After I came across the article 4 frequent objections to side projects and my answer, I wanted to discuss my reasons and motivation for working on side projects.
It's my solution
There are tons of amazing work out there that solves a lot of problems but that does not mean it's the 100% right solution. Programming is about problem solving and the problems we attack are not always straightforward therefore I can work on a solution that is tailored to my interest and hopefully once I publish someone else might find it just as useful.
I get to play
Our industry is never slowing down therefore there are always new toys to play with. Side projects are a great playground for us because if we are excited about playing with some of these new languages/frameworks/libraries/software this is where we get to get our hands dirty. As stated earlier we can implement solutions for many problems in different ways which enables us to experiment more.
I learn a lot
My ability to apply better problem solving did not come from just my four years at college, it came from all those side projects I built up at hackathons. Every side project took me down a different rabbit hole of issues, therefore I had to actually count on myself to find a solution. Even though I resort to google and stackoverflow, I try to see how people on the internet solved some of the similar issues. Usually those solutions I find stick with me because I personally faced the problem.
Oldest comments (5)
100%!
I totally agree with you. Personally when I intend to learn a new framework or language, I think of side projects to engage myself. The importance can't be understated.
Side projects are a great playground for us because if we are excited about playing with some of these new languages/frameworks/libraries/software this is where we get to get our hands dirty. ----like。
I think much of the pleasure in side projects comes from their role as an antidote to the things that bother us at 9-5s: deadlines, bureaucracy, inflexibility. Seeing your own creative project as a reaction to these things helps maintain the energy to actually do them.
I'm the author of the "4 frequent objections to side projects and my answer" article.
I came across your reply in the referrer listing of my article and like it a lot. I just wanted to let you know I updated my post to mention your reply!
Side project lovers unite! Have fun!