[creativeCak3]

Nice try, manager ;)

We work on side projects because we __like__ it. Seeing side projects through the lense of "value" is naive in my opinion. Yes, obviously if the side project has actual users than that's a plus. But companies like seeing side projects because it __does__ show that the candidate really likes what they do for a living. Now whether the company is purposefully using that to expect people to work 60 hours a week is a different discussion. And while I'll probably ruffle some feathers by saying this, I'll say it; software is a sport. Very much like a sport, if you stop doing it then you'll get fat and lose your touch. People that work on side projects are constantly honing their craft and because of that they tend to be the best athletes.

If I owned a baseball team, I sure as hell want the best. And in my humble opinion, the best are usually __always__ working on getting better at the game. AKA working on side projects ;)

EDIT:Just want to clarify; it is WRONG of a company to expect people to work 60 hours a week. Just so we are in the same page. I am NOT condoning that.

[tootie]

Just to clarify myself also, I don't expect people to dedicate their personal hours to work. We have a standard work week of 35 hours at my company and we generally stick to that. I'm talking about people I have worked with that had successfully side projects that were earning them money and that they most definitely worked on during business hours and were basically just double-dipping.

[tootie]

Value doesn't need to be monetary. Just having fun is something valuable. I'm saying that 99% of the "side projects" I see are junior devs who think they can't apply for a job without a bunch of things on GitHub.