails because the garage needs work. I was looking at the repair manual of the broken elliptical to see if I can repair too. As for coding, I was building a daycare app before the pandemic put a lid to that and I shelved that for now. Since the pandemic, I have just written toy throw away sim codes to run simulation of whatever that came to my head, predicting the pandemic numbers, housing market, etc.
Point is, I can somehow find out a little time here and there to play on the computer, most people can.
You've made time to learn J! That's some commitment. I'm waiting for my first child right now and have recently been into J in my spare time. I'm also a manager now (CTO at a non-startup company).
Yeah, someone mentioned it on here a while ago and I decided to give a go. jsoftware has really amazing resources/free books if you dive into it. It's really enjoyable if you use jupyter cuz you write in literate style so you can remember what the heck you just wrote months down the line. lol. https://github.com/martin-saurer/jkernel-docker. yeah for a few months I was addicted to it, and it's the only language where I feel like a sculptor since you are literally sculpting and transforming the array to yield your solution. For me the saddest thing was that I can't bring that experience to other languages,
MATLAB, NumPy, and a lot of GPU programming (not to mention, Julia) relate to APL and J. You might be surprised by how important what you're learning is to express an efficient computation on a GPU in terms of array operations.
Yeah, I know NumPy, but what I really enjoy about APL/J that you can only get from those languages is "notation as a tool of thought", something is lost in high level expressive languages.
Don't forget the part where you translated all 7 Harry Potter novels into flawless Latin because you've been both leaning Latin and brushing up on wizardry on the side.
lol, it's okay, never read harry potter. p/s, I believe I'm very terrible with time management and wish my "ADHD" can keep me focused, but hey, maybe it's what get's me sampling everything.
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Congrats on "being a doer" but trying to imply that people who aren't are worse developers than those who are is trying to measure the world by your scale.
You aren't necessarily a better developer (or person) for doing all of that than those who played videogame for all those hours.
You aren't necessarily a better developer (or person) for doing all of that than those who played videogame for all those hours.
I think he has a good point actually.
The word developer itself means someone who builds. So it is natural to assume that someone who enjoys building stuff, even for fun, is a better developer also at work.
As any rule, this has exceptions and it's not universal, but it makes sense to think so. And since he's a manager, it perfectly makes sense for him to think so.
The word developer itself means someone who builds. So it is natural to assume that someone who enjoys building stuff, even for fun, is a better developer also at work.
As any rule, this has exceptions and it's not universal, but it makes sense to think so. And since he's a manager, it perfectly makes sense for him to think so.
Is developer productivity now a binary thing that's 100% if you participate and 0 if you don't?
Spending many hours on doing software development does, in fact, make you better at software development than someone who, ceteris paribus, spent that same time playing video games. I feel that "not necessarily" is becoming the 21st century version of "but there's still a chance, right?"
Spending many hours on doing software development does, in fact, make you better at software development than someone who, ceteris paribus, spent that same time playing video games. I feel that "not necessarily" is becoming the 21st century version of "but there's still a chance, right?"
What is it being better at software development even? There are so many different skills involved in being an effective software developer in a team. I would say for senior+ levels the softskills start being much more important than the technical skill.
Plus if you have been doing it for 10 years+ how much more are you going to improve really by coding more hours?
Plus if you have been doing it for 10 years+ how much more are you going to improve really by coding more hours?
Software development being a complex, multidimensional skill set makes it even more true that work you put into getting better at it, the better you get.
The field is so wide that you could be doing it for 100 years and still keep learning new things that would improve your work.
And for senior+ levels, where soft skills start to dominate, you still need to have already become competent at the hard things. Soft skills are means for making things happen, but you have to have a clue which things need to happen, and which don't.
The field is so wide that you could be doing it for 100 years and still keep learning new things that would improve your work.
And for senior+ levels, where soft skills start to dominate, you still need to have already become competent at the hard things. Soft skills are means for making things happen, but you have to have a clue which things need to happen, and which don't.
I don’t agree at all. Just because you could spend 100 years being a better cook and learning how to cook every dish on earth it doesn’t mean you will be a better Italian chef than someone who puts 20 years.
It isn’t rocket science really, learn the fundamental well, keep practicing 40h a week for years and you will master the craft.
The difference between two masters of the craft won’t be the person who sit more hours on the chair in front of the computer.
It isn’t rocket science really, learn the fundamental well, keep practicing 40h a week for years and you will master the craft.
The difference between two masters of the craft won’t be the person who sit more hours on the chair in front of the computer.
What will be the difference then? Magic?
Skill doesn't come from nowhere. It comes from practicing it and thinking about it and otherwise being mentally engaged with the field.
And yeah, I'm pretty sure that after 100 years of cooking, and learning how to cook, I'd be better than the person who put in only 20, just by sheer virtue of more internalized knowledge, more time to think, and more practice.
Skill doesn't come from nowhere. It comes from practicing it and thinking about it and otherwise being mentally engaged with the field.
And yeah, I'm pretty sure that after 100 years of cooking, and learning how to cook, I'd be better than the person who put in only 20, just by sheer virtue of more internalized knowledge, more time to think, and more practice.
Skill is multi dimensional. Depends on the problem at hand and the people you have available.
Each person brings an unique set of skills based on their experience (professional and life).
I have worked in lots of different industries from designing hardware chips with VHDL to multi datacenter kubernetes deployment with 100k of cores.
I never did side projects neither did I expect more time on the chair from a coworker... Still somehow I can build winning teams with all the different mixes and industries.
Each person brings an unique set of skills based on their experience (professional and life).
I have worked in lots of different industries from designing hardware chips with VHDL to multi datacenter kubernetes deployment with 100k of cores.
I never did side projects neither did I expect more time on the chair from a coworker... Still somehow I can build winning teams with all the different mixes and industries.
"Spending many hours on doing software development does, in fact, make you better at software development than someone who, ceteris paribus, spent that same time playing video games."
By that logic the oldest developers should be the best of all. But that is not true. Some are great, some are average and some are still bad even after a life time of practice.
By that logic the oldest developers should be the best of all. But that is not true. Some are great, some are average and some are still bad even after a life time of practice.
You missed that ceteris paribus part. What I'm saying is that, given two developers that are pretty much equivalent in their health, mental capacity and the ability to turn work into experience, the one that spent much more time on said work than the other will be much better at it than the other.
I didn't missed it. It doesn't work like you think it does. Making stuff is too complex to be reduced to such a simple rule. At some point additional practice won't make you better. The example of older programmers proves this.
What is a better developer in an organization with 1000s of developers that have to collaborate in their team, cross teams etc. I am really curious in your definition of a better developer.
I never implied that, I just said I'm suspicious of folks that don't delight in partaking and sharpening their craft outside of work. Passion often correlates with strength of skill, and passion is not turned off and on like a faucet.
Why do you think that others should live their lives according to the way you live yours?
I never implied that, I'm amused at how polarized my comment is, where did I imply that? You can live your life any how you see fit, you don't ever have to code afterwork or touch the computer. I'll just be suspicious about your ability until you prove so
I think it is fair enough that in order to judge someone's competency you need concrete evidence of their ability, I completely agree with you there. Side-projects are useful for doing that, but there are other ways as well.
It is entirely reasonable to provide programming tasks or whiteboard interviews or whatever in lieu of going through someones personal project.
Using your own lifestyle and tastes as a benchmark is what riles people up. If side-projects are the measure of the man, then there is an expectation of how people should spend their free time.
I believe the polarization is coming from how this is expressed, specifically pegging side-projects as the determining factor. People can find joy in their work (programming in our case), but not necessarily want to do the same thing in their free time.
This is likely biased as it is coming from someone with no personal projects though :)
It is entirely reasonable to provide programming tasks or whiteboard interviews or whatever in lieu of going through someones personal project.
Using your own lifestyle and tastes as a benchmark is what riles people up. If side-projects are the measure of the man, then there is an expectation of how people should spend their free time.
I believe the polarization is coming from how this is expressed, specifically pegging side-projects as the determining factor. People can find joy in their work (programming in our case), but not necessarily want to do the same thing in their free time.
This is likely biased as it is coming from someone with no personal projects though :)
Why do you think that others should adjust to the way you live? Surely kids are a choice. And if you choose kids of career thrn you're bound to be less effective than someone who chose otherwise?
The kids aspect of that spiel was incredibly short. Maybe some people have more demanding children than you. But whatever, right? Judge people based on your own life if it works for you. It's as superficially impressive a hobby as any of your others.
Of course, I could equally judge you based on my own life experiences. An engineering manager? Pfft, managers are overpaid babysitters who add no value. And I've supervised ADHD dabblers - on the side, while working primarily as an IC. Their flurries of little shiny projects sure do look impressive, especially in meetings and on resumes, but when it comes to building something genuinely new and difficult, and persisting to a high quality finish? MAN, they sure require a LOT of hand-holding.
There are plenty of people out there who are completely different from you and yet contribute as much or more than you do. Get over yourself and appreciate human diversity a bit more.
Of course, I could equally judge you based on my own life experiences. An engineering manager? Pfft, managers are overpaid babysitters who add no value. And I've supervised ADHD dabblers - on the side, while working primarily as an IC. Their flurries of little shiny projects sure do look impressive, especially in meetings and on resumes, but when it comes to building something genuinely new and difficult, and persisting to a high quality finish? MAN, they sure require a LOT of hand-holding.
There are plenty of people out there who are completely different from you and yet contribute as much or more than you do. Get over yourself and appreciate human diversity a bit more.
On the kids part, if you need details, bottle feeding multiple times a day, diaper change, shower, meal prep, feeding, reading, coloring, nursery rhymes, you know, the regular child stuff with young kids... Sure, for our last project, I wrote 90% of the e2e integration test because of time crunch, so yeah, I still code if need be. I pretty much stay out of the way since the team understands the details and I pick up the really boring piece. With that said, Im sorry you have had overpaid babysitters that add no value. Go kick rocks because I never said that folks shouldn't have a life outside of coding.
The point, if it wasn't obvious, is that you would find yourself on the receiving end of some pretty unfair judgments if everyone else judged others the way you do. Just because you like to dabble in software in your free time doesn't mean it's the standard everyone should be held to.
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>>So sleep is a luxury.
>>My typical work week is about 50-60hrs.
>>I'm not single, not young, now north of 40+. I'm just a doer.
You are at least 2 decades late to having kids. But that's ok, better late than never.
But I'd absolutely recommend partitioning some part of your 60 hour work week and late night Googling, and allocating it to exercise, sleep and relationship. Stuff like heart attacks, brain diseases and divorces tend to wipe out gains made over 30 years.
At the end, any amount of hyper productivity makes sense only if its beneficial and sticks to us in some way, like on the longer run.
I've been delaying learning ML for a while now, it doesn't seem to matter, basically delaying doing lots of things without payoff many of which will be irrelevant in 5 years. I can't say the same for exercise though.
>>My typical work week is about 50-60hrs.
>>I'm not single, not young, now north of 40+. I'm just a doer.
You are at least 2 decades late to having kids. But that's ok, better late than never.
But I'd absolutely recommend partitioning some part of your 60 hour work week and late night Googling, and allocating it to exercise, sleep and relationship. Stuff like heart attacks, brain diseases and divorces tend to wipe out gains made over 30 years.
At the end, any amount of hyper productivity makes sense only if its beneficial and sticks to us in some way, like on the longer run.
I've been delaying learning ML for a while now, it doesn't seem to matter, basically delaying doing lots of things without payoff many of which will be irrelevant in 5 years. I can't say the same for exercise though.
You're absolute right, I'm doing terrible on the sleep and exercise front and need to do more of those.
You aren't a software engineer though. I found that the main thing for me is that what I do after work or for fun has to be different. If I'm working as a software engineer I enjoy not being behind a screen in the evening, whether that means bike maintenance, reading or cooking. Whenever I have had other jobs where the demands were different (more meetings, more operational or just physical jobs) I often want to do programming-related stuff for fun.
> You know what I do at home "just for the hell of it"? I play with my kids.
And that's great and all, but it also ensures that the only thing you did that was noteworthy for prospective employers was whatever project you happened to be stuck with your current job.
If you happen to be privileged and work on architecting exciting cutting-edge projects that use any of the relevant or even popular technologies then you have nothing to worry about.
If, instead, you happen to be like the most of us and are working on maintaining legacy projects with technologies that you hate and are obsolete and became irrelevant to the eyes of prospective employers, or even worse you are stuck on doing boring stuff that tangentially have anything to do with development at all... Then how do you work on your marketable skills?
Do you honestly expect to be the best candidate to a job position when you're competing with people who spent years working on exciting and interesting cutting-edge technologies when all you have to show for is years of maintaining a legacy application that was mostly done except with the minor updates you were charged to do?
So yeah, please do enjoy spending all your free time playing with your kids. Some of us are compelled to, in the very least, brush up their skills outside of work because otherwise we might not have a shot at a job that allows us to play with the kids, or even get a job in the near future.
And that's great and all, but it also ensures that the only thing you did that was noteworthy for prospective employers was whatever project you happened to be stuck with your current job.
If you happen to be privileged and work on architecting exciting cutting-edge projects that use any of the relevant or even popular technologies then you have nothing to worry about.
If, instead, you happen to be like the most of us and are working on maintaining legacy projects with technologies that you hate and are obsolete and became irrelevant to the eyes of prospective employers, or even worse you are stuck on doing boring stuff that tangentially have anything to do with development at all... Then how do you work on your marketable skills?
Do you honestly expect to be the best candidate to a job position when you're competing with people who spent years working on exciting and interesting cutting-edge technologies when all you have to show for is years of maintaining a legacy application that was mostly done except with the minor updates you were charged to do?
So yeah, please do enjoy spending all your free time playing with your kids. Some of us are compelled to, in the very least, brush up their skills outside of work because otherwise we might not have a shot at a job that allows us to play with the kids, or even get a job in the near future.
What evidence do you have that even the majority of programmer side projects are interesting and/or cutting edge?
Your line of reasoning doesn't actually benefit you unless you can negotiate a higher wage because of your side projects. In most cases, it's a proxy for an employer getting away with not paying you for training - either your current employer or a prospective new employer.
Your line of reasoning doesn't actually benefit you unless you can negotiate a higher wage because of your side projects. In most cases, it's a proxy for an employer getting away with not paying you for training - either your current employer or a prospective new employer.
I logged on just to comment, this one hits home and its incredibly accurate - at least in my current circumstance. Thanks for the bit of insight.
Of course, there’s actually evidence that focusing on your craft too much makes you myopic and less creative. There is some indication that academics who have artistic pursuits actually produce more papers than their peers, for example.
Beyond that, you are not a machine. Stop arranging your life so that you’ll be the best programmer possible and go do things that are just fun and not connected with your career. It’s good for you, trust me. 40 hours a week is enough for work, go enjoy living.
Beyond that, you are not a machine. Stop arranging your life so that you’ll be the best programmer possible and go do things that are just fun and not connected with your career. It’s good for you, trust me. 40 hours a week is enough for work, go enjoy living.
The truth is surely somewhere in between. Of course it's not healthy to log off your coding job and just keep coding for yourself, day in, day out. A full life involves so much more.
But on the other hand, I do kind of agree with the parent that a coder who shows no evidence of ever having experimented with a new technology or scratched their own itch with code seems like someone with neither love for nor curiosity about their craft.
But on the other hand, I do kind of agree with the parent that a coder who shows no evidence of ever having experimented with a new technology or scratched their own itch with code seems like someone with neither love for nor curiosity about their craft.
I agree that a certain amount of practice is needed to get and remain sharp (but actually suspect that 40hrs is too much), but I disagree strongly that a “love” for their craft is a necessity. There are tons of incredibly competent engineers who do it as a job to make a living without it being their main passion. I don’t expect my plumber to be in love with plumbing, I just expect them to be competent. Claiming that loving programming is anywhere near a necessity to learn new things is to completely ignore how people in any other profession learn new things.
38 hours a week at work practicing your profession isn't good enough for you.
I'm a welder by trade. Occasionally I do a spot of welding at home, but the 38 to 60 hours a week I've spent twenty years doing has made me a vastly better metal fabricator than the few side projects I've done.
But I can rant endlessly to you about my other interests, some of which tie in nicely to a wider-perspective-of-life than just metal fabrication, and it's those other interests that have proven to set me apart from the pack and advanced my career way more.
Could you just ask a person what fun or interesting or challenging things they've worked on, whether in their paid line of work or as a side-project, and leave aside your value judgements about what they do outside of work.
Core point: stop thinking your experience generalises to the whole population.
I'm a welder by trade. Occasionally I do a spot of welding at home, but the 38 to 60 hours a week I've spent twenty years doing has made me a vastly better metal fabricator than the few side projects I've done.
But I can rant endlessly to you about my other interests, some of which tie in nicely to a wider-perspective-of-life than just metal fabrication, and it's those other interests that have proven to set me apart from the pack and advanced my career way more.
Could you just ask a person what fun or interesting or challenging things they've worked on, whether in their paid line of work or as a side-project, and leave aside your value judgements about what they do outside of work.
Core point: stop thinking your experience generalises to the whole population.
> Occasionally I do a spot of welding at home, but the 38 to 60 hours a week I've spent twenty years doing has made me a vastly better metal fabricator than the few side projects I've done.
Now imagine you're just starting and you want to get hired as a spot welder.
You don't work 38 to 60 hours a week welding, though. You do something else for a living. But you want to move onto welding.
In that case, besides spending their personal time doing side projects, how do you expect someone to work on their skills?
Now imagine you're just starting and you want to get hired as a spot welder.
You don't work 38 to 60 hours a week welding, though. You do something else for a living. But you want to move onto welding.
In that case, besides spending their personal time doing side projects, how do you expect someone to work on their skills?
You moved the goal posts.
> You moved the goal posts.
What exactly do you personally interpret as the post, and thus perceive it was moved in any way? Have you been paying attention to the discussion?
What exactly do you personally interpret as the post, and thus perceive it was moved in any way? Have you been paying attention to the discussion?
Welding isn't a really good comparison. I'm not sure there's much new coming out the world of welding, and you probably hit peak skill 3-5 years into your career. Neither of those assumptions hold for programmers. The field is constantly changing, the 'best practices' are evolving and you (should) never really hit the day where you're never going to get better anymore.
Welding actually has many specialized tools and processes, alloys also evolve. Tools have different trade-offs, and a large number of geometric and performance considerations - from environmental concerns (how much oil will spill?) to environment concerns (how do you weld under a blizzard on top of a pole?) there is a lot to learn and keep up with; and can easily, easily take a decade+ master.
Your basic hobbyist weld is like hello-world. As a side note, one sign of a bad engineer is one who underestimates difficulties in fields outside their expertise.
Your basic hobbyist weld is like hello-world. As a side note, one sign of a bad engineer is one who underestimates difficulties in fields outside their expertise.
I doubt you know much about welding then.
Like most professions you can become as skilled at it as you wish, depending on your willingness to work to get better. There are a lot of different types of welding, lots of different pieces of equipment to learn and master, and way more different materials to work with than most people realize.
Also, different situations present different challenges (like the fact that you have to be mindful of how your welds can warp the material).
I personally only know some the details second-hand (have professional welders in my family), but I know I'd want the guy with 20 years of experience over the one with 5, if I had something challenging I needed fixed.
Like most professions you can become as skilled at it as you wish, depending on your willingness to work to get better. There are a lot of different types of welding, lots of different pieces of equipment to learn and master, and way more different materials to work with than most people realize.
Also, different situations present different challenges (like the fact that you have to be mindful of how your welds can warp the material).
I personally only know some the details second-hand (have professional welders in my family), but I know I'd want the guy with 20 years of experience over the one with 5, if I had something challenging I needed fixed.
>The field is constantly changing, the 'best practices' are evolving
A lot of that is self-inflicted, though. How many javascript frameworks, all solving essentially the same problem, are there? It's just change for change's sake.
A lot of that is self-inflicted, though. How many javascript frameworks, all solving essentially the same problem, are there? It's just change for change's sake.
> It's just change for change's sake.
Whenever we're tempted to reach that conclusion, we should consider that there might be something going on that we don't understand. In the case of JS frameworks, I think developers really are still figuring out the best way to implement a dynamic UI that's both efficient and maintainable.
Whenever we're tempted to reach that conclusion, we should consider that there might be something going on that we don't understand. In the case of JS frameworks, I think developers really are still figuring out the best way to implement a dynamic UI that's both efficient and maintainable.
Browser capabilities change. We’ve known the best way to implement dynamic UIs for a long time, but browsers inhibit that.
What exactly are browsers inhibiting? The DOM is really no different from the object-oriented tree of widgets provided by a platform GUI framework like Cocoa. And even on the native side, the question of the best way to design a UI framework is far from settled; see for instance the recent interest in reactive UIs in the Rust community.
Have you tried welding?
A key difference overlooked in this perspective is that the professions you've listed don't actively probe about a candidates work outside of the hiring/talent discovery context. Their skill is judged by what they've produced that's directly relevant to the evaluation process. Comparing programmers to such a diverse array of disciplines requires a more detailed analysis.
A percentage of the software industry has a bias against programmers who don't code in their spare time because it's extremely difficult to evaluate technical talent. We lean on quality filters like number of hours spent on side projects that have sparse evidence to support their efficacy. While I'm skeptical that a general set of metrics exist we can use to perfectly evaluate technical skill across the industry, we can certainly do better.
A percentage of the software industry has a bias against programmers who don't code in their spare time because it's extremely difficult to evaluate technical talent. We lean on quality filters like number of hours spent on side projects that have sparse evidence to support their efficacy. While I'm skeptical that a general set of metrics exist we can use to perfectly evaluate technical skill across the industry, we can certainly do better.
> because it's extremely difficult to evaluate technical talent.
Is it actually harder to evaluate a programmer's talent compared to, say, a lawyer or a doctor's talent?
Is it actually harder to evaluate a programmer's talent compared to, say, a lawyer or a doctor's talent?
Both of those have long professional mandatory training which does the evaluation once at the start of their careers, and then subsequent hiring is done on prestige rather than re-evaluation.
Same could've been with CS/Software Engineers, until someone decided that making a quick buck out of bootcamps is more important than profession's integrity.
The phenomenon long predates bootcamps. The microcomputer revolution unleashed a huge number of self-taught programmers on the world in the 80s. Most of the infrastructure was built by people who weren't ""qualified"" to do so; so why would they respect qualifications? Why would those who follow in the footsteps of Bill Gates (Harvard dropout) or John Carmack (UKansas dropout) choose not to dropout when they could build things instead?
It's harder to evaluate a new programmer's abilities because you (every hiring institution) have to do it yourself in a limited time.
An institution that's hiring fresh lawyers or fresh doctors can piggyback on the extensive, rigorous and difficult evaluation (which costs a lot of time and effort both for the candidate and the evaluator) during the bar qualification, medical licensing examination, etc. For example, if a potential doctor is a board certified proctologist(colorectal surgeon), then you can just assume that they will be able to do proctology to a high standard, you don't need to (and likely even can't) verify that aspect of the candidate. (Though employment of doctors itself is quite different from how hiring normal employees work, they're often more like independent contractors or running their own practices)
If an institution is hiring a fresh software developer, then a CS diploma does not even reliably guarantee that they know the basics of software engineering (e.g. see yesterday's discussion in HN https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24740765 ) - so you have to do all the evaluation yourself, and neither you nor the candidate would be willing to spend as much time and effort on that evaluation as a lawyer or doctor does, so it definitely is trickier to evaluate since you don't (can't) have enough information.
An institution that's hiring fresh lawyers or fresh doctors can piggyback on the extensive, rigorous and difficult evaluation (which costs a lot of time and effort both for the candidate and the evaluator) during the bar qualification, medical licensing examination, etc. For example, if a potential doctor is a board certified proctologist(colorectal surgeon), then you can just assume that they will be able to do proctology to a high standard, you don't need to (and likely even can't) verify that aspect of the candidate. (Though employment of doctors itself is quite different from how hiring normal employees work, they're often more like independent contractors or running their own practices)
If an institution is hiring a fresh software developer, then a CS diploma does not even reliably guarantee that they know the basics of software engineering (e.g. see yesterday's discussion in HN https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24740765 ) - so you have to do all the evaluation yourself, and neither you nor the candidate would be willing to spend as much time and effort on that evaluation as a lawyer or doctor does, so it definitely is trickier to evaluate since you don't (can't) have enough information.
I also think it should not be. But so many times companies hiring brought it upon themselves by thinking too highly of their work. I have had first hand experience when just to develop or support some half-assed shitty webapp, hiring guy would talk of it as developing platform challenging Amazon in E-commerce.
In these scenarios they are going to get lot of candidates who will do far more fuzzing on their CVs
In these scenarios they are going to get lot of candidates who will do far more fuzzing on their CVs
This is a serious question that I'd love to see a serious answer to. Because for the life of me, perhaps literally, I don't have a better heuristic for judging a doctor than gut feeling. Similarly, selecting the right lawyer could also be a literal life or death decision, albeit in a far more unlikely scenario, and I'm really not sure how to do any better than gut feeling there either.
So you find out you have a semi-treatable carcinoma, how do you pick the right doctor? AM radio ads? Billboards about proton therapy? Internet search? Hearsay? Whoever your insurance company picks?
At least I know how to evaluate a programmer for life and death work, like avionics. That's just verifiably coding to a specification. Challenging, but relatively easy compared to cancer.
So you find out you have a semi-treatable carcinoma, how do you pick the right doctor? AM radio ads? Billboards about proton therapy? Internet search? Hearsay? Whoever your insurance company picks?
At least I know how to evaluate a programmer for life and death work, like avionics. That's just verifiably coding to a specification. Challenging, but relatively easy compared to cancer.
Ironically, these professions weren't listed above. I doubt that many people expect lawyers or doctors to work for free in their spare time…
The professions that were mentioned in the grandparent were all things that can easily be tested in an testing process. I.e. _play_ the guitar. Cook a meal.
Testing a doctor or lawyer well in a limited time is difficult, just like a software engineer. The difference is that they aren't expected to do "side projects" to prove their worth.
The professions that were mentioned in the grandparent were all things that can easily be tested in an testing process. I.e. _play_ the guitar. Cook a meal.
Testing a doctor or lawyer well in a limited time is difficult, just like a software engineer. The difference is that they aren't expected to do "side projects" to prove their worth.
> I doubt that many people expect lawyers or doctors to work for free in their spare time…
They don't, but not because they don't want to - it's because it's irresponsible for them to. The occupation of a lawyer or a doctor professes some privileges but also creates legal liabilities. As a lawyer or a doctor, you're not going to risk losing your license over an advice or procedure given to someone for free, on a hobby project.
(Also, the work of lawyers and doctors isn't creative in the sense software is, but it's primarily a people-oriented service. Which means you need other people to do your primary type of work for/on. The kind of work lawyers/doctors usually do after hours is called research, or just learning. Meanwhile, in software development, I can do the exact same type of work for myself that I do at my job, and end up with a digital product I can enjoy using.)
They don't, but not because they don't want to - it's because it's irresponsible for them to. The occupation of a lawyer or a doctor professes some privileges but also creates legal liabilities. As a lawyer or a doctor, you're not going to risk losing your license over an advice or procedure given to someone for free, on a hobby project.
(Also, the work of lawyers and doctors isn't creative in the sense software is, but it's primarily a people-oriented service. Which means you need other people to do your primary type of work for/on. The kind of work lawyers/doctors usually do after hours is called research, or just learning. Meanwhile, in software development, I can do the exact same type of work for myself that I do at my job, and end up with a digital product I can enjoy using.)
I think maybe it’s because lawyers and doctors take on cases/patients by themselves sometimes. If they win cases or help patients that speaks to their ability.
These days many software developers have never delivered software by themselves, so when they say they were “part of a team that developed X” we can’t know if they really did a significant part of X, or if they were just along for the ride.
These days many software developers have never delivered software by themselves, so when they say they were “part of a team that developed X” we can’t know if they really did a significant part of X, or if they were just along for the ride.
I'd imagine just as many lawyers work as parts of larger legal times. And a doctor's performance is even more murky in many ways—did the patient get better because of the doctor, or because they were going to get better anyway? You can't just look at a doctor's record and determine their performance.
A lot of really really good engineers I knew at AWS had no side projects. They were absolute masters at their job. May be AWS is a small sample size, and sure engineers with side-projects were better than average, but to say others were not as good...nope, doesn't go with my observation at all.
This is partly due to the nature of your employment contract at AMZN. They can lay claim to all the IP you create while employed. You will need to get explicit permission to work on an open source project. This is fairly common at large companies.
> Most people that can practice their craft do so at home.
Just because some do doesn't mean most do, at least in any significant manner. Just because some don't doesn't mean that they are letting their life outside of work go idle. People are allowed to have other interests (e.g. hobbies) and other responsibilities (e.g family). That doesn't mean that they are suspect or not good. It may mean other things, like they are a better rounded individual.
Just because some do doesn't mean most do, at least in any significant manner. Just because some don't doesn't mean that they are letting their life outside of work go idle. People are allowed to have other interests (e.g. hobbies) and other responsibilities (e.g family). That doesn't mean that they are suspect or not good. It may mean other things, like they are a better rounded individual.
This, 100% this. I have a ton of other interests outside of software. I already get 40 hours a week working on software so why would I ignore all other interests and spend that time building software too? I'd much rather spend that time pursuing my other interests.
I hate this attitude that there's something wrong with that. It's perfectly possible to be a good engineer doing only 40 hrs a week.
Frankly this whole attitude is a big part of why we have a diversity problem, because only a small minority (over represented here on HN) want to spend all their time building software and this attitude puts a lot of people who weren't teenage coding geeks off joining the industry. It's actively harming the industry and I wish it would go away. If you individually enjoy coding for fun above anything else by all means go for it and enjoy your life, but stop trying to force that on the rest of us. There's more to life that just building software!
I hate this attitude that there's something wrong with that. It's perfectly possible to be a good engineer doing only 40 hrs a week.
Frankly this whole attitude is a big part of why we have a diversity problem, because only a small minority (over represented here on HN) want to spend all their time building software and this attitude puts a lot of people who weren't teenage coding geeks off joining the industry. It's actively harming the industry and I wish it would go away. If you individually enjoy coding for fun above anything else by all means go for it and enjoy your life, but stop trying to force that on the rest of us. There's more to life that just building software!
> It may mean other things, like they are a better rounded individual.
That's great, someone is a better rounded individual. That's nice.
But if that well-rounded individual applies for a React position but has zero React experience, let alone any React project in their portfolio or CV, then that well rounded individual will be quickly brushed aside on the first round of the application process.
But at least he's well-rounded.
That's great, someone is a better rounded individual. That's nice.
But if that well-rounded individual applies for a React position but has zero React experience, let alone any React project in their portfolio or CV, then that well rounded individual will be quickly brushed aside on the first round of the application process.
But at least he's well-rounded.
You're comparing extremes. The well-rounded person without side-project might just be as capable and experienced as the candidates he's competing with. If that's the case I'd always rate well-roundedness and interests outside of the immediate scope of the job more valuable than a long list of side projects.
This is true. To think of it, some lawyers probably work for free in the weekends for the poor; some doctors probably read about medical breakthroughs (and inevitable solve family cases) at home, and teachers too. I don't see anything wrong with either approach to coding, be it treating it strictly as work or as a hobby. But if someone expects good code, best practices, 100% test coverage, etc. in a side project - that's going too far.
> But if someone expects good code, best practices, 100% test coverage, etc. in a side project - that's going too far.
If you expect some lawyers to work professionally pro bono, why is it going too far to write tests for your side project?
If you expect some lawyers to work professionally pro bono, why is it going too far to write tests for your side project?
Pro bono work has a purpose beyond the work itself. Side projects don't necessarily have any purpose aside from professional development.
It seems you're assuming that FLOSS software lives in a bubble where only the developers use it or extract any meaningful value from it.
> if you're a musician, you probably play at home sometime. If you're a mathematician, you probably solve some maths at home.
Musician does not spend 8 hours a day playing music at work and then plays at home in addition to it. Playing music at home is not addition to full time work.
Same with mathematician, actually. I know, because I have them in my family. They do math for work, whether at work or at home. And they do have non-math hobbies.
Writer is not writing 8-5 in work just to come home for hobby writing. Writer either writes for job or has non-writing job.
> A chef might have an idea for a meal and experiment at home.
100% not. Chefs work long hours and when they come home, they want partner to cook.
Musician does not spend 8 hours a day playing music at work and then plays at home in addition to it. Playing music at home is not addition to full time work.
Same with mathematician, actually. I know, because I have them in my family. They do math for work, whether at work or at home. And they do have non-math hobbies.
Writer is not writing 8-5 in work just to come home for hobby writing. Writer either writes for job or has non-writing job.
> A chef might have an idea for a meal and experiment at home.
100% not. Chefs work long hours and when they come home, they want partner to cook.
> So a software developer that doesn't practice their craft at home is very suspect.
I am ecstatic that I get to pour my craft into paid work. I have written my best code in the context of employment. Over the years, of course I have had side projects. But in the last two years I have worked on nothing but paid projects that have all let me grow and explore as a developer.
Musicians are not a great analogue because they aren't getting paid to music for 8+ hours a day already. Of course they have to practice at home. But I get plenty of practice coding while I am getting paid, I don't always need a side project.
I am ecstatic that I get to pour my craft into paid work. I have written my best code in the context of employment. Over the years, of course I have had side projects. But in the last two years I have worked on nothing but paid projects that have all let me grow and explore as a developer.
Musicians are not a great analogue because they aren't getting paid to music for 8+ hours a day already. Of course they have to practice at home. But I get plenty of practice coding while I am getting paid, I don't always need a side project.
> But I get plenty of practice coding while I am getting paid, I don't always need a side project.
The point of side-projects is that some of us don't get any practice at all coding relevant stuff while working on their 9-to-5 job.
Those who are mindful about their career do understand the risks of getting stuck doing irrelevant tasks, thus they feel compelled to work on their skillset and put together a nice portfolio during the process so that we have something to show to prospective employers.
The point of side-projects is that some of us don't get any practice at all coding relevant stuff while working on their 9-to-5 job.
Those who are mindful about their career do understand the risks of getting stuck doing irrelevant tasks, thus they feel compelled to work on their skillset and put together a nice portfolio during the process so that we have something to show to prospective employers.
Right, I understand the value they provide. But the assumption that anyone without side projects is no good as a developer is a bad one. Software is a hugely diverse industry.
> But the assumption that anyone without side projects is no good
That's not the assertion at all.
The general assertion is that those without side projects either might not have a way to showcase their skills or might not have a way to work on skills they don't use as part of their 9-to-5 job.
The specific assertion regarding recruiters is that without any side-project that showcases your skills with specific technologies then recruiters have no objective way to evaluate your skills. Thus if they have other candidates that demonstrate their skills and they have to pick between them and you, you will be left out because you have nothing to show for.
That's not the assertion at all.
The general assertion is that those without side projects either might not have a way to showcase their skills or might not have a way to work on skills they don't use as part of their 9-to-5 job.
The specific assertion regarding recruiters is that without any side-project that showcases your skills with specific technologies then recruiters have no objective way to evaluate your skills. Thus if they have other candidates that demonstrate their skills and they have to pick between them and you, you will be left out because you have nothing to show for.
> The specific assertion regarding recruiters is that without any side-project that showcases your skills with specific technologies then recruiters have no objective way to evaluate your skills.
This is a tough argument to have constructively because it's really going to depend on our own experiences at our jobs and in recruiting. But lets just say that I would have to work full-time on a side project for it to outshine my industry experience, which makes sense, because I worked full time in order to get that experience.
I guess that's why this is a pain point for me. I see around me extremely skilled developers putting in real work solving real problems from 9-5, but according to the grandparent comment, their skills are suspect because they haven't spent their afternoons writing dead end projects for fun.
I would hire any of them in a heartbeat over the guy with the New Tech laden github.
This is a tough argument to have constructively because it's really going to depend on our own experiences at our jobs and in recruiting. But lets just say that I would have to work full-time on a side project for it to outshine my industry experience, which makes sense, because I worked full time in order to get that experience.
I guess that's why this is a pain point for me. I see around me extremely skilled developers putting in real work solving real problems from 9-5, but according to the grandparent comment, their skills are suspect because they haven't spent their afternoons writing dead end projects for fun.
I would hire any of them in a heartbeat over the guy with the New Tech laden github.
> This is a tough argument to have constructively because it's really going to depend on our own experiences at our jobs and in recruiting.
It really isn't. I can tell you that personally I've already been contacted and hired a couple of times exclusively due to a side project I have.
> But lets just say that I would have to work full-time on a side project
You don't. You only need to have something to show for. You are the only one whose input matters and you are free to choose whatever you feel is best for you in terms of learning experience and portfolio. No one cares if you work on it for 14 hours a day or 15 minutes each month. What recruiters do care about is that you have something substantial to show for when they ask you if you have any experience in X.
> (..) but according to the grandparent comment, their skills are suspect because they haven't spent their afternoons writing dead end projects for fun.
Those skills are obviously suspect if they claim prowesses that they have no way to corroborate.
What? Do you believe people don't lie in job applications? Do you believe no one ever said in job interviews that they were very skilled at X although they never in their life had any contact with it?
It really isn't. I can tell you that personally I've already been contacted and hired a couple of times exclusively due to a side project I have.
> But lets just say that I would have to work full-time on a side project
You don't. You only need to have something to show for. You are the only one whose input matters and you are free to choose whatever you feel is best for you in terms of learning experience and portfolio. No one cares if you work on it for 14 hours a day or 15 minutes each month. What recruiters do care about is that you have something substantial to show for when they ask you if you have any experience in X.
> (..) but according to the grandparent comment, their skills are suspect because they haven't spent their afternoons writing dead end projects for fun.
Those skills are obviously suspect if they claim prowesses that they have no way to corroborate.
What? Do you believe people don't lie in job applications? Do you believe no one ever said in job interviews that they were very skilled at X although they never in their life had any contact with it?
I can also tell you personally that my side projects don't get me jobs, my experience and word of mouth does. So yes, this conversation is hard to have because we experience the landscape differently.
Why would someone have no way to corroborate their industry experience? I can show you thousands of lines of code I wrote on the job. Even with an NDA there are ways to show your achievements.
Anyway, I am not saying side projects don't get peoppe jobs, that was never my argument. My argument is that talented developers don't always have side projects all the time. Some of them are already highly skilled and work in challenging enough environments that they continue to learn anyway. The grandparents argument was that anyone without side projects is suspect, that is demonstrably false.
Why would someone have no way to corroborate their industry experience? I can show you thousands of lines of code I wrote on the job. Even with an NDA there are ways to show your achievements.
Anyway, I am not saying side projects don't get peoppe jobs, that was never my argument. My argument is that talented developers don't always have side projects all the time. Some of them are already highly skilled and work in challenging enough environments that they continue to learn anyway. The grandparents argument was that anyone without side projects is suspect, that is demonstrably false.
A lot of companies want you to sign those horrible contracts where everything that you do in your free time automatically becomes company property.
In that case, I'd say "No I categorically do not do side projects because I do not want FAANG X to own them" is a perfectly reasonable answer.
If you somehow manage to avoid signing that clause, then suddenly your side projects become potential competition for your employer, so they might get you into awkward discussions with your manager, especially so if your side project turns out useful or valuable. So having your own side project might require a level of people skills that programmers highly dedicated to their craft will likely not have.
I know people who dread "their" side projects because it just feels like additional unpaid work to them. I also know people who keep their side projects a secret from their employer.
If you select for people with corporate side projects, you're likely selecting for future employees with bad people skills.
In that case, I'd say "No I categorically do not do side projects because I do not want FAANG X to own them" is a perfectly reasonable answer.
If you somehow manage to avoid signing that clause, then suddenly your side projects become potential competition for your employer, so they might get you into awkward discussions with your manager, especially so if your side project turns out useful or valuable. So having your own side project might require a level of people skills that programmers highly dedicated to their craft will likely not have.
I know people who dread "their" side projects because it just feels like additional unpaid work to them. I also know people who keep their side projects a secret from their employer.
If you select for people with corporate side projects, you're likely selecting for future employees with bad people skills.
This is an absurd expectation, and not healthy at all for individuals or the industry.
I think the absurd expectation is the “at home” bit. Why can’t you experiment at work? Practice your craft at ...work?
I do a lot of reading at home. Some tech, some non tech. However not a lot of side project work at home. Baby, wife and dog come first when I’m home.
I do a lot of reading at home. Some tech, some non tech. However not a lot of side project work at home. Baby, wife and dog come first when I’m home.
I'd say you can and you should. Unless you're working in a Jira sweatshop, you have some slack in between tasks. To the extent you're hired as a professional and being expected to perform creative work, learning is part of the job description and it's fair to do some on employer time. Good companies recognize this explicitly, though I'm yet to be in one that would frown on people who don't just stick to solving tickets as fast as they possibly can.
I agree. Further since Software / IT industry is huge I would identify at least 2 categories for workers there. One mainly enterprisey CRUD peddlers, or just setting up and customizing large packaged software etc. They often work at large consultancies. For them this is just job that pays good. These folks don't even understand there is something called side/personal projects.
Second category who work on large custom build applications, likely enjoy good software craftsmanship. They got chance to be part of challenging projects. They think of getting even better jobs or just plan to write some personal projects which may even be useful at work.
Now when it comes to hiring I do not know if hiring folks / HR really identify these 2 categories. To me it seems every application is evaluated as software developer without analyzing context on what kind of work is done at what kind of companies.
Second category who work on large custom build applications, likely enjoy good software craftsmanship. They got chance to be part of challenging projects. They think of getting even better jobs or just plan to write some personal projects which may even be useful at work.
Now when it comes to hiring I do not know if hiring folks / HR really identify these 2 categories. To me it seems every application is evaluated as software developer without analyzing context on what kind of work is done at what kind of companies.
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Why?
I started working fulltime as a coder maybe 3 years ago. Before that I coded a lot on my free time, but since I started doing it fulltime at work, I did less on my spare time, and now it's basically no coding at all on my spare time.
I can understand that an employer wants someone who practices their work-related skills on their free time, but is it really that important?
If you want productive employees, isn't it even more important that they eat healthy, exercise and sleep well?
Just counting amount of hours/week spent on coding sounds like quantity over quality to me...
I started working fulltime as a coder maybe 3 years ago. Before that I coded a lot on my free time, but since I started doing it fulltime at work, I did less on my spare time, and now it's basically no coding at all on my spare time.
I can understand that an employer wants someone who practices their work-related skills on their free time, but is it really that important?
If you want productive employees, isn't it even more important that they eat healthy, exercise and sleep well?
Just counting amount of hours/week spent on coding sounds like quantity over quality to me...
Surgeons and nuclear engineers are able to be highly competent without work-related home projects.
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I’m not sure if you know many cooks/chefs but all the ones I know, literally the last thing they want to do after getting home is not spending time cooking.
Off topic: Are there more professional hunters than hunters than hunt for hobby? Curious how did you pick hunters profession to compare to software engineering.
From what I hear, most chefs don't do 'real' cooking at home cause they are tired of cooking all time.
> Do we ask lawyers what free cases they take over the weekend?
Lawyers have both continuing education and pro bono work expectations, both of which are frequently also bar membership requirements (with some common exemptions, IIRC, for the pro bono requirement in jurisdictions where it generally applies.)
Of course, because they are binding requirements and because lawyers as a norm (and, when not working as regular employees of their direct client, usually a legal requirement) work for other lawyers, this is usually accommodated within working arrangements. But software developers don't have industrial guilds or self-regulation, so they don't have the same kind of power to get accommodation for the need for doing things outside of their current narrow job duties accommodated within most working arrangements. But that doesn't lessen the need for it.
> Doctors about the diagnoses they make for fun on Saturdays?
Doctors are much like lawyers, including both the binding nature of continuing professional education requirements and, and least broadly, the reasons why it gets accommodated in their working arrangements.
> Teachers about their open source lesson plans?
No, but, teachers also have mandatory continuing education requirements as licensing conditions outside of what they are immediately teaching. And they tend to have strong unions and legal requirements to point to to get these accommodated in their working arrangements.
Software developers have, as a whole, implicitly opted for immediate pay over other advantageous working conditions, including accommodations for continuing education, but it is no less relevant to their ability to develop and perform. Possibly moreso than the other fields; tooling and practices in software development evolving more rapidly than many other intellectual professions.
Lawyers have both continuing education and pro bono work expectations, both of which are frequently also bar membership requirements (with some common exemptions, IIRC, for the pro bono requirement in jurisdictions where it generally applies.)
Of course, because they are binding requirements and because lawyers as a norm (and, when not working as regular employees of their direct client, usually a legal requirement) work for other lawyers, this is usually accommodated within working arrangements. But software developers don't have industrial guilds or self-regulation, so they don't have the same kind of power to get accommodation for the need for doing things outside of their current narrow job duties accommodated within most working arrangements. But that doesn't lessen the need for it.
> Doctors about the diagnoses they make for fun on Saturdays?
Doctors are much like lawyers, including both the binding nature of continuing professional education requirements and, and least broadly, the reasons why it gets accommodated in their working arrangements.
> Teachers about their open source lesson plans?
No, but, teachers also have mandatory continuing education requirements as licensing conditions outside of what they are immediately teaching. And they tend to have strong unions and legal requirements to point to to get these accommodated in their working arrangements.
Software developers have, as a whole, implicitly opted for immediate pay over other advantageous working conditions, including accommodations for continuing education, but it is no less relevant to their ability to develop and perform. Possibly moreso than the other fields; tooling and practices in software development evolving more rapidly than many other intellectual professions.
Teachers often work nights and weekends. They'll be doing anything from helping with extracurriculars, to looking after kids on excursions, to marking and writing reports, to for-profit tutoring, to planning lessons. A science teacher will stay up to date with what's happening in their speciality, and might have semi-related hobbies like birdwatching, or archaeology.
It's a little harder to pin down than side projects, but the activity is still there.
It's a little harder to pin down than side projects, but the activity is still there.
I've heard this analogy many times and it doesn't hold - it's absolutely true that lots of professions - including some of those mentioned - need to work outside hours to be at the top of their field.
My brother is a surgeon. And before that, a doctor.
And yes he worked all the hours in the day and still does and always has.
He has never stopped studying - he has constantly studied his whole school and working life.
Being really good at something takes hard work.
And also it makes total sense that employers seek out those people for whom it's more than just a job - because those people tend to have a higher level of expertise. You might not like that but the logic is reasonable.
My brother is a surgeon. And before that, a doctor.
And yes he worked all the hours in the day and still does and always has.
He has never stopped studying - he has constantly studied his whole school and working life.
Being really good at something takes hard work.
And also it makes total sense that employers seek out those people for whom it's more than just a job - because those people tend to have a higher level of expertise. You might not like that but the logic is reasonable.
I'd liken us more to craftspeople like a carpenter.
While I certainly don't think software developers should be expected to make software their freetime hobby with a menagerie of weekend sideprojects, this forum acts like it's an unfair demand on a carpenter that you see something they've built before you hire them.
I also can't say I expect much from a software developer who hasn't at least had interest in personal projects during some interval of their life. Like a carpenter who has never made something unless they were getting paid for it.
While I certainly don't think software developers should be expected to make software their freetime hobby with a menagerie of weekend sideprojects, this forum acts like it's an unfair demand on a carpenter that you see something they've built before you hire them.
I also can't say I expect much from a software developer who hasn't at least had interest in personal projects during some interval of their life. Like a carpenter who has never made something unless they were getting paid for it.
When I ask the question, I do it out of genuine curiosity. I like my potential coworkers (since that's kinda half the point of interviews-- see if he/she is a feasible coworker) to be easy to talk with.
I've had interviews where we talked about Tiger King.
Though I do agree, this is the minority. I feel that, especially in the cybersecurity world, it's an expectation that you should have several CVEs or public bug bounty writeups under your belt, things which oftentimes take tens of hours of time outside of work.
I've had interviews where we talked about Tiger King.
Though I do agree, this is the minority. I feel that, especially in the cybersecurity world, it's an expectation that you should have several CVEs or public bug bounty writeups under your belt, things which oftentimes take tens of hours of time outside of work.
> When I ask the question, I do it out of genuine curiosity. I like my potential coworkers (since that's kinda half the point of interviews-- see if he/she is a feasible coworker) to be easy to talk with.
Don’t. You seem to be utterly blind to the enormous power imbalance in an interview setting. If you were to ask people what their sexual preferences were, or what their political opinions were, people would feel compelled to answer. Don’t behave as if you don’t have any power and are just talking informally; you’re not.
You have a huge amount of power in that relationship, and if you will be their boss after they are hired, this will continue to be true. Wield this power responsibly, don’t pretend you don’t have it.
Don’t. You seem to be utterly blind to the enormous power imbalance in an interview setting. If you were to ask people what their sexual preferences were, or what their political opinions were, people would feel compelled to answer. Don’t behave as if you don’t have any power and are just talking informally; you’re not.
You have a huge amount of power in that relationship, and if you will be their boss after they are hired, this will continue to be true. Wield this power responsibly, don’t pretend you don’t have it.
It seems the creep is real. Yet with an aging body, a family to love, and a house to fix even getting a few uninterrupted hours with any consistency is ... a big ask.
I did all these things right up until I married and had a son. Now when I have a few hours to myself I just play a game, or get some extra hours of sleep.
Ain’t nobody got no time to do that any more.
Ain’t nobody got no time to do that any more.
Teachers,at least in my part of the USA, do tons of work off the clock and it's not even a side project, just work.
Next, having the right non-coding hobbies to portray yourself as an upwardly mobile urban creative: Climbing is in, hunting is out, that sort of thing
Next, having the right non-coding hobbies to portray yourself as an upwardly mobile urban creative: Climbing is in, hunting is out, that sort of thing
So do programmers, especially younger inexperienced devs who feel pressure to perform beyond their current skill level.
Lawyers and doctors are such a hysterical example here because they work a notorious amount. Especially when coming out of school.
Doctors are a terrible comparison - the ones I know work insane hours and are often in the hospital 60+ hours a week.
Lots of software developers are expected to do 60 hour weeks too. There are also thousands of lifestyle doctors that just work a few days a week.
"lifestyle doctors" ?
Only on HN is having interests outside of work considered a slur.
Only on HN is having interests outside of work considered a slur.
For me at least a "lifestyle doctor" is a term without negative connotations.
Re. Doctors. I know my dentist actively does clinical research. His day job just involves seeing patients, doing root canals (in my case), but weekends are about research, he's published a bunch papers. His eyes light up every time I'm in the chair, and we have an enjoyable discussion about NumPy, R and the statistical techniques he's using, and the medical papers he's been reading (Well.. naturally with me unable to speak in the dentist's chair, he gets to do most of the talking.) I'm a lay person, so I cannot judge his skill level, but it's obvious he loves his job. His hospital obviously supports his work.
I've never seen it as an expectation that employers place on employees, but rather something that software developers place on themselves. The nature of the profession is that one person, by themselves, can create a great piece of software with enough time and effort. Or maybe people just want to get around to putting something into practice that they did a tutorial on a while ago. Or maybe they want to learn a new skill altogether. All these possibilities lay in front of the software developer, just a few clicks away, and it can make you feel like you have to do something.
The problem, as this thread shows, is that often software engineers start putting the expectation onto each other, which causes issues.
> I really, really hate the expectancy of software developers to have side projects at home.
I have some side projects, and employers have rarely asked about them or cared at all.
> Worst yet its often phrased in the interview as "do you have any hobbies?"
I think you're projecting here. Perhaps they just want to know about your hobbies?
I have some side projects, and employers have rarely asked about them or cared at all.
> Worst yet its often phrased in the interview as "do you have any hobbies?"
I think you're projecting here. Perhaps they just want to know about your hobbies?
When I did interviews and asked about side projects I’m looking for another topic related to craft to talk about. If you don’t have one fair enough, but in that case I would expect that for school stuff you can elaborate more than “we did a thing in Java”.
For questions about hobbies it’s the same. You need something to talk about to gauge fit into the team.
For questions about hobbies it’s the same. You need something to talk about to gauge fit into the team.
This is how I feel about writing. I write for work all day, every day: strategy documents, internal and public help articles, hundreds of long-form emails to customers, not to mention the critical commentary that goes in to design and spec reviews. I love to write, and there's a part of me that wishes I could write more for myself. But by the end of the week, I've got no energy for words, and the last thing I want to do is SIT and write.
> I really, really hate the expectancy of software developers to have side projects at home.
I feel exactly the same way, but there is an incredible amount of hostility to this website in this thread imo. I almost made a similar blog post to start my blog off this year (which I still haven't gotten around to doing), and I did a similar thing with a web domain I bought as a joke while drinking. After years of development, it was actually exhilarating to work on something that I have no deadlines for and can use as an outlet to explore technologies I never got to use but always wondered about. I get the same energy from this website.
I hate the expectancy of software devs to work on their own projects as a resume builder, but this site seems to be _specifically not about that_. On the contrary, it seems to me like the author is re-learning how approach something that they may have forgotten that they even like to do in a casual way, which I think is nice. In fact, when working on side projects I care about these days, I get annoyed by my friends constantly trying to figure out how I'm going to spin it as work experience.
I feel exactly the same way, but there is an incredible amount of hostility to this website in this thread imo. I almost made a similar blog post to start my blog off this year (which I still haven't gotten around to doing), and I did a similar thing with a web domain I bought as a joke while drinking. After years of development, it was actually exhilarating to work on something that I have no deadlines for and can use as an outlet to explore technologies I never got to use but always wondered about. I get the same energy from this website.
I hate the expectancy of software devs to work on their own projects as a resume builder, but this site seems to be _specifically not about that_. On the contrary, it seems to me like the author is re-learning how approach something that they may have forgotten that they even like to do in a casual way, which I think is nice. In fact, when working on side projects I care about these days, I get annoyed by my friends constantly trying to figure out how I'm going to spin it as work experience.
Doctors I know frequently work weekends and nights between long days of more work.
I chalk up this feeling to the God is dead mentality. Except here its all interesting ideas are done.
It's more of a question of work and why we do so. Most are left burn out at the end of their week.
After all it's a job, because someone has to pay you to do it.
Programming is just the process of abstraction and automation of work. At what point does it end?
It's more of a question of work and why we do so. Most are left burn out at the end of their week.
After all it's a job, because someone has to pay you to do it.
Programming is just the process of abstraction and automation of work. At what point does it end?
I fully endorse this sentiment, but I've recently had an opposite experience.
At my previous job the anti-competitive clause was strong enough to include anything which uses the same skillset as your day job, even if it's a non-commercial side project. I originally thought it was fine, since I hadn't managed to find time and motivation to work on my dream project, anyway over the previous four years.
Five years in, however, I had an epiphany which meant I just couldn't ignore the urge to work on it and finally see it through. I ended up changing jobs largely to be allowed to work on it.
It's been difficult, finding time and motivation, especially since I will always prioritize spending time with my kids above any other activity. But I've managed to find time a bit, mainly in the evenings if I happen to have energy over.
At my previous job the anti-competitive clause was strong enough to include anything which uses the same skillset as your day job, even if it's a non-commercial side project. I originally thought it was fine, since I hadn't managed to find time and motivation to work on my dream project, anyway over the previous four years.
Five years in, however, I had an epiphany which meant I just couldn't ignore the urge to work on it and finally see it through. I ended up changing jobs largely to be allowed to work on it.
It's been difficult, finding time and motivation, especially since I will always prioritize spending time with my kids above any other activity. But I've managed to find time a bit, mainly in the evenings if I happen to have energy over.
Lawyers are expected to do a certain amount of free work.
Maybe in some places, but this is not universal across the US. Source: My entire social circle are lawyers. Most do almost no pro bono work. And the continuing education requirements are basically a joke.
One notable difference is that software developers are in the category of "builders" while the other professions you mentioned aren't generally accepted as such.
Software developers can also fit in with the creative architect category and (esp here) entrepreneurial business starter.
Many lawyers and doctors do work on the weekends and they have continuing education requirements. Your comment suggests you have no idea what lawyers and doctors do.
You missed the point - it's not about the work - many developers work weekends and continuously educate themselves.
I do plenty of coding activities in my spare time, my library is filled with technical books, some work related, others that I bought out of interest in a given technology - but I don't think there should be an expectation to have a published game, a large website making a few hundreds of bucks a week or a massively successful open sourced project.
I do plenty of coding activities in my spare time, my library is filled with technical books, some work related, others that I bought out of interest in a given technology - but I don't think there should be an expectation to have a published game, a large website making a few hundreds of bucks a week or a massively successful open sourced project.
Yep and lawyers and doctors are two professions with notoriously awful work/life balance.
I have no desire to see that attitude become any further entrenched in software development.
I have no desire to see that attitude become any further entrenched in software development.
I didn't get the memo that you had to have programming specific hobbies for interviews.
I usually just say something to make me seem well rounded if asked about my hobbies.
I usually just say something to make me seem well rounded if asked about my hobbies.
Is it just me or have attitudes shifted dramatically on this? When I was a college student, I remember professor’s scaring us with stories of intellectual property disputes between companies and their workers over side project. Not to mention liability issues. But now every company wants to hear about your side project during interviews?
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My side projects include servicing the car, restoring old appliances, general other repair work around the house... and also working on software that's often related to that stuff.
Reminds me of this one, currently making the rounds: https://youtu.be/vQJ8IjklA4U
Igelau(3)
gfxgirl(6)
I can’t believe that someone can create software, and doesn’t have an interest in some sort of software project.
Like an android developer or iOS dev who has never written an app.
Yes, it would be like a chef who never cooks. A nurse who doesn’t apply her own bandages.
Like an android developer or iOS dev who has never written an app.
Yes, it would be like a chef who never cooks. A nurse who doesn’t apply her own bandages.
Applying bandages is not as much work as developing most (hobby) software is, especially if the software comes with some expectation of support.
Any comparison or metaphor will probably be flawed.
If a person does not work on side projects I won't hold it against them, because I know good developers who don't.
If a person does not work on side projects I won't hold it against them, because I know good developers who don't.
I love Monday's.... finally get a chance to do intellectual work.
Weekends are spent chasing the kids from the time I wake up until I go to sleep.
Weekends are spent chasing the kids from the time I wake up until I go to sleep.
I really hope that this doesn't end up with being somehow a "cool" website.
Screw professionalism. Stay crappy and amateurish.
with love
Screw professionalism. Stay crappy and amateurish.
with love
As a mentor for a high school robotics club, I have learned the freeing joy of tinkering, as opposed to the engineering I have done my whole career. It's great to work with foamcore, X-acto knife, glue gun, little motors and electronics, and create something crappy and amateurish and _successful_.
It's kinda sad to see people that have incorrect expectations. It all stem from some geeks that love to code in their free time (my younger self too), then suddenly many employers or colleagues expect everyone to do the same. Then suddenly many programmers hate sunday.
Awesome. Now iterate and keep shipping and you’ll go a long long way. (^W Hacker News)
If I didn't know better, these could be my words. Extremely relatable.
I'd love an community of people fighting against this feeling, especially one that isn't filled with 'gurus'. I am not sure that can exist.
I'd love an community of people fighting against this feeling, especially one that isn't filled with 'gurus'. I am not sure that can exist.
Great. I just hope the author has no OCD, because there is a typo on that page ("shoudl"), which means that this side project turned into something with consequences.
I think the typo reinforces the message: don't worry about it being perfect; just do something.
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Torvalds' Just For Fun really inspired me. You should be having fun doing it.
Of course, fun is definitely relative. But, I believe that hacker-geeks find lots of fun building stuff.
In fact, I'll be bold enough to propose that if someone is having trouble with a side project, they might not be having enough fun doing it for it to be justifiable, and may need to do some soul-searching to find out whether they should continue with it.
Of course, fun is definitely relative. But, I believe that hacker-geeks find lots of fun building stuff.
In fact, I'll be bold enough to propose that if someone is having trouble with a side project, they might not be having enough fun doing it for it to be justifiable, and may need to do some soul-searching to find out whether they should continue with it.
Some of us (in the US) were spared today, tomorrow Veterans' day is being observed (it was today actually) and the office is closed. But yes, that's how it usually goes, after the short respite it starts over and it goes like that the whole year with a 2-3 weeks break. But I should consider myself lucky even if I don't like this ballance, others either work 7/7 or 0/7.
Veteran's Day is November 11th, just FYI.
Thank you for the correction. But I'm still off tomorrow so this weekend felt a bit more generous than usual.
Hey...This is great.
I have this kind of 'fuck everything' moment from time to time. It's satisfying but not last long because the lack of further plan. Still miles better than scrolling through reddit or reading gurus advices all days without taking any action though.
I know I should make this 'spur of anger' a routine, but seriously, fuck routine for once, too.
I have this kind of 'fuck everything' moment from time to time. It's satisfying but not last long because the lack of further plan. Still miles better than scrolling through reddit or reading gurus advices all days without taking any action though.
I know I should make this 'spur of anger' a routine, but seriously, fuck routine for once, too.
This looks like something I would have totally dismissed 2 years ago and something that I would write myself in 2 years from now...
Is there a term for Techie FOMO?
Fear Of Not Capitalizing? FONC
Fear Of Not Capitalizing? FONC
The book "Missing Out: In Praise of the Unlived Life" by Adam Phillips is a bit dry, but helped me to overcome a lot of my feelings of FOMO. Around the same time I read that, I also purged all of my social media accounts. My anxiety has gone down since then.
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There seems to be alot of people who "want to build something" but don't. What's that about - I don't really get it?
I work hard on my software ideas.
I can absolutely understand if you simply don't have time - work/kids/family/friends/health etc.
But if you do have time and instead procrastinate - that's a mystery to me. I'd like to say "just do the work" but I think that would be missing the point somehow.
I made a definite decision a while back I'd rather do something with my life than play endless hours of computer games or TV/Netflix watching. I absolutely do watch TV and play computer games but it's at the very end of the day when my brain won't do any more productive work.
I work hard on my software ideas.
I can absolutely understand if you simply don't have time - work/kids/family/friends/health etc.
But if you do have time and instead procrastinate - that's a mystery to me. I'd like to say "just do the work" but I think that would be missing the point somehow.
I made a definite decision a while back I'd rather do something with my life than play endless hours of computer games or TV/Netflix watching. I absolutely do watch TV and play computer games but it's at the very end of the day when my brain won't do any more productive work.
Cognitive load is a bitch when someone is staring down the barrel of burnout. Kids or not.
This right here. When you overloaded with a lots of things, it will take toll on your body and mind eventually. You know what's good, but you just can't bring yourself to 'just' do it. It's not fun at all.
I personally found radical change help in this case.
I personally found radical change help in this case.
Aside from tiredness, in my experience procrastination is primarily about fear. On a very deep level, I'm scared of feelings and realities that I know I'll have to confront by doing the work. Feelings like "I don't know how to do this" and "what I've made actually sucks and was a huge waste of time".
I would love to start a micro-SaaS but I can’t think of any good ideas.
I think it’s an absolutely insane idea that you’re supposed to use five days of the week working, and then the remaining two working on something else. Weekends are for resting and recovery.
It used to be six and a half. It became five because a bunch of people were smart enough to figure out their bosses weren't their friends, and fought for a shorter workweek (also reducing unemployment and increasing the value of each worker). We've gotten lazy, collectively speaking, and the bosses have crept it back up to five-plus-some-extras.
Five is still ridiculous, though. There's so much waste in the system these days; the world would run fine on a three-day week.
It's time for working people to get fighting again.
Five is still ridiculous, though. There's so much waste in the system these days; the world would run fine on a three-day week.
It's time for working people to get fighting again.
It used to be six and a half until higher farm yields and productivity gains from automation produced enough surplus to even allow for less. From the dawn of urban civilization until well into the industrial revolution there was barely enough food to keep the population alive. Even if the bosses had been nicer about it that wouldn't have kept people from starving.
Yes I am aware that early hunter gatherers worked fewer hours per week and generally had better diets. But that lifestyle wasn't sustainable after the human population expanded.
Yes I am aware that early hunter gatherers worked fewer hours per week and generally had better diets. But that lifestyle wasn't sustainable after the human population expanded.
At least in Judaism, all forms of labour, including domestic labour, has been strictly banned on Saturday, for centuries at least. They managed to survive alright.
More to the point, a recent series of history blog posts discussed this question, and it seems like for most of the population, the food supply was not really limited by labour but rather by food storage ability and land area productivity (which is different). For much of the year aside from during the harvest, there was a lot of leisure time (even if people were starving, that wasn't something that harder work would necessarily solve).
https://acoup.blog/2020/07/24/collections-bread-how-did-they...
More to the point, a recent series of history blog posts discussed this question, and it seems like for most of the population, the food supply was not really limited by labour but rather by food storage ability and land area productivity (which is different). For much of the year aside from during the harvest, there was a lot of leisure time (even if people were starving, that wasn't something that harder work would necessarily solve).
https://acoup.blog/2020/07/24/collections-bread-how-did-they...
Livestock require care 7 days a week, even by the frum.
It was 'on the farm' on 'your own terms' before the industrialized revolutions, may have included some Sunday work.
But the number of hours worked rose quite a lot during the Industrial revolution in the mines and factories, this was 'peak work'.
Some data points [1].
[1] http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/rauch/worktime/hours_w...
But the number of hours worked rose quite a lot during the Industrial revolution in the mines and factories, this was 'peak work'.
Some data points [1].
[1] http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/rauch/worktime/hours_w...
This, but I want to emphasize: “fought” is literal here, at least in terms of employers’ response. The reality is that the notion that we even get to decide whether to rest on weekends or labor is entirely owed to the fact that people who came before us got literally killed to pave the way.
I would be fine working six and a half days per week. Given a full work day was considered to be 2 hours.
I couldn't believe that a "work day" was ever 2 hours, so I looked it up.
https://www.lovemoney.com/gallerylist/84600/how-many-hours-d...
That says 3-5, and it was a long time ago.
https://www.lovemoney.com/gallerylist/84600/how-many-hours-d...
That says 3-5, and it was a long time ago.
My comment was meant to convey conditionality. As in I would happily work those days if I had those hours.
Thanks for the interesting link. If I only worked 2 hours a day on a computer, I would likely spend my free time on hunter-gatherer-gardener-cook tasks. Perhaps art and science as well.
Thanks for the interesting link. If I only worked 2 hours a day on a computer, I would likely spend my free time on hunter-gatherer-gardener-cook tasks. Perhaps art and science as well.
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The basic idea is that many people can't really get ahead on their salary. And people like me are wasting most of their energy building wealth for other people.
So building a product or service seems like a primary way to get control of my life and stop putting all of my effort to benefit someone else.
The weekend is usually the only opportunity to do it.
If I could quit my job and have someone give me a bunch of seed money for my project then I would. That's not going to happen. I don't have the connections or charisma and even if I had it, they are just research ideas right now.
So for me it's very sane to spend time on the weekends working on my project and I do feel guilty when I don't put enough time into it. Because I just know that I need to build my own thing if I am going to have financial security.
So building a product or service seems like a primary way to get control of my life and stop putting all of my effort to benefit someone else.
The weekend is usually the only opportunity to do it.
If I could quit my job and have someone give me a bunch of seed money for my project then I would. That's not going to happen. I don't have the connections or charisma and even if I had it, they are just research ideas right now.
So for me it's very sane to spend time on the weekends working on my project and I do feel guilty when I don't put enough time into it. Because I just know that I need to build my own thing if I am going to have financial security.
Probably team up with someone with connections and charisma else you build it and they just don't come and nor are you the kind of person to go out and get them to come and the whole thing goes nowhere and your productive weekends were all just a waste.
Source: experience
Source: experience
And building relationships with people not computers.
My secret tip for getting side projects completed is red wine aha
Comedian Steve Hughs on Work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIJrsAIhoEo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIJrsAIhoEo
Fuck that.
So many better things to do or think about on your time off. Read a good book. Climb a mountain. Hang out with friends/family. You know, live.
So many better things to do or think about on your time off. Read a good book. Climb a mountain. Hang out with friends/family. You know, live.
I decided to build a website that scraped data from wikipedia to tell me whether Kim Jong-Un was still alive. It contains a very basic index.html, a python script to scrape wikipedia on a cron hourly, and store the result in a file, which my flask app serves to the index.html.
I served my index.html on netlify which setup https, but I wasn't able to get an nginx server up and running to setup a https connection to the server, so the browser is complaining. Alas, it was a fun Friday night project. Coffee and Python, a solid duo.
I served my index.html on netlify which setup https, but I wasn't able to get an nginx server up and running to setup a https connection to the server, so the browser is complaining. Alas, it was a fun Friday night project. Coffee and Python, a solid duo.
Look, if you're happy working for Initech for the rest of your life, then no, you probably don't need side projects.
I work 3, 12 hour days with 4 days off. If you can get it, it's amazing.
Do you do 3 days at a stretch, or is it punctuated with your off days?
how? What does your schedule look like?
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Absolutely tired of weekends.
[deleted]
This misses the point of Sunday though.
<3
On HN, a simple show of affection and emotional recognition for something personal someone shared is a Bad Contribution. Y’all this is ridiculous.
“You don’t hate Mondays, you hate capitalism”
That's a bit of a stretch. I think the more accurate phrase is “You don’t hate Mondays, you probably just hate your job”.
I don't know why you were downvoted for this. It's utterly true. The birds and the trees don't hate Mondays. Babies don't hate Mondays. It's a learned behavior.
Sure, but it has nothing to do with Capitalism (other than Capitalism giving us two days off a week rather than 0). I'm sure the good people of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union didn't enjoy going to work again after a few days off.
People in the Soviet Union, in general, took a high degree of pride in their work.
Don't get me wrong. There was a lot wrong with the USSR, especially under Stalin. And since they didn't have a tradition of democracy and free speech in Russia, it wasn't a good place for dissidents. For most people, though, they did a much better job of lining people up with positions and careers suiting their wants and talents than our "work for rich people or you starve" system does.
Capitalism is a system that runs on human misery, led by a class of people who are completely unaccountable to anyone but themselves, who therefore have no incentive to make things decent for the workers.
Don't get me wrong. There was a lot wrong with the USSR, especially under Stalin. And since they didn't have a tradition of democracy and free speech in Russia, it wasn't a good place for dissidents. For most people, though, they did a much better job of lining people up with positions and careers suiting their wants and talents than our "work for rich people or you starve" system does.
Capitalism is a system that runs on human misery, led by a class of people who are completely unaccountable to anyone but themselves, who therefore have no incentive to make things decent for the workers.
People in the Soviet Union had to work Saturdays and were also obligated to participate in community activities.
As I said, the Soviet Union wasn't perfect.
If I were to live in 1970, either in the US or the USSR, I would have picked the US, no contest. Back then, capitalism actually worked. If you wanted a job, you looked a CEO up in the phone book, called him, and got one. You'd literally get every promotion if you worked two honest hours per day. It ain't like that anymore.
In 2020, capitalism sucks. There are basically no opportunities unless you inherit the connections. (I anticipate downvotes from 20-year-olds who've just read Ayn Rand and think her writing reflects how the world really works.) Would communism have degraded just as fast? It's hard to say. I doubt it, but we'll never know, since we destroyed it.
If I were to live in 1970, either in the US or the USSR, I would have picked the US, no contest. Back then, capitalism actually worked. If you wanted a job, you looked a CEO up in the phone book, called him, and got one. You'd literally get every promotion if you worked two honest hours per day. It ain't like that anymore.
In 2020, capitalism sucks. There are basically no opportunities unless you inherit the connections. (I anticipate downvotes from 20-year-olds who've just read Ayn Rand and think her writing reflects how the world really works.) Would communism have degraded just as fast? It's hard to say. I doubt it, but we'll never know, since we destroyed it.
> Capitalism is a system that runs on human misery,
The last two capitalistic organizations I've worked for, all my co-workers were cheery, friendly, helpful, and enjoyed their jobs. The people frustrated were the ones that did their jobs as good as they could and were frustrated by a lack of excellence in the face of large scale and complexity. I wouldn't call this misery. And one of those companies was literally rated the most hated corporation in America. I've also worked for places were people were lazy, bureaucratic, and did the least work possible to collect their paycheck (heck I was that person). Ultimately corporations are made up of people, and there's all different kinds of people out there, so there's also all different kinds of corporations.
> led by a class of people who are completely unaccountable to anyone but themselves, who therefore have no incentive to make things decent for the workers.
They're accountable to shareholders and government regulatory bodies, and in very rare circumstances, to unions. Certainly there should be more accountability within the organization from the bottom-up, but it's fallacious to think they don't answer to anybody. The actual incentives vary, but usually stem from either competition, or seeking to drive quality and efficiency. Business management is more art than science.
The last two capitalistic organizations I've worked for, all my co-workers were cheery, friendly, helpful, and enjoyed their jobs. The people frustrated were the ones that did their jobs as good as they could and were frustrated by a lack of excellence in the face of large scale and complexity. I wouldn't call this misery. And one of those companies was literally rated the most hated corporation in America. I've also worked for places were people were lazy, bureaucratic, and did the least work possible to collect their paycheck (heck I was that person). Ultimately corporations are made up of people, and there's all different kinds of people out there, so there's also all different kinds of corporations.
> led by a class of people who are completely unaccountable to anyone but themselves, who therefore have no incentive to make things decent for the workers.
They're accountable to shareholders and government regulatory bodies, and in very rare circumstances, to unions. Certainly there should be more accountability within the organization from the bottom-up, but it's fallacious to think they don't answer to anybody. The actual incentives vary, but usually stem from either competition, or seeking to drive quality and efficiency. Business management is more art than science.
> People in the Soviet Union, in general, took a high degree of pride in their work.
Have you lived in the Soviet Union? I haven't, but have in Communist Poland which had similar work culture. In general, people were slacking off and stealing from the job to the largest extent possible (stealing because the jobs didn't pay a living wage or, if they did, you couldn't buy things you need from stores anyway, so you stole them from the job if possible). The organization of work was often a complete travesty which makes government jobs a paragon of efficiency and common sense. [1] On top of that, higher promotions required being vocal about supporting the communist party, which led to incompetent mediocrities being promoted.
Overall, while I'm sure there were stil some people who took pride in their work (esp. the less smart and informed ones, who couldn't see the sad bigger picture), I can't tell if it was more common than in capitalism.
[1] For example, it wasn't uncommon for people who bought a new car to take it to a mechanic to disassemble and reassemble it completely. Only then you could be sure that the car is put together properly - the workers in the factory who worked on the car just didn't care. Another story - in an apartment in a new building my parents bought in 1979, a 1m x 3m section of the wall was missing. The building company just didn't bother to build it (the same defect was present in all flats), and have put a thin wall of plaster and cardboard in place instead. Of course, that wall provided almost zero thermal insulation in severe winters that Poland had at the time, so everyone who bought these flats ended up DIY-ing the missing wall themselves (usually with stolen bricks, as you couldn't buy them either).
Have you lived in the Soviet Union? I haven't, but have in Communist Poland which had similar work culture. In general, people were slacking off and stealing from the job to the largest extent possible (stealing because the jobs didn't pay a living wage or, if they did, you couldn't buy things you need from stores anyway, so you stole them from the job if possible). The organization of work was often a complete travesty which makes government jobs a paragon of efficiency and common sense. [1] On top of that, higher promotions required being vocal about supporting the communist party, which led to incompetent mediocrities being promoted.
Overall, while I'm sure there were stil some people who took pride in their work (esp. the less smart and informed ones, who couldn't see the sad bigger picture), I can't tell if it was more common than in capitalism.
[1] For example, it wasn't uncommon for people who bought a new car to take it to a mechanic to disassemble and reassemble it completely. Only then you could be sure that the car is put together properly - the workers in the factory who worked on the car just didn't care. Another story - in an apartment in a new building my parents bought in 1979, a 1m x 3m section of the wall was missing. The building company just didn't bother to build it (the same defect was present in all flats), and have put a thin wall of plaster and cardboard in place instead. Of course, that wall provided almost zero thermal insulation in severe winters that Poland had at the time, so everyone who bought these flats ended up DIY-ing the missing wall themselves (usually with stolen bricks, as you couldn't buy them either).
If you're referring to Stakhanovite, they were just propaganda workers supported by the communist party with the best tools, hence why the increased productivity.
They were meant to motivate / allow the communist regime to extort more work out of workers.
So...HR?
Yeah... Yeah I remember how much better everything was under Stalin.
...not?
...not?
> I don't know why you were downvoted for this
On HN everybody is a temporarily embarrassed billionaire.
See "Internalised capitalism" - when you feel guilty for resting:
https://preview.redd.it/5smjp4d0dzr51.jpg?width=743&auto=web...
Let's see how many downvotes I get
On HN everybody is a temporarily embarrassed billionaire.
See "Internalised capitalism" - when you feel guilty for resting:
https://preview.redd.it/5smjp4d0dzr51.jpg?width=743&auto=web...
Let's see how many downvotes I get
I downvoted you not because of the linked image, which I agree with, but with your generalization that "everybody on HN is a temporarily embarrased billionaire." I can tell you I'm certainly not; I'm just a guy earning a salary like many people here, trying to figure out how to make my life more peaceful and meaningful.
Don't sink too far into those depths.
Don't sink too far into those depths.
Remember folks: you don't hate Mondays, you hate capitalism.
Treat every day like it’s monday or Friday and forget the notions of weekends except as a vessel to do more things
I tried this, but for some reason daycare wouldn't let me drop off my kids this morning.
So somebody made a simple page about how they feel about Sunday without even putting in some effort to give solutions or details, and it should hit the HN front page? Seems like a simple Tell HN would suffice.
Not everything has to have a purpose. If you're looking for solutions or life hacks, there are millions of SEO-d to death pages and self proclaimed gurus out there that peddle such things.
Personally I utterly relate to what the author is trying to express - so I heave a wry chuckle and after a momentary rush of kinship with the author sitting at his keyboard thousands of miles away, I move on. And what is HN if not a community of individuals sharing a connection.
Personally I utterly relate to what the author is trying to express - so I heave a wry chuckle and after a momentary rush of kinship with the author sitting at his keyboard thousands of miles away, I move on. And what is HN if not a community of individuals sharing a connection.
He has more product here than 75% of YC-funded startups have on Demo Day.
Doesn't matter. I'm talking about the lack of content in this webpage, regardless of who created it.
I think that's the point. The author has no solutions and is simply expressing frustration at a situation that many people can relate to.
But somehow was able to get a job? Who are these people who have the creativity to get a job, but none to work on a project.
I will never understanding this perspective of being in a great position and not having to worry about money while being apathetic toward the entire situation.
I will never understanding this perspective of being in a great position and not having to worry about money while being apathetic toward the entire situation.
I agree. I hate it when some successful people try to tell others to not do certain things, while those things were exactly the reason behind their success. They just come across as dishonest tbh.
Many burnt out people can muster just enough enthusiasm to pass an interview.
It's your comment that made me realize this hit the frontpage so thanks a lot
in chinese it's called 報復性熬夜, which translates to something like "retaliatory staying up late", it's a phenomena happening more in china where people just get stuck scrolling on social media because of the feeling that they want to use or own all of the free time they have left, and then it gets squandered and you hate yourself in the morning.
bill gates used to say that he valued engineers who turn procrastination into an art.