When I was in college I had a professor who joked that her standards had gone down over the years. Nowadays, her only criteria are: "no criminal record."
Maybe it's just a joke and we don't need to get that cynical, but I think that in the end, enjoyment of the work comes from: whether you can find some creative process in it, and whether you like your coworkers. I think this is the optimistic way of looking at "work is called work for a reason."
To that end, even plain-old programming beats a whole lot of other fields. But to think that we should be drinking the kool-aid and all is definitely not going to stick for the vast majority of us by the second or third decade. I certainly enjoy my job, even though it's just "work."
My professional life and mental health definitely improved when I finally accepted this in full. Whereas at my previous job, the entrepreneurs sold everyone on using the tools and languages of their choice (and sacrificing for compensation in a big way). Noble attempt, perhaps, that may have worked in a different time and era of tech, and under vastly different macroeconomic circumstances. But ultimately, it should not have been surprising, in retrospect, that no one would do any of the work-work that it would've taken to make the company work.
> I think that in the end, enjoyment of the work comes from: whether you can find some creative process in it, and whether you like your coworkers
Hard agree. I look for the interesting things about it and try to, "find the fun." It's nice when you see something you built work well for people, solve problems, etc.
When you get to work on a project that aligns with your values and goals, it's a blessing! Take it, enjoy it, savour it, and write about it. Dive in deep! When it's gone, it's gone.
But there's a lot of busy, necessary work in programming that isn't going to be like that and it still needs doing.
There are a lot of businesses out there that need people to do that busy work and will pay well for someone capable, competent, and willing to do it. It's not glamorous, exciting, satisfying work... it's work. You get paid for it.
Maybe it's just a joke and we don't need to get that cynical, but I think that in the end, enjoyment of the work comes from: whether you can find some creative process in it, and whether you like your coworkers. I think this is the optimistic way of looking at "work is called work for a reason."
To that end, even plain-old programming beats a whole lot of other fields. But to think that we should be drinking the kool-aid and all is definitely not going to stick for the vast majority of us by the second or third decade. I certainly enjoy my job, even though it's just "work."
My professional life and mental health definitely improved when I finally accepted this in full. Whereas at my previous job, the entrepreneurs sold everyone on using the tools and languages of their choice (and sacrificing for compensation in a big way). Noble attempt, perhaps, that may have worked in a different time and era of tech, and under vastly different macroeconomic circumstances. But ultimately, it should not have been surprising, in retrospect, that no one would do any of the work-work that it would've taken to make the company work.