[hnuser123456]

I have a non-coding day job and spend most of my time thinking about how to improve my projects when I get home, then code late into the night. Trying to get hired as a programmer somewhere, but part of me also worries it might exhaust me from coding on my own projects. If only I had enough spare time to build something worth monetizing while being able to pay the bills...

[crtez]

I was originally worried that my coding job would suck the passion out of me, but weirdly, it’s cut the other way. The banality of the work that I do for my job makes me appreciate my personal projects more, and makes me more galvanized to do coding that does bring fulfillment. I suppose this isn’t necessary desirable however, since it relies on your job being a chore.

[andrepd]

I definitely was much more exhausted and with much less energy to work on my projects after I got a real industry job, sadly.

[ghaff]

It's pretty natural if you do some activity all day for work, also doing it as a hobby is much harder.

[knallfrosch]

When working on useful projects with autonomy for money, you're not really losing out.

[PittleyDunkin]

> When working on useful projects with autonomy for money, you're not really losing out.

You are if you're only making salary.