for those with a job in a tech company, how did the industry effect your passion? if it did so negatively, what did you do about it?
currently struggling with my "attitude" towards my job and how it has killed my love of computers and programming
@aynish considering all that I have started disliking sitting on my main work machine. Seems like a chore every now and then and I wish I was doing something else. Whenever that happens I try to be thankful for the fact that I have job and a roof over my head and that it's a privilege that a lot of people don't enjoy.
@aynish I thought that it made me hate tech, but it actually just made me hate capitalism (more.)
A non-tech job that in the end serves no purpose than to enrich a few, and does not increase the public good in any way, would make me just as sad.
I don't feel it makes me like tech less or more. Maybe it even helps me.
I do feel that I can't take on big tasks in non-work related projects when I have to work full-time, so today I asked HR about working 4/5ths instead. It was on my mind for a while, I should still get enough pay to get around, and it will give me more time to do things I actually want to do (which include programming and other computer related things).
I did try to "fake" working 4/5th by taking up leave days at the end of the year in such a way that I had a whole period of only having to work 4 days a week. I did it in 2019 and then again last year. My experience is really only positive, so I can only recommend it :) Not only do you have a day more at home, you also have a day less work. This sounds obvious, but the result is that you have much more time, not only because of an extra day, but also because you are less tired/exhausted. Rn I'm glad if I can spend a day doing more structured things than just fooling around with stuff. Back then I could easily spend one or two days a week doing things more structured.
The only downside was when I had to work 5 days/week again and suddenly couldn't follow up on the stuff I was doing during the previous couple of weeks ^^'
If you have specific questions, feel free to ask, I'll see if I can answer them. If not now, maybe later when I do have an answer.
@ilja that's really exciting, ive been thinking a lot about how i want to go down to 4/5ths
havent really done anything about it though
@aynish I hate pretty much everything about most places I've worked. The industry seems designed to squeeze out all the joy we get from computers.
@chirrolafupa I love all my side projects still and I love experimenting and figuring things out. But as an industry nothing about how software is developed 'professionally' makes any sense at all. It feels like it's designed to generate bad software and generally terrible outcomes.
@oppen wow! with comments like these i wonder how is that software "works" at all (?)
@oppen have you found a way to deal with that?
@aynish yeah I do very little “outside of work” coding now. in fact I can’t even release anything that even remotely “competes” with my employer, and their definition of “competing” is extremely broad. definite motivation-killer. I still learn constantly though and my skillset is more badass than ever. that is very rewarding in itself haha
@amatecha hmmm, do you feel satisfied by the coding you do at work? that is certainly something i should try to develop more of.
what kind of skillset have you acquired? i havent figured out where to take my career just yet
@aynish I've been interning for the past 3 months. We have a small tech team for a relatively big project. Decent pay, but longer hours and lots to learn.
I actively try to make time for hobbies, namely reading, music and art but don't punish myself if I can't do them every single day. I've been actively looking into creating alternate forms of income on the weekends as well, so I can effectively fire myself from the job in a couple of years.