Hacker News Reader

Comment by marginalia_nu | Hacker News Reader

> Being stuck in problem solving

Am I the only one who loves this? My main complaint about my day-job has typically been that the problems are too boring and easy.

View on HN

I think you need a balance. If you're completely stuck most of the time, you're going to start dreading work. But if you never have to make a real effort, you will be bored.

The first part is true from personal experience. If you make no progress on something you'll start to wonder if you're the real problem. That's not fun, and more importantly traps you in a cycle of wanting to get out, but being scared that you'll just fuck up the next thing you work on.

I think this is the core value generation of software engineers. The problems being solved that is. If you like your job, you’ll relate to this feeling less. It also make sense that the hardest part would be highest on the list.

There's problem solving and then there is "working around" things like bad code, bad coworkers, slow hardware, being stuck with old versions of software...

I had a similar initial thought - I find unsolved technical problems genuinely thrilling to work on - but then I noticed the word ‘stuck’. That implies having run out of ideas on how to approach the problem and I can imagine that being stressful. Perhaps you are similar? Or do you also enjoy having run out of ideas?

Oh no, the 'stuck'-problems are the best problems.

Only when you don't have a deadline and a few stakeholders asking for progress updates and time estimates.

In that case, I'm annoyed by the deadline and the stakeholders, not the problem.

fear is a mind killer

that’s the difference of devs that stay motivated and happy

even ones that don’t have pressing monetary concerns are just skittish sometimes. those folks can productive but boy do they look miserable.

kill the fear and the stuck problems become less of a thing

> Or do you also enjoy having run out of ideas?

This has never happened for me the closest I have gotten is that I have to give the client to option of sticking to our initial plan or change it for the expense of more time and money.

I wouldn't really call that being stuck with a problem tho, its more the client is stuck with a decision they don't want to make.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com