I've lost my mojo...
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I've been a software engineer for nigh on 25 years and just recently I have come to realise that I just don't give a damn about software anymore. Maybe its because I work for a company that just treats us all like resources not people. Maybe its because all I get to do is customise someone else's badly written software. Or maybe its just that software development has changed so much since I started out that it has left me behind. When I started, I was writing windows controls for Win95, C++ was new and exciting and no-one had heard of a garbage collector. Now all I ever seem to write is glue code sticking other developer's components together. Am I alone in this, or have other people hit this kind of crisis?
Rarius
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I'm still being paid to play for a living - needs to do things the company wants, but then, that's where the money comes into the picture (eating, heating, cooling, and going to Jamaica All-Inclusive Resorts for vacations (with no computer)). Buck up. Kill a manger or two. You'll feel better in no time.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
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I've been a software engineer for nigh on 25 years and just recently I have come to realise that I just don't give a damn about software anymore. Maybe its because I work for a company that just treats us all like resources not people. Maybe its because all I get to do is customise someone else's badly written software. Or maybe its just that software development has changed so much since I started out that it has left me behind. When I started, I was writing windows controls for Win95, C++ was new and exciting and no-one had heard of a garbage collector. Now all I ever seem to write is glue code sticking other developer's components together. Am I alone in this, or have other people hit this kind of crisis?
Rarius
I've built my own tools and played with the legos other people put out. There are pluses and minuses with each. When work gets annoying I either dust off the resume or pick a new hobby to distract from it. Sometimes it just comes down to the old quote:
“Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called everybody, and they meet at the bar.” ~Drew Carey
Play my game Gravity: IOS[^], Android[^], Windows Phone 7[^]
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I've been a software engineer for nigh on 25 years and just recently I have come to realise that I just don't give a damn about software anymore. Maybe its because I work for a company that just treats us all like resources not people. Maybe its because all I get to do is customise someone else's badly written software. Or maybe its just that software development has changed so much since I started out that it has left me behind. When I started, I was writing windows controls for Win95, C++ was new and exciting and no-one had heard of a garbage collector. Now all I ever seem to write is glue code sticking other developer's components together. Am I alone in this, or have other people hit this kind of crisis?
Rarius
My opinion is that this is not a very enjoyable, easy, or rewarding time to be a Windows developer. My reasons are a bit different from yours; in hindsight, WPF was esoteric and unnecessary, and the technology selection guidance emanating from Redmond in the last 5 years or so has been garbage. I don't find anything "too easy" about Windows development right now, though... "too abstract" is a pejorative I would probably agree with. I don't think your boss could wrap his head around WPF Dependency Properties unless he's a real developer, for example. Also, I think that much of Windows development practice, and also Web development practice, has become very checklist-based: "make sure you do this; make sure you don't do that; etc." Some people seem to be blind to just how bad such things are. Development should be about making things work, NOT about dodging metaphorical potholes. The good news is that most of the platforms I work with (Android, PIC microcontrollers, and certain UNIX variants) remain a source of joy to me.
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I've been a software engineer for nigh on 25 years and just recently I have come to realise that I just don't give a damn about software anymore. Maybe its because I work for a company that just treats us all like resources not people. Maybe its because all I get to do is customise someone else's badly written software. Or maybe its just that software development has changed so much since I started out that it has left me behind. When I started, I was writing windows controls for Win95, C++ was new and exciting and no-one had heard of a garbage collector. Now all I ever seem to write is glue code sticking other developer's components together. Am I alone in this, or have other people hit this kind of crisis?
Rarius
rarius@rarius.co.uk wrote:
I've been a software engineer for nigh on 25 years...
rarius@rarius.co.uk wrote:
When I started, I was writing windows controls for Win95...
:doh: I know my math is not the same it use to be, but unless you had a time machine that is under 20 years (17 if you were into it right away)
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
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I've been a software engineer for nigh on 25 years and just recently I have come to realise that I just don't give a damn about software anymore. Maybe its because I work for a company that just treats us all like resources not people. Maybe its because all I get to do is customise someone else's badly written software. Or maybe its just that software development has changed so much since I started out that it has left me behind. When I started, I was writing windows controls for Win95, C++ was new and exciting and no-one had heard of a garbage collector. Now all I ever seem to write is glue code sticking other developer's components together. Am I alone in this, or have other people hit this kind of crisis?
Rarius
Same here. I'm switching employer this fall. I'm responsible for ~ 1 million lines of code, and my employer gave me a QA 3 years too late. Everytime I hear some idiot talking about new (and most of the time silly!) ideas, I feel like hanging myself, knowing there will be less quality assurance, and more sucking up to customers in the 20-segment of the 80/20 rule (the wrong segment!). My next job will be as a consultant. Sure, customers can be a bit weird, and change specification a quarter to midnight before delivery, but hey, at least I get feedback for what I've done, and appreciation for the quality (unlike my current employer).
-- Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit
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I've been a software engineer for nigh on 25 years and just recently I have come to realise that I just don't give a damn about software anymore. Maybe its because I work for a company that just treats us all like resources not people. Maybe its because all I get to do is customise someone else's badly written software. Or maybe its just that software development has changed so much since I started out that it has left me behind. When I started, I was writing windows controls for Win95, C++ was new and exciting and no-one had heard of a garbage collector. Now all I ever seem to write is glue code sticking other developer's components together. Am I alone in this, or have other people hit this kind of crisis?
Rarius
I had the same problem. But I replaced my mojo with mojito and it's been great ever since. :cool:
Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. Drink. Get drunk. Fall over - P O'H OK, I will win to day or my name isn't Ethel Crudacre! - DD Ethel Crudacre I cannot live by bread alone. Bacon and ketchup are needed as well. - Trollslayer Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb - they're often *students*, for heaven's sake - Terry Pratchett
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I've been a software engineer for nigh on 25 years and just recently I have come to realise that I just don't give a damn about software anymore. Maybe its because I work for a company that just treats us all like resources not people. Maybe its because all I get to do is customise someone else's badly written software. Or maybe its just that software development has changed so much since I started out that it has left me behind. When I started, I was writing windows controls for Win95, C++ was new and exciting and no-one had heard of a garbage collector. Now all I ever seem to write is glue code sticking other developer's components together. Am I alone in this, or have other people hit this kind of crisis?
Rarius
rarius@rarius.co.uk wrote:
Maybe its because I work for a company that just treats us all like resources not people. Maybe its because all I get to do is customise someone else's badly written software. Or maybe its just that software development has changed so much since I started out that it has left me behind.
Or, as a wild guess, maybe it is because you have been doing it for 25 years.
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You should definitely change your username... And probably change your job also... :rose:
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
Hi Joan, I agree, strongly, with your name change idea : here's a few ideas: various.various precarious.various verifiably.voracious motivated.motivator be-all.do-all nevermiss.deadline agilescrum.aupair Are hyphens legal ? best, Bill
The glyphs you are reading now: are place-holders signifying the total absence of a signature.
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I had the same problem. But I replaced my mojo with mojito and it's been great ever since. :cool:
Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. Drink. Get drunk. Fall over - P O'H OK, I will win to day or my name isn't Ethel Crudacre! - DD Ethel Crudacre I cannot live by bread alone. Bacon and ketchup are needed as well. - Trollslayer Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb - they're often *students*, for heaven's sake - Terry Pratchett
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rarius@rarius.co.uk wrote:
I've been a software engineer for nigh on 25 years...
rarius@rarius.co.uk wrote:
When I started, I was writing windows controls for Win95...
:doh: I know my math is not the same it use to be, but unless you had a time machine that is under 20 years (17 if you were into it right away)
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
Collin Jasnoch wrote:
I know my math is not the same it use to be, but unless you had a time machine that is under 20 years (17 if you were into it right away)
Ah! The lost years, now we know where he lost his mojo. :sigh:
It was broke, so I fixed it.
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I have been looking. I have had several interviews but they all seem to much the same. Does no-one actually write applications any more. Has software development degenerated into a game of high-tech Lego?
I try to make a living gluing components together, and fill in my own components and special glues in between. The latter two keep me interested in the finer points of .NET and C# and the former one allows be to pursue them. I have had episodes of burnout though, where nothing at all gets me interested except a break.
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Cool. I guess it's a topic for another discussion, but I saw a lot of apps build with Unity and I wonder how's learning curve? I myself build couple of games using a home grown framework similar to PhoneGap (https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=GASP[^]). Since it's all standard HTML/JS it was pretty straight forward after building/migrating framework to a new environment (Android/iOS). If I would of known than what I know now, I would of chosen PhoneGap. The problem though is performance with either AI or animation since it goes through DOM/JS and all the layers. I thought something like Unity would address at least performance. What's your thoughts on that?
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Cool. I guess it's a topic for another discussion, but I saw a lot of apps build with Unity and I wonder how's learning curve? I myself build couple of games using a home grown framework similar to PhoneGap (https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=GASP[^]). Since it's all standard HTML/JS it was pretty straight forward after building/migrating framework to a new environment (Android/iOS). If I would of known than what I know now, I would of chosen PhoneGap. The problem though is performance with either AI or animation since it goes through DOM/JS and all the layers. I thought something like Unity would address at least performance. What's your thoughts on that?
Unity has its ups and downs as far as learning curve goes. If you've had a primer in 3d graphics before it's not that bad and they have pretty helpful forums and lots of examples. The biggest plus for me with Unity was that it can use Monodev. I got to re-use all my C# game logic and objects pretty much as-is. Unity performed very well for me. I did all my testing on the Samsung Galaxy S (old dog of a phone compared to what is on shelves now) and the AI and graphics ran just fine.
Play my game Gravity: IOS[^], Android[^], Windows Phone 7[^]
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Unity has its ups and downs as far as learning curve goes. If you've had a primer in 3d graphics before it's not that bad and they have pretty helpful forums and lots of examples. The biggest plus for me with Unity was that it can use Monodev. I got to re-use all my C# game logic and objects pretty much as-is. Unity performed very well for me. I did all my testing on the Samsung Galaxy S (old dog of a phone compared to what is on shelves now) and the AI and graphics ran just fine.
Play my game Gravity: IOS[^], Android[^], Windows Phone 7[^]
Thanks a lot for your reply. I wish there would be a forum for a discussion like that. The Galaxy S is oldie but still good. In my stats it's #6. Though you are right - a year ago I was getting much more complaints about performance then I do now - so I guess as hardware moves on, browser-based solutions becomes more acceptable. Early on I decided trade performance for development speed. Somehow HTML/JS/jQuery/Notepad++/Firebug gives me pretty quick turn around. Also I thought that this is the only way to cover for all mobile devices, Facebook and others... I thought that something like Angry Birds, FarmVile, actually uses HTML solution to cover for all their environments - Chrome/Android/iOS... The longer I spend researching the more I'm convinced that they probably have multiple versions for different environments sharing only level design and timing constants - to large degree similar to what you do with XNA/Unity.
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Thanks a lot for your reply. I wish there would be a forum for a discussion like that. The Galaxy S is oldie but still good. In my stats it's #6. Though you are right - a year ago I was getting much more complaints about performance then I do now - so I guess as hardware moves on, browser-based solutions becomes more acceptable. Early on I decided trade performance for development speed. Somehow HTML/JS/jQuery/Notepad++/Firebug gives me pretty quick turn around. Also I thought that this is the only way to cover for all mobile devices, Facebook and others... I thought that something like Angry Birds, FarmVile, actually uses HTML solution to cover for all their environments - Chrome/Android/iOS... The longer I spend researching the more I'm convinced that they probably have multiple versions for different environments sharing only level design and timing constants - to large degree similar to what you do with XNA/Unity.
gstolarov wrote:
I wish there would be a forum for a discussion like that.
You might find this forum[^] interesting.
"It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something." -Ornette Coleman "Philosophy is a study that lets us be unhappy more intelligently." -Anon.
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Collin Jasnoch wrote:
I know my math is not the same it use to be, but unless you had a time machine that is under 20 years (17 if you were into it right away)
Ah! The lost years, now we know where he lost his mojo. :sigh:
It was broke, so I fixed it.
I actually started writing software several years before Win95. To be honest it is more like 23 years than 25, but I was rounding up!
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I've been a software engineer for nigh on 25 years and just recently I have come to realise that I just don't give a damn about software anymore. Maybe its because I work for a company that just treats us all like resources not people. Maybe its because all I get to do is customise someone else's badly written software. Or maybe its just that software development has changed so much since I started out that it has left me behind. When I started, I was writing windows controls for Win95, C++ was new and exciting and no-one had heard of a garbage collector. Now all I ever seem to write is glue code sticking other developer's components together. Am I alone in this, or have other people hit this kind of crisis?
Rarius
Been there, but my biggest problem at the end of the 90s was every company I was working for either went out of business or was assimilated (bought out) by a larger and even more impersonal company. The environment at those jobs was poor to say the least, and couple that with maintaining the same solution over and over again, I burned out. I got out of the technology business, became a fishing guide, and went back to school for a journalism degree. I did that long enough to get a good perspective on what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I now have a job that let's me work on a wide array of projects and technology, and being the lead lets me cherry pick the best projects to work on. I am loving it. My advice: If you have a passion outside of technology, and you can afford to do it for a few years, take a little break. When you come back, you'll have a whole new outlook. "I am rarely happier than when spending entire day programming my computer to perform automatically a task that it would otherwise take me a good ten seconds to do by hand." - Douglas Adams