[proex]

Well, I'm going to get into the work of a real life programmer in a year or so, finishing my degree.

Quite frankly, I wouldn't want to be sitting in front of a desktop for 33 years of my own life. Not to criticize you or anything.

But coding my entire life, just doesn't feel right, well as of today and the classic cubicle/desk/chair environnement, maybe I didn't pick the right job, it just feels like a very individualistic/selfish job unless maybe your stuff is open-sourced. How much do you feel you contribute to the society , for example ?

Then again, I'm just starting in the domain, talking from 1 year of work experience and 3 of school experience.

[jebblue]

>> But coding my entire life

What about a brick layer, painter, electrician, school teacher, is there anything wrong with those people if they enjoy their work and dedicate their work passions to those professions?

>> How much do you feel you contribute to the society

Society doesn't pay the bills, companies do. Society is appreciating art, going dancing or having a barbecue.

[potatolicious]

edw519 is right - software as a field offers tremendous opportunities to create a positive impact on society. If you're not doing that, consider getting another job (it's not as if it's hard right now).

I've been in-industry for 3 years, and in that short time I have written software that:

- substantially reduced plastics, paper, and metal usage in packaging for the largest e-tailer on the planet.

- decreased fuel usage for shipments coming from said e-tailer.

- made air travel better by letting travelers know about delays, cancellations, and last-minute changes before the airlines even know about them. I even help them pick better seats on their flights.

- help people go on more fulfilling, more interesting dates.

I look forward to doing a hell of a lot more than that.

If you don't feel like your work matters, and you don't feel like you have impact on the world, do something else. Software is wonderful in that way.

[edw519]

1. Critizing # "Not to critize you or anything."

2. open source # the only way to contribute

My quick & easy response is #137 of my ebook (see my profile):

137. How do you put your skills to good?

I’ve always thought that the best way to put your technical skills to the greater good is through your day job, not instead of it.

Some of my days jobs have been to write software to ensure that:

  - people get the right prescription medication on time
  - firetrucks and ambulances get to where they're supposed to be
  - parts that go into cars and planes are properly certified
  - prisoners are kept in jail
  - those same prisoners get proper medical care
  - electronic equipment gets assembled properly and on time
  - medical supplies get dispatched to where they're supposed to
  - insurance claims are processed properly
  - quality data is properly maintained for food items

You don’t need to do charity work on the side in order to contribute to the greater good.

On the other hand, if you don’t think that the work you do during the day contributes to the greater good, then maybe you should consider doing something else with your valuable time.

Do good and get paid. You can do both at the same time.

[gknoy]

It is _tremendously_ inspiring to see that you can find such joy in things which are so very important (all of the things you listed) but which so many people would consider boring. It helps me put my own work in a better persoective. Thank you for sharing your insight and experience.

[jackbravo]

You just hit the nail. Yes, of course this makes much more sense if you are working with open source and you know your works helps you, your customer, and countless others that you even don't know about. How do people NOT working with open source keep up? I don't know, probably that's why they want to move on to something else.

And also, being a programmer in open source or free software is not only the programming, its also the community and bonds you make while contributing.