Sick of implementing other people's ideas...
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My day job pays extraordinarily well, but my heart isn't in it. I feel like i'm wasting my time (literally) and probably my employer's money, since I know I could be more productive if I actually gave a shit. I have my own business, but it's not doing well enough right now that i could do it full time; the economy and competition are keeping sales down, though I might be able to get things going again if I had a few weeks to work on my own stuff full time. To make things worse, I'm not interested in running a business - i want to be a programmer, not an accountant, marketer, schmoozer, help file writer, etc.. What would you do? -c
Smaller Animals Software, Inc. You're the icing - on the cake - on the table - at my wake. Modest Mouse
If I were in your position and I couldn't afford to leave the company then I would stay there. If I could find another company which would hire me and had more interesting work to do then I would leave. Another thing to consider is perhaps it's just the specific project that you're working on that's getting you down. Maybe you could ask your manager if you could switch to working on another program (assuming that the company is doing another one) after you've reached the next milestone in this project and let someone else take over for a while. If none of the above is possible except for staying with your current employer, then just do that until you can afford to go off on your own. On the other hand, if you can find someone that you feel comfortable working with and that would also be interested in handling those other tasks that you aren't interested in handling, then maybe you could give them a small percentage of the profits (e.g. 10 - 15%) for doing that. If you're married you could also just let your wife take care of those tasks for you. I know some programmers that do just that -- they program and their wife takes care of the paperwork, etc.
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My day job pays extraordinarily well, but my heart isn't in it. I feel like i'm wasting my time (literally) and probably my employer's money, since I know I could be more productive if I actually gave a shit. I have my own business, but it's not doing well enough right now that i could do it full time; the economy and competition are keeping sales down, though I might be able to get things going again if I had a few weeks to work on my own stuff full time. To make things worse, I'm not interested in running a business - i want to be a programmer, not an accountant, marketer, schmoozer, help file writer, etc.. What would you do? -c
Smaller Animals Software, Inc. You're the icing - on the cake - on the table - at my wake. Modest Mouse
[start hard-a** commentary ... but in a nice way] You want to own your own business but you don't want to run it? You want to just do what you want when you want to? You want all the fun and none of the responsibility? The economy is weak ... it's not my fault ... waaah, waaah, waaah. [end hard-a** commentary] I, too, have been there. We always want what we want, but it just isn't that easy. You have to work for it. Not happy with your job? Change jobs, or change your attitude, and there is no guarantee that another job is going to be any better. If you stay, the pay is the same whether you're content or not, and whether you're heart's in it or not. You want to be more productive? What's holding you back? Find some piece of interest and apply it to what you're supposed to be doing? Someone else has an idea? Add to it and make it better and make it your idea. Then implement that. As mentioned in another reply, don't wait for someone else to make your job interesting ... that will never happen. Take ownership of your situation and turn it into what you want. "My boss won't let me do ..." Then, educate them. Help them learn why they hired you in the first place and why your contributions of the "fun" stuff are things they can't live without. Do the best you can do with all the tools you have, and that includes your attitude and your outlook. Dave "You can say that again." -- Dept. of Redundancy Dept.
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[start hard-a** commentary ... but in a nice way] You want to own your own business but you don't want to run it? You want to just do what you want when you want to? You want all the fun and none of the responsibility? The economy is weak ... it's not my fault ... waaah, waaah, waaah. [end hard-a** commentary] I, too, have been there. We always want what we want, but it just isn't that easy. You have to work for it. Not happy with your job? Change jobs, or change your attitude, and there is no guarantee that another job is going to be any better. If you stay, the pay is the same whether you're content or not, and whether you're heart's in it or not. You want to be more productive? What's holding you back? Find some piece of interest and apply it to what you're supposed to be doing? Someone else has an idea? Add to it and make it better and make it your idea. Then implement that. As mentioned in another reply, don't wait for someone else to make your job interesting ... that will never happen. Take ownership of your situation and turn it into what you want. "My boss won't let me do ..." Then, educate them. Help them learn why they hired you in the first place and why your contributions of the "fun" stuff are things they can't live without. Do the best you can do with all the tools you have, and that includes your attitude and your outlook. Dave "You can say that again." -- Dept. of Redundancy Dept.
First, David Chamberlain wrote: You want all the fun and none of the responsibility? ...don't think i said that. and then, David Chamberlain wrote: The economy is weak ... it's not my fault ... waaah, waaah, waaah. ...don't think i said that either. maybe it didn't come through in my post, but i've been running my own business for four years now. but, i'm a programmer, not a businessman (those jobs require different skills, right?). as a result, i'm just not very good at the business side of things. it has nothing to do with responsibility. the title of this thread isn't "Hate my job". the title is "Sick of implementing other people's ideas". note the subtle difference. -c
Smaller Animals Software, Inc. You're the icing - on the cake - on the table - at my wake. Modest Mouse
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First, David Chamberlain wrote: You want all the fun and none of the responsibility? ...don't think i said that. and then, David Chamberlain wrote: The economy is weak ... it's not my fault ... waaah, waaah, waaah. ...don't think i said that either. maybe it didn't come through in my post, but i've been running my own business for four years now. but, i'm a programmer, not a businessman (those jobs require different skills, right?). as a result, i'm just not very good at the business side of things. it has nothing to do with responsibility. the title of this thread isn't "Hate my job". the title is "Sick of implementing other people's ideas". note the subtle difference. -c
Smaller Animals Software, Inc. You're the icing - on the cake - on the table - at my wake. Modest Mouse
Okay. Sorry. Let me try again. So you don't want to work for someone else doing what they want you to do. You would rather be implementing your own ideas and marketing those, but since you're not a "business" man, you really just need some help/support in those areas? Then, you're stuck, because while you're not able at the moment to make your own business go on its own to the point of supporting you, you have to "supplement" that goal by working in another company? And you're frustrated because doing that doesn't coincide with what you really want to do, which is making your own business stand on its own? If that's the case, then I was way off the mark. Sorry. The basic guidance would probably be like with any sort of programming that doesn't quite work yet. Identify the deficiencies, design a plan to overcome those, and then implement that. The same thing for a business. You can do this, I'm sure you can. There are no problems ... just opportunities. Dave "You can say that again." -- Dept. of Redundancy Dept.
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Nish [BusterBoy] wrote: So, where am I now? Back to square minus-1, just like I was when I got out of college. Nish, your attitude needs some adjustment. I always beleived that when trying there are no failures only small victories. You can only fail by not trying. Think of the experience it all got you, think about the feelings you had while doing all this. You have more novel than you had when you finished college! There and old saying that goes like this: "Success isn't how far you've got, but the distance you travelled from where you started." Opposed to physics, in life the distance you've made is the one that counts, not the change of your location. Isaac Sasson, Small time programmer - complainer at large. Sonork ID 100.13704 "I don't beleive in women selling their bodies. They should be cooking instead." -Simon Walton, February 14, 2002 at Bob's HangOut
Isaac Sasson wrote: Nish, your attitude needs some adjustment. I always beleived that when trying there are no failures only small victories. Thanks Isaac. My post must have sounded like a complaint, but I was just giving an honest though bitter explanation of my life so far. It wasn't a sulking complaint though it might have seemed like one. Basically my problem is this. I am 24 and when I was 16 I thought I'd be someone when I was 24. The realization that I'd be still just plain normal Nish at 24 came quite recently. Even an year ago, I kept thinking life would change and I'd make it big. I know I have done a lot better off than most people would have done in my same circumstances, but feel I could have done better. Intelligence and aptitude are good, but they are not enough. If someone asked me why I could not attain the heights I should have attained, I have the answer for it :- "Lack of a strong stable temperament". Anything and everything gets me upset. That's bad, very bad. Well I better stop now :-) Isaac Sasson wrote: Isaac Sasson, Small time programmer - complainer at large. :-) :-) :-) Nish My most recent CP article :- A newbie's elementary guide to spawning processes www.busterboy.org
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And as an additional security feature, after 30 days pass, if it still isn't registered, have it send an email to all of the user's friends each time it's used that says, "[Sender Name] is a freeloader who is using an illegal copy of [this] program." A statement of fact is not cause for charging a person for slander, so it should be quite safe, if tacky, to do. Check with a local shyster first, though, in case your laws are different.
Roger Wright wrote: And as an additional security feature, after 30 days pass, if it still isn't registered, have it send an email to all of the user's friends each time it's used that says, "[Sender Name] is a freeloader who is using an illegal copy of [this] program." LOL Actually I didnt mind some people using it free. I know I couldnt afford it if I wanted to register myself. But I believe that lots of people who actually couild have so easily registered, didnt do that, despite using the program... Nish :-D My most recent CP article :- A newbie's elementary guide to spawning processes www.busterboy.org
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Nish [BusterBoy] wrote: tried my hand at shareware, [...] But it didn’t do well. I made much more money from Map This (freeware) than I ever did from LiveImage (shareware). Go figure. Nish [BusterBoy] wrote: And I hoped my novel would sell, well it didn’t. At least you wrote yours. :((
Visual Studio Favorites - www.nopcode.com/visualfav
Todd C. Wilson wrote: I made much more money from Map This (freeware) than I ever did from LiveImage (shareware). Go figure Cool! Could you give more details on that, please? Nish My most recent CP article :- A newbie's elementary guide to spawning processes www.busterboy.org
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My day job pays extraordinarily well, but my heart isn't in it. I feel like i'm wasting my time (literally) and probably my employer's money, since I know I could be more productive if I actually gave a shit. I have my own business, but it's not doing well enough right now that i could do it full time; the economy and competition are keeping sales down, though I might be able to get things going again if I had a few weeks to work on my own stuff full time. To make things worse, I'm not interested in running a business - i want to be a programmer, not an accountant, marketer, schmoozer, help file writer, etc.. What would you do? -c
Smaller Animals Software, Inc. You're the icing - on the cake - on the table - at my wake. Modest Mouse
From about May/June 2000 til about 4 months ago I spent any spare minute I had researching and playing around with the .NET (formerly NGWS), in particular C#. It was all so cool that it made what I do for a living (VB6 mostly) seem somewhat boring. So what happened 4 months ago? Well, the worlds most beautiful brown-eyed girl came into our lives. Now the only spare time I have is when she takes a brief nap :) It turns out she is the perfect antidote to workplace drudgery :) I can look forward to evenings and weekends while I'm at work, but by the time Monday rolls around I can look forward to going to work and a chance to relax (and escape diaper-duty :) ) Regards, Dan
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My day job pays extraordinarily well, but my heart isn't in it. I feel like i'm wasting my time (literally) and probably my employer's money, since I know I could be more productive if I actually gave a shit. I have my own business, but it's not doing well enough right now that i could do it full time; the economy and competition are keeping sales down, though I might be able to get things going again if I had a few weeks to work on my own stuff full time. To make things worse, I'm not interested in running a business - i want to be a programmer, not an accountant, marketer, schmoozer, help file writer, etc.. What would you do? -c
Smaller Animals Software, Inc. You're the icing - on the cake - on the table - at my wake. Modest Mouse
Chris Losinger wrote: What would you do? Look for another job that I was more interested in, one where I could learn new things and expand my skill set. In fact, I just did. :-) Christian The tragedy of cyberspace - that so much can travel so far, and yet mean so little.
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I know exactly how you feel Chris L. In fact my current circumstances are not entirely dissimilar. I don’t dig my job, not at all. I am currently working on an ASP based web project :-( Not that I have anything against ASP. It’s not my ego that matters here. It’s the fact that I’d much rather be doing something else. Of course, I am fortunate enough in that my teammate understands this and she does some of my work too. In fact the one big reason I am trying my hand at ATL is so that I can write some ATL components and use them from ASP, that way making it a lot more interesting that it currently is. I tried my hand at shareware, which resulted in Pop 3 Protector. But it didn’t do well. I mean lots of people downloaded it; at least 25000 taking at least 50 downloads per day on an average for almost two years. But only 11 registered :-( and I am sure many of the others kept using it as it never expires or shows a dead nag screen or anything. That didn’t make me rich exactly. And I hoped my novel would sell, well it didn’t. So, where am I now? Back to square minus-1, just like I was when I got out of college. Nish My most recent CP article :- A newbie's elementary guide to spawning processes www.busterboy.org
...it means 25.000 downloads, not users...:eek: Peace Rich Peace sells but who's buying?
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Todd C. Wilson wrote: I made much more money from Map This (freeware) than I ever did from LiveImage (shareware). Go figure Cool! Could you give more details on that, please? Nish My most recent CP article :- A newbie's elementary guide to spawning processes www.busterboy.org
Nish [BusterBoy] wrote: Could you give more details on that, please? Well, write a killer app that is best in it's class, give it away for free and make sure it's on every download site in the world (easy at the time, 1995). Let others come to you to license a custom version of your program to bundle with their web server/web editing tool/web directory/general html editor, and get them to pay up front and then on delivery, along with a royality. Then turn around, invest the money you just got, and try to be a complete stud and re-write it as a shareware app and get a burst of interest and then nothing as Microsoft stomps all over it, after they show intial interest in licensing it themselves. Ta-da! Thank you folks, next show at noon. Hope y'all can make it!
Visual Studio Favorites - www.nopcode.com/visualfav - improve your development!
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Isaac Sasson wrote: Nish, your attitude needs some adjustment. I always beleived that when trying there are no failures only small victories. Thanks Isaac. My post must have sounded like a complaint, but I was just giving an honest though bitter explanation of my life so far. It wasn't a sulking complaint though it might have seemed like one. Basically my problem is this. I am 24 and when I was 16 I thought I'd be someone when I was 24. The realization that I'd be still just plain normal Nish at 24 came quite recently. Even an year ago, I kept thinking life would change and I'd make it big. I know I have done a lot better off than most people would have done in my same circumstances, but feel I could have done better. Intelligence and aptitude are good, but they are not enough. If someone asked me why I could not attain the heights I should have attained, I have the answer for it :- "Lack of a strong stable temperament". Anything and everything gets me upset. That's bad, very bad. Well I better stop now :-) Isaac Sasson wrote: Isaac Sasson, Small time programmer - complainer at large. :-) :-) :-) Nish My most recent CP article :- A newbie's elementary guide to spawning processes www.busterboy.org
Nish [BusterBoy] wrote: Basically my problem is this. I am 24 and when I was 16 I thought I'd be someone when I was 24. The realization that I'd be still just plain normal Nish at 24 came quite recently. Even an year ago, I kept thinking life would change and I'd make it big. Nish, Guess what? Your only 24 and have still a life time to get it right! You fail, get up and do it again until you get it right. From what I seen of you on CP, your pretty damn good at this programming. I'm 35 and still working to make the big time, I might not make it but I will give it my best shot, enjoy learning from my experiences and make the best of it. All in all, I'd say I'm doing pretty good, a nice fat pension to retire on, a decent house and paying the bills atleast. I always think I could be doing better but that is what drives to keep working at my goals, if I didn't feel that way I would be one miserable boring person. lol Hopefully, I will finish my own side project and throw it out there and see if I make any money from it. To me, it's your imagination and how creative you can be that makes you successfull or not. If you think you have lost that creative touch, turn everything upside down and shuffle it up and then be creative with that. Cheers :)
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Isaac Sasson wrote: Nish, your attitude needs some adjustment. I always beleived that when trying there are no failures only small victories. Thanks Isaac. My post must have sounded like a complaint, but I was just giving an honest though bitter explanation of my life so far. It wasn't a sulking complaint though it might have seemed like one. Basically my problem is this. I am 24 and when I was 16 I thought I'd be someone when I was 24. The realization that I'd be still just plain normal Nish at 24 came quite recently. Even an year ago, I kept thinking life would change and I'd make it big. I know I have done a lot better off than most people would have done in my same circumstances, but feel I could have done better. Intelligence and aptitude are good, but they are not enough. If someone asked me why I could not attain the heights I should have attained, I have the answer for it :- "Lack of a strong stable temperament". Anything and everything gets me upset. That's bad, very bad. Well I better stop now :-) Isaac Sasson wrote: Isaac Sasson, Small time programmer - complainer at large. :-) :-) :-) Nish My most recent CP article :- A newbie's elementary guide to spawning processes www.busterboy.org
First of all Nish, feel free to complain. Everybody needs to get it out of his system every now and then. Just don't make it a habbit 'cause eventually you'll stop seeing the good things in life. Nish [BusterBoy] wrote: Basically my problem is this. I am 24 and when I was 16 I thought I'd be someone when I was 24. The realization that I'd be still just plain normal Nish at 24 came quite recently. Even an year ago, I kept thinking life would change and I'd make it big. Nish, you are someone! Think about the person you've become, don't think about how much money you have. Do you like who you are? do you like your friends? what about your love life? Money and fame won't buy you happines. There is an old verse from Job (I can't quote it 'cause it's in hebrew) that says that you come out this world naked and leave it when you're naked. The clothes won't stand by you, neither will you money or your fame. The one thing that is always certain is yourself. So make sure you like who you are, the rest will come by nature. From what I've seen here Nish, you are for no doubt someone! Isaac Sasson, Small time programmer - complainer at large. Sonork ID 100.13704 "I don't beleive in women selling their bodies. They should be cooking instead." -Simon Walton, February 14, 2002 at Bob's HangOut