Why did you really get into tech?
Not the safe answer. Not “I love problem solving” or “tech is the future.” I mean the real reason. Was it curiosity? Freedom? Money? The idea of building something that actually matters? Escaping something? Proving something?
Because if we’re being real… a lot of us didn’t start this journey dreaming about standups, Jira tickets, or optimizing someone else’s product roadmap.
I’m here looking at my own career, and don’t worry, it’s not your usual cliché “escape the matrix” conversation. It’s more of me trying to understand where exactly I am headed and where I intend to head, if that makes any sense… I hope it does.
But what I mean is how we don’t lose sight of that creative side and the fun part of it all, because I noticed that somewhere along the line, something shifts.
You start off wanting to build. To explore. To create weird, ambitious, maybe even unrealistic things. Like I, for instance—I wanted to make games. Kenzie from Game Shakers lowkey inspired the idea (not really sure how many of you guys watched the show). I had a notebook where I wrote the whole story of the game, and I even hopped on an old Windows application that let you create 3D model characters. All that was missing was the programming skills. I lost the notebook, by the way, and the PC crashed in case anyone was wondering.
Now that I'm thinking about it, It does sting because the plot was peak trust me, this isn't even me exaggerating
Fast forward to the end of high school, when I started learning coding—I self-taught for a while before I got into college. The reality presented to me wasn’t really how I imagined it. It slowly grew into deadlines, salaries, titles, deliverables, stability. And before you even notice it, you’re deep in the “job loop.”
Wake up → code → fix bugs → ship → repeat.
Basically kept in an endless circle with no real development—well, aside from the number of stacks added to your portfolio. And I’m talking to the people who actually got into tech not just for the job aspect, but because of the belief of coding the next Facebook or the next Amazon.
All those original ideas… the ones that made you open your first IDE… they get pushed to “later.” Then “someday.” Then… forgotten.
So here’s the uncomfortable question:
Is this just how it’s supposed to go? Or are we doing something wrong?
Is the system designed this way, where passion is just the entry point and routine takes over? Or do we slowly trade our curiosity for comfort without realizing it?
And more importantly:
How do you avoid becoming someone who once dreamed of building things… but now only maintains them?
It’s a genuine question.
- What habits helped you stay creative while working a full-time dev job?
- Have you managed to build something meaningful alongside your job?
- Or did you consciously choose stability over exploration—and are you okay with that?
No judgment either way. Just trying to understand if there’s a better way to navigate this path without losing the reason we started.
I honestly encourage any feedback you guys have in the comments albeit addition etc.. Thanks for reading :)
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