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soneca

Probably worth repeating here an old comment of mine for “side-project” disambiguation.

The term "side-project" has a lot of possible interpretations:

A - Hobby project to play with some tech just because you find it interesting

B - Hobby project to play with some tech that might help your career in the future by learning it

C - Homework project to learn about the tech you currently use at work

D - For-profit project to hopefully earn some extra money on the side and keep it that way

E - For-profit project to hopefully earn enough money that will allow you to quit your day job and make it your main job

F - Portfolio-making projects to show at job-interviews as a junior developer

The OP is about case E apparently (maybe D).

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I'd add "Hobby project because you want the idea to exist." That's where virtually all my side projects land. They are different from (A) in that using new tech is not required and may even be detrimental to the goal.

Am I an odd case? Nowadays all my side-project code is to scratch an itch, fix a problem or create a solution I want to use that doesn't exist yet. I'm not motivated by the tech itself and the money is not a primary driver either.

I can no longer edit my original comment, so here is an update (new case and rearranging order) following suggestions by the other comments:

A - Hobby project to play with some tech just because you find it interesting

B - Hobby project to create something you want to exist (e.g. a tool for personal use or for close friends, an art project with interesting results)

C - Hobby project to play with some tech that might help your career in the future by learning it

D - Portfolio-making projects to show at job-interviews as a junior developer

E - Homework project to learn about the tech you currently use at work

F - For-profit project to hopefully earn some extra money on the side and keep it that way

G - For-profit project to hopefully earn enough money that will allow you to quit your day job and make it your main job

My current fave type isn't listed: Hobby project to create (and use) some opensource tech that I want to exist and might help your career in the future.

Also I don't distinguish between A and C. Some seem more relevant than others but there's not much that I learn that I don't draw from in one way or another.

I really like this stepwise delineation of Avocation to Vocation, of fun-to-utility-to-profit. As others pointed out, there is "scratch your own itch" which usually falls between A and B. I also think that F would better fall somewhere right along B.

What about a tool for a personal use-case?

Good one, makes sense to be another option I think

Also a somewhat flexible definition of the word ‘framework’ it seems.

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