::scr programming/$job burnout

[alex]

On Mon, 3 Dec 2001, simon wistow wrote:
> I keep hearing of people, friends, who are burnt out. People are fed
> up with programming, with their jobs.

there are times that i get sick of programming.  work gets very slow and
frustrating.  i have to make progress away from emacs, by thinking about
design, reading up on stuff, etc.  i feel if i pushed myself, i would do
myself damage.

at other times i love it, no matter how potentially tedious a task i find
a elegant and satisfying approach.

both moods can last for several days at a time, and generally don't have
an easily identifiable origin.

but my point is, that if i don't feel in control of my time, if the
pressure is always on, my less productive periods really stress me out.
this only makes my unproductiveness worse.

so, i think it's un-natural and counter-productive to keep pressure on
programmers.

> Is this just normal mid 20's breakdown?  Or something more? Have we
> come to expect more out of life - because so much is on offer, far
> more than our parents probably did

more is on offer?  like what?  life has always brought a massive range of
opportunities.

> and far more money (again probably) - that even if we have a steady
> job that pays well, we're still not happy because their seems to be so
> much out there.

i think there's a lot more criteria than 'steady job' and 'pays well.' i
know that you know this.

> Or the opposite i.e that precisely because we are in a well paying job
> and fairly secure whilst still young that we feel burnout because
> there's nothing left to achieve.

maybe getting a job isn't an achievement, but an opportunity for
achievement.

> 2 years ago the internet industry was thriving

no, it was crippled by unrealistic companies pumped full of investment.
things are much better now, a fairer playing field where companies can
start offering services in exchange for honest cash according to the worth
of those services.

> and there were plentiful jobs for everybody

so a disproportionate about of people ended up in totally the wrong job,
or ended up working with people who were in the wrong job.

> in company's that seemed like they could do no wrong - the money
> flowed like wine (or Vodka Red Bull) and the jobs were interesting,
> you could get all the equipment - now it's all gone to shit and
> nothing's fun any more and there doesn't seem to be much future in it.

like i say, i think only now are companies coming forward who have a
future...  that's how it feels in the music end of the music industry
anyway.

> Something interesting came up on this walk - how many of you (I'm
> thinking especially of the programmers but it's a valid question for
> all) would be doing their job if it wasn't for the Net 'revolution' -
> and I don't just mean working for their current employer - I mean how
> many of you would be working as, say, a programmer if they hadn't
> started off doing web stuff?

programming is all i do, but can be turned to many tasks.  so that's like
asking a ingrained builder if she'd still work with her hands if she
wasn't a builder.  not that that isn't a valid question.

so my answer is: hell, yes.  but then (probably) most programming involves
the internet nowadays; game programming, transaction processing,
publishing, interactive learning, etc.

also i didn't start off doing web stuff, i started off on a zx spectrum
making the border flash funny colours, then doing a stock control system
for my dad, then dorking about with bulletin boards, then doing quality
assured credit card backends.

also also i generally consider my job more "music services" than "web"
programming.

so there.

(sorry if that's ranty.)

alex