Should Programming be a life career?
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So, what else are you gonna do with all that geekiness? C'mon. You're a geek at work. You're a geek at home. You're a geek with your kids. You're a geen with your friends. You're a geek when you shop. ... To do anything else is to deny your inner geek. The question should rather be, "Is it possible to make a lifelong career out of programming?" or maybe "Is there something better (more profitable, less stressful) to do with my geekiness than programming?"
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Depends on the company you end up at. I was ready to throw it all away and then I got this job and I love it. Good people can make all the difference.
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I wish.
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if for living
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I code for cash and have a life outside of work. Nothing should be a life career: work to live, not live to work - that's no life at all.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
It sounds like people don't enjoy programming. The reality is that we (or at least I do) spend the majority of our time working. For this reason, I want to enjoy my time at work. Not all jobs are enjoyable, but if you can find an enjoyable one then I don't see why you can't be a programmer for your whole career. I program because I enjoy it, it's challenging and rewarding. I also have a life outside of work though.
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It is the most flexible career you can ask for. In mine I've done a video game cartridge, cleanup for a software publisher (the programmers wanting to sell their wares think their code is golden and I have to tell them its crap and showing them how it breaks and is not ready for prime time, I usually ended up cleaning it up since they had taught themselves to program in their living rooms and thought they were brilliant. This brilliant did not extend to understanding the words coming out of my mouth. If they did nod knowingly they tended to go back and make it worse, but were already spending the thousands their POS was going to make them. So I'd be a nice guy and help them at least get it out the door. Sorry for the rant.), manager for the data processing department of a mail order distributor, real time controls for computer controlled conveyors, web programming, project leader on information retrieval systems, manager of programmers for credit card processing, and much, much, more (above and beyond my day job). Once you learn the basic skills, you'll be able to move anywhere the work is. You won't be out of a job as a grinder and nobody is hiring grinders. You'll be able to use those basic skills and work in a completely different industry that is hiring.
Psychosis at 10 Film at 11 Those who do not remember the past, are doomed to repeat it. Those who do not remember the past, cannot build upon it.