| I don't mean this in a bad way, but I think your experience highlights a point I've been making for some years now. Coding is a terrible job. Yes it pays well, but its tedious, frustrating, and mostly just a grind. Often it's meaningless, and can have a short life-span (if it ships at all.) On the other hand, if it's your passion, it's fantastic. People paying you to do it is a bonus. It's not a job, it becomes a form of artistic expression. It's an act of creation, and that is the whole reward. Most people don't get paid to persue their passion. Writing, art, music - they become hobbies indulged in free time. But programs offer value, lots of value, so there's gold in dem hills. For most people mining that gold is a hard slog if digging holes in the ground. For a tiny fraction it's a creative movement of earth which is a special delight. I am fortunately in that camp. I don't burn out coding, it's the fun part I get up early for. I don't think I'll ever stop. BUT if it's not you, and you're only doing it for the money, then making peace with that is helpful. I'm not saying quit (you still need a job, and programming pays well) but find your identity, your passion, your significance elsewhere, elsewhere. Trying to find significance in hole-digging is hard. Using the income from hole digging to fund your purpose gives meaning to both your work and yourself. May you be blessed enough to find your passion. |