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Comment by pcmoney | Hacker News Reader

Do dentists do dentistry on the side for free because they need to boost their resume? Do managers do managing on the side to learn new management skills?

I dont know why any engineers put up with this anywhere in industry. Although it hasn’t hurt me and I have never had a side project that I can recall. Coding is barely interesting enough to get paid to do it. Also so many side projects are really boring compared to real work with a bigger team.

If I start a side project/company it will be so I dont have to work for anyone else again not to boost my resume for the rat race.

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I do not ask about side projects in interviews because they're expected. I ask because it that experience is not uncommon and it could be a reason that the candidate I am interviewing might be a good candidate.

> Do managers do managing on the side to learn new management skills?

Yes, many do. Plenty of managers list relevant community volunteering experience on their resume: organizing community events, coaching teams, participating in professional development groups, etc.

> I dont know why any engineers put up with this anywhere in industry ... Coding is barely interesting enough to get paid to do it.

If the second part of the above is how you feel then I totally understand the first half.

Personally, after decades in the industry I still enjoy coding in my own time at least a few hours a week. For many of those who feel like me, we don't "put up with this". We do it by choice, independent of any regard for the impact or otherwise on employment prospects, and class it as a down-time leisure pursuit.

For myself, what I do for a day job I'd probably still do even if I had an independent income (though I'd choose more interesting projects).

If anything, side projects are one of the only ways to not get bored of coding. Coding for work often means sacrificing good satisfying work forr quick results, whereas coding at home means taking the time to do what you want as well as you want

That's fine, but for a lot of us coding is exciting. I don't do side projects to boost my resume; I do them because they're interesting to me. Personally, the last few years I don't do much that's even relevant to my day job, aside from sometimes using the same language. I have other interests, that just so happen to involve writing code.

This is the best reason for side projects.

I agree with your premise, but just as a counterpoint, I'd add that many licensed professionals have a continuing education requirement designed expressly for learning new skills (63 hours per 3 years in my state, for dentists).

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