Understanding Lives of Programmers
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Hi. I design and implement Windows applications using C++. For the last 15 months, I begin to spend more time designing small applications, implementing, debugging, and maintaining C++ source code. The bottomline is I find myself spending hours at school during breaks, after school, and on weekends programming. Heck, I sometimes spend close to 8 hours on a Saturday programming and design applications. The irony is I have no job experience, i.e. I have never worked as a programmer. I am a year away from a CS degree. I would like some feedbacks on the life of a programmer be it real-world (employee, consultant, etc) or one who enjoys software design and implemention and does so while in college (like me). - How much free time do you have on a weekly basis. How about during weekends? - When you are away from the developer studio, do you think about the problems you are currently working on (I do)? I think my main concern is how to setup a life such that I can program, but still have time to do other stuff. I love software design and implemention. However, sometimes it stresses me out and takes up so much time that my life is Visual C++! Thanks, Kuphryn
kuphryn wrote: - How much free time do you have on a weekly basis. How about during weekends? I don't have free time. All my time is wasted, be it at work, at school, at darts, at drinking, at home, or staring unblinking at a blank white wall until The Colors come... Boredom embodied. kuphryn wrote: - When you are away from the developer studio, do you think about the problems you are currently working on (I do)? Depends... i tend to go on 2-3 month streaks where i'll eat, sleep, and breath programming - and then be unable to write anything decent for the next 4-6 months. Needless to say, this worked a lot better as a bored teenager than it does as a student or now professionally... but old habits die hard.
Shog9
The Man. The Legend. The Bored, Narcissistic, Whiteboard-marker Sniffing Programmer.
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Hi. I design and implement Windows applications using C++. For the last 15 months, I begin to spend more time designing small applications, implementing, debugging, and maintaining C++ source code. The bottomline is I find myself spending hours at school during breaks, after school, and on weekends programming. Heck, I sometimes spend close to 8 hours on a Saturday programming and design applications. The irony is I have no job experience, i.e. I have never worked as a programmer. I am a year away from a CS degree. I would like some feedbacks on the life of a programmer be it real-world (employee, consultant, etc) or one who enjoys software design and implemention and does so while in college (like me). - How much free time do you have on a weekly basis. How about during weekends? - When you are away from the developer studio, do you think about the problems you are currently working on (I do)? I think my main concern is how to setup a life such that I can program, but still have time to do other stuff. I love software design and implemention. However, sometimes it stresses me out and takes up so much time that my life is Visual C++! Thanks, Kuphryn
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Hi. I design and implement Windows applications using C++. For the last 15 months, I begin to spend more time designing small applications, implementing, debugging, and maintaining C++ source code. The bottomline is I find myself spending hours at school during breaks, after school, and on weekends programming. Heck, I sometimes spend close to 8 hours on a Saturday programming and design applications. The irony is I have no job experience, i.e. I have never worked as a programmer. I am a year away from a CS degree. I would like some feedbacks on the life of a programmer be it real-world (employee, consultant, etc) or one who enjoys software design and implemention and does so while in college (like me). - How much free time do you have on a weekly basis. How about during weekends? - When you are away from the developer studio, do you think about the problems you are currently working on (I do)? I think my main concern is how to setup a life such that I can program, but still have time to do other stuff. I love software design and implemention. However, sometimes it stresses me out and takes up so much time that my life is Visual C++! Thanks, Kuphryn
Programmer's are an odd species at best. Don't really understand time nor space. It is like when Homer entered the 3-d. We, coders, will never enter the third dimention (the social life).
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Hi. I design and implement Windows applications using C++. For the last 15 months, I begin to spend more time designing small applications, implementing, debugging, and maintaining C++ source code. The bottomline is I find myself spending hours at school during breaks, after school, and on weekends programming. Heck, I sometimes spend close to 8 hours on a Saturday programming and design applications. The irony is I have no job experience, i.e. I have never worked as a programmer. I am a year away from a CS degree. I would like some feedbacks on the life of a programmer be it real-world (employee, consultant, etc) or one who enjoys software design and implemention and does so while in college (like me). - How much free time do you have on a weekly basis. How about during weekends? - When you are away from the developer studio, do you think about the problems you are currently working on (I do)? I think my main concern is how to setup a life such that I can program, but still have time to do other stuff. I love software design and implemention. However, sometimes it stresses me out and takes up so much time that my life is Visual C++! Thanks, Kuphryn
I have been at your stage. When I was 16 I learned some APL, I became obsessed with it to the detriment of the rest of my studies and life. As a teenager I only thought of two things "SEX" and APL. What confusion. Now 23 yrs later I go through bursts where all I want to do is code till I finish the current project. Everything else in my life suffers because of it. kuphryn wrote: How much free time do you have on a weekly basis. How about during weekends? Zero hours !! are free. I stumble out of bed and start coding or planning. Guzzle caffine mixtures till I collapse and then repeat the cycle. I force myself to do other stuff in the meantime. But my real focus is at the problems in my code. I guess if the condition was recognized I would be called a pathological coder in a bipolar state. Because I have breaks where I just can't be bothered writing a line of code, and have to force myself to do anything productive. The rewards from being a hard coder though can be immense. Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
I'm guessing the concept of a 2 hour movie showing two guys eating a meal and talking struck them as 'foreign' Rob Manderson wrote:
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I have been at your stage. When I was 16 I learned some APL, I became obsessed with it to the detriment of the rest of my studies and life. As a teenager I only thought of two things "SEX" and APL. What confusion. Now 23 yrs later I go through bursts where all I want to do is code till I finish the current project. Everything else in my life suffers because of it. kuphryn wrote: How much free time do you have on a weekly basis. How about during weekends? Zero hours !! are free. I stumble out of bed and start coding or planning. Guzzle caffine mixtures till I collapse and then repeat the cycle. I force myself to do other stuff in the meantime. But my real focus is at the problems in my code. I guess if the condition was recognized I would be called a pathological coder in a bipolar state. Because I have breaks where I just can't be bothered writing a line of code, and have to force myself to do anything productive. The rewards from being a hard coder though can be immense. Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
I'm guessing the concept of a 2 hour movie showing two guys eating a meal and talking struck them as 'foreign' Rob Manderson wrote:
Colin Davies wrote: I go through bursts where all I want to do is code till I finish the current project and Colin Davies wrote: I have breaks where I just can't be bothered writing a line of code, and have to force myself to do anything productive Wow .. thank god you said that .. that is so me !! .. I've been going through one of those periods the last couple of days .. I think it is akin to writer's block. I am experienced enough now to know to just back off and let it pass but being a 9-5 employee I need to "Look busy" and that is perhaps the toughest part.
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Colin Davies wrote: I go through bursts where all I want to do is code till I finish the current project and Colin Davies wrote: I have breaks where I just can't be bothered writing a line of code, and have to force myself to do anything productive Wow .. thank god you said that .. that is so me !! .. I've been going through one of those periods the last couple of days .. I think it is akin to writer's block. I am experienced enough now to know to just back off and let it pass but being a 9-5 employee I need to "Look busy" and that is perhaps the toughest part.
Yeah, the idea of being a 9-5 programmer seems like an impossible situation. I find a lot of my code is "Creative", so the description software engineer really doesn't fit. Management seem to expect programmers to spend there work hours in intense thought staring at a monitor. I don't see how anyone can regulate their energies like this. Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
I'm guessing the concept of a 2 hour movie showing two guys eating a meal and talking struck them as 'foreign' Rob Manderson wrote:
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lauren wrote: have no idea what a life actually is so u post on places like the lounge to kid urself u do The mild overtones of wisdom subtly blended with sweet hints of sarcasm in your voice seems to project that you speak from experience... ;P - Nitron
"Those that say a task is impossible shouldn't interrupt the ones who are doing it." - Chinese Proverb
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lauren wrote: have no idea what a life actually is so u post on places like the lounge to kid urself u do The mild overtones of wisdom subtly blended with sweet hints of sarcasm in your voice seems to project that you speak from experience... ;P - Nitron
"Those that say a task is impossible shouldn't interrupt the ones who are doing it." - Chinese Proverb
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You must just MAKE the time for the other interests you may have. My second life is as a GYM rat... You can find me on a basketball court somewhere about 4 hours a day!!! It's the only time I never have thoughts about development issues. For me it is a way to completely disengage from the rest of my life. If you can find something that works like that for you it will pay off large. "That's just my opinion... I could be wrong." -pete
Funny. I get my best programming ideas running on the treadmill at the gym. And debugging problems are solved after about three miles.
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Hi. I design and implement Windows applications using C++. For the last 15 months, I begin to spend more time designing small applications, implementing, debugging, and maintaining C++ source code. The bottomline is I find myself spending hours at school during breaks, after school, and on weekends programming. Heck, I sometimes spend close to 8 hours on a Saturday programming and design applications. The irony is I have no job experience, i.e. I have never worked as a programmer. I am a year away from a CS degree. I would like some feedbacks on the life of a programmer be it real-world (employee, consultant, etc) or one who enjoys software design and implemention and does so while in college (like me). - How much free time do you have on a weekly basis. How about during weekends? - When you are away from the developer studio, do you think about the problems you are currently working on (I do)? I think my main concern is how to setup a life such that I can program, but still have time to do other stuff. I love software design and implemention. However, sometimes it stresses me out and takes up so much time that my life is Visual C++! Thanks, Kuphryn
Kuphryn, There are some things you gotta take note of :- 1. However much you love coding, if your mental mood is down, you won't enjoy it much. 2. If you are the kind of guy who gets attached to people a lot, then don't take a job abroad 3. Try and join a company where you alreday know a few people 4. Thye best coding position is one in which you sit home and code and take up contract work 5. Good luck Nish
Author of the romantic comedy Summer Love and Some more Cricket [New Win] Review by Shog9 Click here for review[NW]
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kuphryn wrote: - How much free time do you have on a weekly basis. How about during weekends? I don't have free time. All my time is wasted, be it at work, at school, at darts, at drinking, at home, or staring unblinking at a blank white wall until The Colors come... Boredom embodied. kuphryn wrote: - When you are away from the developer studio, do you think about the problems you are currently working on (I do)? Depends... i tend to go on 2-3 month streaks where i'll eat, sleep, and breath programming - and then be unable to write anything decent for the next 4-6 months. Needless to say, this worked a lot better as a bored teenager than it does as a student or now professionally... but old habits die hard.
Shog9
The Man. The Legend. The Bored, Narcissistic, Whiteboard-marker Sniffing Programmer.
Shog9 wrote: at darts, at drinking, Wasted? Impossible! Spiritually rewarding? Absolutely!!! More and more of my time these days is filled with detailed planning, though, for the projects the voices in my head want me to do for them. Shog9 wrote: staring unblinking at a blank white wall until The Colors come... You get that bit, too? It is ok for women not to like sports, so long as they nod in the right places and bring beers at the right times.
Paul Watson, on Sports - 2/10/2003 -
Shog9 wrote: at darts, at drinking, Wasted? Impossible! Spiritually rewarding? Absolutely!!! More and more of my time these days is filled with detailed planning, though, for the projects the voices in my head want me to do for them. Shog9 wrote: staring unblinking at a blank white wall until The Colors come... You get that bit, too? It is ok for women not to like sports, so long as they nod in the right places and bring beers at the right times.
Paul Watson, on Sports - 2/10/2003 -
Kuphryn, There are some things you gotta take note of :- 1. However much you love coding, if your mental mood is down, you won't enjoy it much. 2. If you are the kind of guy who gets attached to people a lot, then don't take a job abroad 3. Try and join a company where you alreday know a few people 4. Thye best coding position is one in which you sit home and code and take up contract work 5. Good luck Nish
Author of the romantic comedy Summer Love and Some more Cricket [New Win] Review by Shog9 Click here for review[NW]
The voice of experience, eh ! Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
I'm guessing the concept of a 2 hour movie showing two guys eating a meal and talking struck them as 'foreign' Rob Manderson wrote:
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Hi. I design and implement Windows applications using C++. For the last 15 months, I begin to spend more time designing small applications, implementing, debugging, and maintaining C++ source code. The bottomline is I find myself spending hours at school during breaks, after school, and on weekends programming. Heck, I sometimes spend close to 8 hours on a Saturday programming and design applications. The irony is I have no job experience, i.e. I have never worked as a programmer. I am a year away from a CS degree. I would like some feedbacks on the life of a programmer be it real-world (employee, consultant, etc) or one who enjoys software design and implemention and does so while in college (like me). - How much free time do you have on a weekly basis. How about during weekends? - When you are away from the developer studio, do you think about the problems you are currently working on (I do)? I think my main concern is how to setup a life such that I can program, but still have time to do other stuff. I love software design and implemention. However, sometimes it stresses me out and takes up so much time that my life is Visual C++! Thanks, Kuphryn
kuphryn wrote: I would like some feedbacks on the life of a programmer be it real-world (employee, consultant, etc) or one who enjoys software design and implemention and does so while in college (like me). I started programming when I was 11. Now I am 32 and I'm still addicted to programming, and do it for a living. I married a female programmer. Do I fit your definition? kuphryn wrote: - How much free time do you have on a weekly basis. How about during weekends? What's free time? You mean, that time you have while waiting a big build? kuphryn wrote: - When you are away from the developer studio, do you think about the problems you are currently working on (I do)? Sure. And if you stick with this career, you'll soon find sleepless while you don't solve a problem. Right now, it's 03:17AM and I am awaken. I couldn't sleep because of a problem I am solving. I see dumb people
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Roger Wright wrote: Wasted? Impossible! Spiritually rewarding? Absolutely!!! :) Well, perhaps if i spent more time training... ;)
Shog9
The Man. The Legend. The Bored, Narcissistic, Whiteboard-marker Sniffing Programmer.
Come out here and I'll train you! The 32 oz curl, the twirling tequila wedgie, 18 gm dart dropkick, pin the tail on the barfly... Let's get you in shape for the Oenophile Olympics! 2004 is expected to be a very good year.:-D It is ok for women not to like sports, so long as they nod in the right places and bring beers at the right times.
Paul Watson, on Sports - 2/10/2003 -
I have been at your stage. When I was 16 I learned some APL, I became obsessed with it to the detriment of the rest of my studies and life. As a teenager I only thought of two things "SEX" and APL. What confusion. Now 23 yrs later I go through bursts where all I want to do is code till I finish the current project. Everything else in my life suffers because of it. kuphryn wrote: How much free time do you have on a weekly basis. How about during weekends? Zero hours !! are free. I stumble out of bed and start coding or planning. Guzzle caffine mixtures till I collapse and then repeat the cycle. I force myself to do other stuff in the meantime. But my real focus is at the problems in my code. I guess if the condition was recognized I would be called a pathological coder in a bipolar state. Because I have breaks where I just can't be bothered writing a line of code, and have to force myself to do anything productive. The rewards from being a hard coder though can be immense. Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
I'm guessing the concept of a 2 hour movie showing two guys eating a meal and talking struck them as 'foreign' Rob Manderson wrote:
Colin Davies wrote: I guess if the condition was recognized I would be called a pathological coder in a bipolar state. Funny you said that. I had this teacher in college, Waldemar Setzer, one of the most intelligent person I've met (most people think this too: he has won several awards around the world). He used to say that one of the problems that lead to bad code commenting is the "state of the compulsive programmer". From time to time, we have this need of coding, and we block everything else, every form of communication is blocked unless it's coding. That's why some people find so boring putting comments on the code. He suggested some techiques to avoid that, it was very interesting. I see dumb people
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The voice of experience, eh ! Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
I'm guessing the concept of a 2 hour movie showing two guys eating a meal and talking struck them as 'foreign' Rob Manderson wrote:
Colin Davies wrote: The voice of experience, eh ! You can say that again, Colino! Nish :(
Author of the romantic comedy Summer Love and Some more Cricket [New Win] Review by Shog9 Click here for review[NW]
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hehe :laugh: Been there, done that, bought a suit of armour... Hang on that isn't right. Must be the people I hang out with. ;P Anna :rose: www.annasplace.me.uk
"Be yourself - not what others think you should be"
- Marcia GraeschTrouble with resource IDs? Try the Resource ID Organiser Add-In for Visual C++
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Hi. I design and implement Windows applications using C++. For the last 15 months, I begin to spend more time designing small applications, implementing, debugging, and maintaining C++ source code. The bottomline is I find myself spending hours at school during breaks, after school, and on weekends programming. Heck, I sometimes spend close to 8 hours on a Saturday programming and design applications. The irony is I have no job experience, i.e. I have never worked as a programmer. I am a year away from a CS degree. I would like some feedbacks on the life of a programmer be it real-world (employee, consultant, etc) or one who enjoys software design and implemention and does so while in college (like me). - How much free time do you have on a weekly basis. How about during weekends? - When you are away from the developer studio, do you think about the problems you are currently working on (I do)? I think my main concern is how to setup a life such that I can program, but still have time to do other stuff. I love software design and implemention. However, sometimes it stresses me out and takes up so much time that my life is Visual C++! Thanks, Kuphryn
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You must just MAKE the time for the other interests you may have. My second life is as a GYM rat... You can find me on a basketball court somewhere about 4 hours a day!!! It's the only time I never have thoughts about development issues. For me it is a way to completely disengage from the rest of my life. If you can find something that works like that for you it will pay off large. "That's just my opinion... I could be wrong." -pete