| Two primary things turn me off from software engineering, which I otherwise love and have been doing for a quarter century now. 1. Building software can be more akin to painting a picture than building a house. A team of software engineers is like a group of artists at a canvas with all sorts of different preferences, brushes, techniques, etc. I don’t think we’ve efficiently solved for that in a way that’s enjoyable. 2. The pace at which you’re supposed to adapt, raise funds, build, scale, etc has a toxic feeling, probably how Wall Street money managers feel like they have to chase alpha, make certain gains per year, etc. it leads people and companies to do dumb, irrational things that frustrate and confuse. My personal approach has been to try and separate myself from #2 as much as possible. Ignore anything anyone has to say unless I feel it in my bones they’re right. I don’t drink ycombinator’s cool-aid, or DHHs, PGs or anyone else. I listen to what people have to say and incorporate it into my OWN mental model of how software engineering has worked for me. Also, I like to work on projects either alone or with very small focused teams where I can be expressive. That means if I’m going to take over code, I want to be able to learn something or adapt it to my standards. I prefer to work on things start to finish. When I sit down to code, I try to push this website and everything and everyone’s’ opinions out of my mind. I picture myself in an office far removed from anything Silicon Valley, Google, or bright colors, or that strange mix of Machiavellian and Aspergers. This is my thing I get to do with it what I want. My canvas. My brushes. I’ve been doing it too long for it to be any other way now. I think that’s how you can enjoy programming again too. |