I was reading Reddit as I normally do before bed and I came across this article asking if “Is a career in programming intrinsically stressful?” I mean, I am more of a web developer, I don’t really program anything serious, but I thought I would weigh in here. Yes, I know my title is different, but it’s because I know more about this than being a hardcore programmer.
Do I think it’s stressful?
Well, it really depends.
Personal Projects
When it comes to personal projects I find programming the website to be pure fun. It just feels good seeing your idea come to life.
The only stress is when you really want to do something but have to learn a new technique or if you want to learn a new language. Learning a new programming language is stressful for me.
Freelance Projects
When it comes to freelance work, I love it just as much as a personal project. Sometimes, I feel so proud I feel like keeping something to myself, but I don’t. I love helping someone get their ideas out there and really help their business grow. It just is an overall good feeling.
The stressful part is keeping yourself to a deadline and making sure the client loves what you finish.
Work Projects
I am going to have to say this is my least favorite of all. I normally dread this type of work. Yes, I am helping someones business grow and what not, but I feel so complacent when working on this type of stuff. I just code a website and really don’t feel that magic if it was for my client or a personal project.
The stresses are all over the place.
First, you have management. The people who have managed me really seem to love to play developer. They love to tell you how to code even though they hired you to code for them. They just love to micromanage you to death.
Next, deadlines. Oh man, deadlines are horrible when it’s a work project, just cause you know once this project is done, you get to start all over. Lovely. You will also be lucky if you get reasonable deadlines.
Then, there is the pace you work at. Normally on a project at home or on my own time, I get in the zone and just am in the groove of things. I am coding master, nothing can stop me. In an office setting, somehow, the zone is something that is not achievable. Of course it will happen and it makes you not hate the place you are at as much but oh well, c’iest la vie.
Finally, distractions! This is my favorite thing about working on work projects, the countless amounts of distractions. I bring headphones to work to avoid distractions at all cost. The headphones block out all sorts of distractions like…co-workers, managers, the realization that you are not where you want to be, and of course noise (music, talking, etc).
The headphones are like a “Do Not Disturb” sign which is great for when you are in the zone. Cause once you are out of it, good luck getting back in.
Basically
It’s really up to the person. If you are good at dealing with distractions of an office and don’t mind being managed, it shouldn’t be all stressful. If you get a kick out of programming then why should you be stressed, well I guess bug fixing.
Enjoy programming/developing, I know I do when I don’t have someone over my shoulder.
Sorry
Yeah this led into a mini-rant but I think it is safe to say that working in an office usually will lead to pointless meetings, pointless feedback, pointless chatter, and all sorts of other pointless stuff.
My goal, get stuff done in the most efficient way possible. That way we don’t have to waste our time with pointless stuff.
