Other professions don't have to show side-projects or give tech talks to stay relevant. Devs are normally asked to keep doing all this kind of stuff to be competitive in job applications. Those are objective facts. Now, whether you see it as an advantage or disadvantage, it's all a matter of perspective.
I see this as a great advantage. The fact that a pilot needs to fly 20k hours to get a raise or grow seniority is something I find very limiting. The fact that a dev has the power to grow professionally and economically just wisely using their free time is a superpower. You can get a huge boost by putting some hours after work into learning something new or contributing to open source. You can compete with seniors by showing you have the drive and passion but lack the years under your belt.
If coding isn't your passion, that's fine too. But, if this is the case, don't quickly judge those who love coding, even when not being paid. They will normally have a lead on you, whether you think it's fair or not.
Coding is really one of those hobbies that if you turn it into a career, it doesn't necessarily lose its charm.
Coding at work is like the chores of code. It isn't always fun, but it (at least for me) makes me keep good habits that keep my code clean and forces me to learn some deeper level concepts that I might not stumble across on my own.
Coding as a hobby is the fun that comes after the chores. That's when the weird libraries and languages, useless but fun buttons, and loud color schemes can come out.
I think coding for work and coding as a hobby definitely lean on each other. There are concepts and skills that may be important to know for one, and end up being useful later on for the other.
My 2cs.
Other professions don't have to show side-projects or give tech talks to stay relevant. Devs are normally asked to keep doing all this kind of stuff to be competitive in job applications. Those are objective facts. Now, whether you see it as an advantage or disadvantage, it's all a matter of perspective.
I see this as a great advantage. The fact that a pilot needs to fly 20k hours to get a raise or grow seniority is something I find very limiting. The fact that a dev has the power to grow professionally and economically just wisely using their free time is a superpower. You can get a huge boost by putting some hours after work into learning something new or contributing to open source. You can compete with seniors by showing you have the drive and passion but lack the years under your belt.
If coding isn't your passion, that's fine too. But, if this is the case, don't quickly judge those who love coding, even when not being paid. They will normally have a lead on you, whether you think it's fair or not.
Edit: typos
Coding is really one of those hobbies that if you turn it into a career, it doesn't necessarily lose its charm.
Coding at work is like the chores of code. It isn't always fun, but it (at least for me) makes me keep good habits that keep my code clean and forces me to learn some deeper level concepts that I might not stumble across on my own.
Coding as a hobby is the fun that comes after the chores. That's when the weird libraries and languages, useless but fun buttons, and loud color schemes can come out.
I think coding for work and coding as a hobby definitely lean on each other. There are concepts and skills that may be important to know for one, and end up being useful later on for the other.
Coding and fun are synonyms! :D
I would totally agree here!
Beautifully put.