I've done a bit of full circle, used to be a dev, went to be a teacher, then came back.
the expectation in most careers is you "do a little more". Teachers work until 9pm most nights in term time and then at least a few hours every weekend. yes we got ATTO (all that time off), but we took work home with us to do in that time (in my 6 weeks holdays, i used go back to work after week 3).
I think most careers where you are well paid there has to be a little bit extra, where you keep up skilling with trends, but over time that becomes less.
first time as a dev, i used to spend my nights reading and practising CSS/PHP etc. but over time that got less so i didn't have to slog it out ever night (which is the same in most sectors as you get more comfortable in the job). as the author suggests he's a Senior, it would be expected he has mastery over the tools, now it would be less work to keep on top of the skills.
as some have mentioned - it's a work-life balance, but there will always be an expectation to put in "a bit more" in your free time.
I'm a Senior Developer, my partner is a High School Teacher.
She has a degree, and teaches 3 subjects to classes of 30 or so kids, at GCSE level. I don't have a degree. I paid more Income Tax this month than she received Net.
Don't even get me started on the types of behaviour from the kids (and parents) that she has to put up with, as well as working weekends/school holidays, sleepless nights worrying about the vulnerable kids in her form group that she knows Social Services have been to talk to at home etc...
I clock off at 4pm, and with the odd exception of major incidents, don't do anything that my employer isn't paying for (or giving time in lieu etc).
the expectation in most careers is you "do a little more".
In some professions, such as Teaching, sure, they expect you to care about the kids... and you can't exactly mark homework while teaching a class... Some might say that 9-3 allows you a few hours per day to do the work, but then what about Teacher Training sessions? What about the parents that want to report the fact their child is being bullied to you? Similar applies to Nursing... are you really going to let someone die just so you can go home & feed your cat on time? Probably not... Would a Priest kick you out of a confession because the soaps were on TV?
Then there's development... sure, I write code in my own time & don't earn an income from it. Sure, I keep up with trends, which thanks to Google Now is a matter of unlocking my phone & swiping left. Sure, I think about architectural patterns etc in the shower.
But, other than me being slightly more productive in work, nothing I do in my spare time directly benefits my employer.
I think the difference is a job vs a Vocation. Software Development is a job you get because it's relatively easy & keeps your cat getting fed. Teaching (etc) are Vocations, that you get into because you want to make a difference to other peoples lives. No-one will die if I don't write 30 lines of code today.
I think most careers where you are well paid there has to be a little bit extra
Teaching, as you likely know all too well, is definitely not well paid. Maybe some got suckered in on a bursary, but the difficulty of the PGCE will quickly turn them into drop-outs.
as an addendum...I will say....I never worked as hard as when i was a teacher. Dev-ing is about self motivation and self-study. Teaching is constant and if it doesn't get done, there is trouble + all the additional stuff you have to do to keep on top of it.
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I've done a bit of full circle, used to be a dev, went to be a teacher, then came back.
the expectation in most careers is you "do a little more". Teachers work until 9pm most nights in term time and then at least a few hours every weekend. yes we got ATTO (all that time off), but we took work home with us to do in that time (in my 6 weeks holdays, i used go back to work after week 3).
I think most careers where you are well paid there has to be a little bit extra, where you keep up skilling with trends, but over time that becomes less.
first time as a dev, i used to spend my nights reading and practising CSS/PHP etc. but over time that got less so i didn't have to slog it out ever night (which is the same in most sectors as you get more comfortable in the job). as the author suggests he's a Senior, it would be expected he has mastery over the tools, now it would be less work to keep on top of the skills.
as some have mentioned - it's a work-life balance, but there will always be an expectation to put in "a bit more" in your free time.
I'm a Senior Developer, my partner is a High School Teacher.
She has a degree, and teaches 3 subjects to classes of 30 or so kids, at GCSE level. I don't have a degree. I paid more Income Tax this month than she received Net.
Don't even get me started on the types of behaviour from the kids (and parents) that she has to put up with, as well as working weekends/school holidays, sleepless nights worrying about the vulnerable kids in her form group that she knows Social Services have been to talk to at home etc...
I clock off at 4pm, and with the odd exception of major incidents, don't do anything that my employer isn't paying for (or giving time in lieu etc).
In some professions, such as Teaching, sure, they expect you to care about the kids... and you can't exactly mark homework while teaching a class... Some might say that 9-3 allows you a few hours per day to do the work, but then what about Teacher Training sessions? What about the parents that want to report the fact their child is being bullied to you? Similar applies to Nursing... are you really going to let someone die just so you can go home & feed your cat on time? Probably not... Would a Priest kick you out of a confession because the soaps were on TV?
Then there's development... sure, I write code in my own time & don't earn an income from it. Sure, I keep up with trends, which thanks to Google Now is a matter of unlocking my phone & swiping left. Sure, I think about architectural patterns etc in the shower.
But, other than me being slightly more productive in work, nothing I do in my spare time directly benefits my employer.
I think the difference is a job vs a Vocation. Software Development is a job you get because it's relatively easy & keeps your cat getting fed. Teaching (etc) are Vocations, that you get into because you want to make a difference to other peoples lives. No-one will die if I don't write 30 lines of code today.
Teaching, as you likely know all too well, is definitely not well paid. Maybe some got suckered in on a bursary, but the difficulty of the PGCE will quickly turn them into drop-outs.
as an addendum...I will say....I never worked as hard as when i was a teacher. Dev-ing is about self motivation and self-study. Teaching is constant and if it doesn't get done, there is trouble + all the additional stuff you have to do to keep on top of it.