I hear senior developers saying I shouldn't do it because I will get burned out, I hear not so experienced ones saying we should use every moment we have to write another line of code. Some even look down on you and think you're not passionate/ serious enough about your job, just because you don't breath code 24/7.
While I do do work related things after clocking out (and I'm not opposed to that, since I don't have a great deal of experience and there are many things to learn), I can't help thinking about that people working in other fields are not really expected to take their work home with them - I don't see my friend who's a nurse going around and giving shots to her neighbors, after her working hours are done.
What's you opinion on this? Is the amount of time spent coding outside office hours an indicator of how good/ passionate of a developer you are?
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Top comments (86)
I think it depends on each individual person. Some enjoy coding in their free time, some like to only code during work hours, and some are in between. I don’t think any of these options make one person a better developer than another. It’s all about balance for each individual.
I personally love writing code as my day job and enjoy writing code outside of work from time to time, but I also have a lot of other interests that I like to spend my free time on. I may spend more time coding outside of work if there’s a specific project I’m working on, but I also like to devote time to non-coding projects and activities that interest me.
Yes, different strokes for different people. I want to add to this that it also isn't black and white. There are times in my life where I totally do code in my free time, but this is not always the case. Sometimes I do nothing, watch movies, play video games. Other times I buy am ukulele and just practice that for a year (yeah, very specific :) and if I'm feeling it, I will start writing code again, because, this is the most important part I want to and enjoy it.
Also - if it's a case of other people looking down on you - that's often a self defence mechanism that hides their own lack of self-worth. They set themselves up as superior by diminishing everyone else. It's not sustainable for them, and isn't true about you. So brush it off.
Then there's the question of are people actually looking down on you?
Imposter syndrome's a bitch. It likes to make us think others think less of us because we don't know everything about everything, and yet we all have that same insecurity. Maybe not all of the time, but we've all dealt with it. We've all felt like we're "less-than" or whatever, because we don't know something someone else does.
This field is massive and growing every day. You're not going to know everything about everything. You're not even going to know everything about your little niche. There will always be someone who knows stuff you don't.
And you know what? You also know things other people don't know.
Embrace what you know and share it. Learn the relevant stuff you don't know but need to know. Outsource the rest. Fill your niche, let others fill theirs.
For what it's worth, there are plenty of people in other positions who do take work home with them; I know at least a few.
I typically don't though since I have responsibilities at home. So when I do leave for the day, even if it's a little late, I'm almost always done for the day.
That's more a responsibility and life balance thing though. If I had more time, I'd probably be working on a side project more often, although it can be harder to depending on what I spent the day racking my brain on.
I mentioned in another comment already, but what I love about working on side projects is that there's no pressure. This is one of the things that makes working on side projects so enjoyable for me—I'm free to handle the work any way I want to, and I can completely put it down if I just don't have the spare time (although I really don't like having to for that reason if I'm being honest 😅).
I have occasionally worked on personal programming projects outside of work, but like others have said, only if it's something I find fun or engaging.
I think a good question to ask is why are so many employers not providing time for their employees' professional development? I'm fortunate enough to work for an employer who encourages some professional development on the clock, and I think this should be the norm, even though I know it's sadly pretty far from the current state of things.
I write code whenever I get free time and I think it will have a bit of an impact on your health too.
I really try to take time off and get my mind off and chill.
I think it depends on if it makes you happy. Personally I do software development in my free time because it makes me happy and fulfilled, among other things like relationships, friendships. Another thing that makes me happy is self improvement. Besides coding, I also take notes religiously (Zettelkasten) on things that I selectively read, and write blog posts.
My point is that, just because it's coding doesn't mean it's work-related. To me it's just fun, and not to satisfy anyone's expectations on how I should behave professionally. Actually, I actively avoid working more than the agreed hours, in order to make time for coding things that I am personally interested in.
You will get burned out, for sure (i got burned after 1 year of non-stop coding). I usually code after my working hours only when i find something new/interesting to play with. If it's just a routine work, i won't do it in my free time.
Yeah, that's something to watch out for.
What I like about coding in my free time (when I'm able to) is that there's no pressure. So even if I don't have the time to, I don't have to worry about it.
I'm still not there. Sometimes I feel bad that I don't use my free time for more coding. Most of the days it's like this but I have periods when I can relax and not care about it.
Same here. Usually when I code in my free time is to try something new.
A few years back, after a particularly nasty personal event I threw myself into a coding project outside of work hours. I spent a few hours each night and most weekends working on this project.
I learnt loads from it, lots of which I continue to use in my daily work; it helped to rebuild my confidence and eventually earned myself a great deal of recognition.
But as a long term method of getting ahead its not worth it. It took a colleague to point out how much of my mental health I was risking by continuing in that way.
Sure, as a short term thing it gave me the grounding I needed. But as a long term approach it just doesn't work. And I hate to think what I would've done to myself had I continued in that way.
As far as coding goes, how often does a solution come to mind away from the keyboard? That time away is just as important to the creative process.
Moderation in all things.
"As far as coding goes, how often does a solution come to mind away from the keyboard?"
This is actually funny because every time I take a break and I go out for a walk with my dog, I end up talking to myself about the code. Sometimes I even come up with solutions :). Thank you for your input.
In short, if you want to be a really good or outstanding developer, you should use every opportunity to learn and code. Of course, it increases the chance of burning out eventually, but you can consider it a price paid for being an outstanding developer. Nothing is for free and it's only your choice of how much you want to invest. More you invest, better you may become. Find a good balance. Sacrifice if you want more. People are different so someone has to invest more, someone less to be at the same level. It's also not for everyone. Ideally, it's your hobby so you tend to learn and code as much as you can, often at an expense of not sleeping or similar sacrifices, simply because you like it and enjoy it. But that's probably not your case, since you wouldn't ask such question.
You can still be a good developer, even if you don't invest your own time into learning, but I don't personally know any outstanding developers around me, who wouldn't learn & code all the time simply because they like it.
Also, the IT is generally a no-bullshit field regarding the skills. It usually doesn't matter how many schools you have finished, how many diplomas you have or how many hours of your free time you devote to learning and coding every day. What matters is your real knowledge and your skills.
So if anyone is telling you that you're not a good developer just because you don't spend the whole nights coding, it means he's an idiot who has no clue what matters, and he won't be able to help you grow.
Thank you for the nice words. I think we live amazing times, when as you said, people without CS studies can enter the field and become as good as they want. There's no limit on the things one can learn (ok, maybe just time wise). I'm lucky I didn't have to sacrifice anything until now because I already liked learning new things, even before becoming a frontend developer. But I understand that for others self teaching can be challenging. And not because they don't want to become better but because it doesn't suit them.
Continuously connecting yourself with work/code will surely exhaust you sooner or later. So it's wiser to have breaks and do something else in different arena like hobbies, sports, hangouts...etc after work hours. Or at least a good long sound sleep. You can utilize your weekends/hoidays for learning new stuff or developing pet projects.
Now that we work from home, do naps count :)?
What are you doing it for? Is it you are doing it for career progression, personal branding, creating your own startup or you are interested in developing open source because it is fun?
You don't really exactly need to do coding all the time outside of your work. Enriching your mind helps a lot like listening to a podcast, reading books, watching videos, networking, documenting your development journey through your personal blog.
Right now I do it for career progression/ expanding knowledge. And yes, hobbies are really important for keeping a healthy mind. Thank you for your input.
I think it depends. I would code after my work hours if it's something that I am learning or want to learn or understand it better. Also, if I have some sort of a side project I would do that too. And that kind of thing comes and goes. If you think that you need to code after work hours or you will stay behind I would say for you to relax. FOMO and the feeling that other people are making progress and you are not is the one thing that could make you feel stress.
I think if you do not exaggerate you will always be able to learn new things, work on side projects, and code after work hours. But you also be able to play video games, watch movies and just chill.
No, you shouldn't. Only robots are work without any interruption. Your self-improvement is also important. People shouldn't be a lover of their job. This should be a hobby. When you write code all the time, you may get burnout syndrome.
In the past, I met a lot of people who had burnout syndrome. You should do different things o remember you're a human. Read books, do gym, cook something, draw something or dancing, etc.
The job we love shouldn't kill us. I wanted to die about one year ago because of different reasons. This job was one of my reasons to kill myself.
My girlfriend lied to me. Because of this, I was really sad, and I was under stress while doing my job. Sometimes, I've failed because of these reasons.
Thinking more, really bad idea. This is a kind of die. Let your mind be free. You'll be more successful.
I'm sorry to hear you went through bad times, I hope you are feeling better now. And I agree, we should avoid burnout as it might even make you quit coding all together - I know someone who actually did.
Do you like to watch movies? Do it.
Nowadays, I'm trying to improve my English. I loved these words, "I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
Stay strong :)
No. Find a way to live a well rounded life. I love code, and have done for 30 years, but there is more to life. If you're doing it out of some sense that you have to keep up or catch up - here's a secret - YOU NEVER WILL! Not because you're a bad programmer or bad human, but because it's impossible. You will be a better programmer in the long run if you allow your brain time off to recharge.
Crunch time happens occasionally (1-2 times a year is enough). Try to be balanced the rest of the time. If you are finding that hard, have a think about why - internal or external factors.
This might be relevant.
codingmindfully.com/the-software-d...
I always have the feeling I will never catch up or I won't know as much as I need to know but I suppose this is a feeling everyone is struggling with. Thank you for the resource, I was pleased to find out that I'm not experiencing any of the symptoms of a burnout developer :).
Glad to hear! It's completely a feeling everyone struggles with. There is too much software engineering to fit in a single human mind! So enjoy the process of learning and admire and take inspiration from those who know a lot already!
Hi Silvia,
This is a tough question. I think partly it also depends on how diverse your work is and if you are being challenged by the work you do while you are clocked in.
If your work is challenging and you don't feel like you are given the time to learn during working hours, I think it is important to find the time to really understand your work and question the work you are doing (processes, coding conventions, finding better and more efficient ways of doing things, understanding what others are doing - e.g. understanding how FE/BE can better go together or understanding design and usability flaws).
If you feel that you are not being challenged at work and you are doing just enough to meet the requirements, than challenge yourself to speed up your work to then find time to do new things and improve. And again question everything.
There are many more scenarios that I could lay out, but in the end it is less about the working hours and more about whether or not you feel that you are being stimulated and fulfilled with the work that you are doing. Learning an attitude of curiosity and discipline is huge just for you as a coder. Not only as an employee.
Burnout usually comes from pushing yourself into an overworking attitude that is unfulfilling and causes you to pay less attention to your mental and physical health.
However if you feel like you are stagnating, or the other extreme of feeling fatigue even after just a little bit of coding, maybe it is important for you to find something that ignites your passion again.
The senior developers that I have looked up to most in my life are people who want to 1. share their knowledge, 2.are constantly wanting to learn and adapt, 3. are passionate about the thing they do.
Learning to ask the right questions and know how to solve problems doesnt just come from learning the newest technology or constantly reading decumentations for cool tools. Those things can be super important, but those things also take time and they are complimented by a healthy work environment where you can learn from others and share the knowledge you have.
It can all seem overwhelming sometimes. The amount of potential things to learn and all the cool technologies that developers love to fight about. But in the end, if you challenge yourself just a little bit each day and start to question everything, pretty sure you will find new worlds opening up to you.
Thoughts?
great post right here by Ilona Codes on mental health and productivity.
I didn't switch fields long time ago so at the moment everything is still overwhelming. I work a lot in my free time but it's because I have the feeling I'll never catch up (feeling that might as well be false, cos' there's not enough time in the world to know everything that's out there). I don't believe that this is good on the long term strategy so lately I've started to take longer breaks and keep the extra coding for the weekend. I do agree tho' that hard work comes with great results. Thank you for your input :).