How do you deal with being forced to work with something you don't like?

OriginalGriff

Just don't let the wife / girlfriend find out. :~

"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

Greg Utas

I can suggest two solutions: 1. 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷 2. 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺

Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

raddevus

When the game you are playing is boring, take an extremely close look at what you can do to alter the game in subtle ways. Look Very Closely I've found that if I look very closely at a specific technology and the more I understand it the more I can find things I am interested in. Many things become more beautiful when you really understand what is behind them and how they are made. Put all of your focus on the thing you don't like so much and you'll probably begin to like it more. And for the boring repetitive parts you can begin to automate those things using a tool (alternate programming language) that may help you enjoy the work better also.

realJSOP

Find another job, but while you're at your current position, do the best job you can with the tools at hand.

".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-----
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-----
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013

PIEBALDconsult

Refuse -- politely -- when possible. As long as I have enough work which I _do_ enjoy, I see no point in taking on work which I would not. Let them hire someone who wants to do it.

honey the codewitch

I take jobs that interest me, so I'd not take a web development position. I would take work that involved a little of it, but not where I was the primary. I've done my time working on jobs I disliked when I was younger. I earned my way out of that mess - at least that's how I see it. I mean, not that I only do things I like for work. Work is work, otherwise it would be play. But the job itself has to catch my interest.

Real programmers use butterflies

W Balboos GHB

My suggestion is to be born rich - then do what you want. I, unfortunately, had no one to give me such advice and so, well, here I am. Endowed abundanly with the Three C's: Charming, Clever, and Cute will only get you so far without that forth C: Cash. So, as you decide your best route to rage against the machine, remember where and when your problem started out.

Ravings en masse^

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein

"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010

Lost User

Depends. Are you independently wealthy? Do you like macaroni?

It was only in wine that he laid down no limit for himself, but he did not allow himself to be confused by it. ― Confucian Analects: Rules of Confucius about his food

Lost User

Just quit. You're not a slave.

RedDk

Hunt grouse.

peterkmx

:-) upvoted ...

Mycroft Holmes

I flatly refused to get involved in ML, python and web development in my final contract. I was too productive doing what I was proficient at for them to sack me, lucky I guess. It will depend on your financial/family position, a developer with a young family does not have the flexibility of and old fart with decades of experience.

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP

User 14060113

I have programmed for 23 years in the domains desktop, server and web. In the desktop domain, I feel at home, especially when working with WPF, whereas I consider server and web interesting challenges, but nothing more. In my last 2 jobs, I was working as an ASP.NET web developer, trying to get used to the thought that desktop programming is out of fashion and I will not find a job where I can do it anyway. But that didn't work out. I was so discontent that I had to find a new job both of the times. Now I found a job as a WPF desktop developer, and I feel much better now. So my recommendation: Go find a new job. That's not as big a deal as you might think, even if you're already older. The software developer market is currently very employee-friendly.

Martin ISDN

> Do you change your job/ wait for another job oppotunity or do you force yourself to work in that environment anyway? i would try to switch the job immediately and will work for minimal wage it the case were my job is what i do in my spare time. in case where i cannot find a job that also suits me as a hobby, i have no problem in doing a dull mechanical job for an average salary especially if it has some spare time to wonder your thoughts. anything is better that programming what you don't like in an environment where you have opposite philosophies and culture.

Simon Capewell

You can try to bend the current job to your preferences: I once took a VB.NET job because I was working in C++ with no prospect of getting any real hands on experience of .NET. Within 18 months, my new employer switched to C#, partly because of relentless promotion of C# on my part :) I've always found that the key thing isn't to say how awful you think the work you're doing right now is, but to just get on and find a way to make it better. Build test tools using your preferred tech. Demonstrate to other people on the team how much less tedious their jobs are with your funky new tools. This also breaks up the grind a bit too. Bored with that dull or tricky problem? Go and hack your tooling for half an hour to break things up a bit. Or, you just wait it out until the right job comes along: I moved from the job above to my current employer after being touted as an ecommerce expert (no, just no) and railroaded into using a product called Actinic, which at the time was a dinosaur and a train wreck of a product. I hated that 3 month project so much that I left at the first opportunity when a contact from a previous job got in touch. Generally though, if it's programming with a decent toolset, in a C like language, then it's all good. Apart from when there's a toxic office environment, but that's another dimension entirely!

MKJCP

Find the fun in what you're doing or lower your expectations.

BryanFazekas

Mike Hankey wrote:

You do what you can to put food on the table until you're able to do what you want.

Dang skippy! During 25+ years of consulting (in one form or another), my focus was being marketable. My career started in a recession and I've survived several more. I had assignments I really liked, and I had assignments where if I was given the choice of going to work or being skinned alive, I'd have to think about it. ;P These days? I'm in a job I like, mostly doing things I want to do. But my focus has not changed -- marketability. Never let personal desires get in the way of supporting yourself (and your family, if you have one). If a job really sucks (and I've had a few that did), find a new one. Keep in mind that technology and languages change -- frequently. 30+ years ago, change was slow enough that learning a given technology could mean employment for a decade. Things change a lot faster today -- remain flexible and keep learning.

Slow Eddie

You grin and bear it. They don't pay you because it is fun, they pay you to come back and do it again tomorrow.

Pragmatism is a necessary survival tool.

agolddog

It's not just some environment/language you don't like. Sometimes idiotic new management comes in, the company moves to a new location, whatever. Don't stay at a place which you hate to go to. Life's too short, jobs are disposable. Just go get another one where you're more likely to be happy.

Mike Hankey

Well put

I'm not sure how many cookies it makes to be happy, but so far it's not 27. JaxCoder.com