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"Modern software development" says a lot. It's the people and more specifically, the rules and processes they make around programming and task allocation that can be really needless and meaningless. Even competition is a human construct.

The most enjoyable form of programming seems to be it's most solitary form. Who would've thought that despite all the doctors saying we're social creatures we'd prefer solitude.

We are social creatures but it doesn't follow that all activities should social.

I've never stated that all activities should be social, just that there's a preference that the most enjoyable ones happen to be more solitary.

I've never stated that I was contradicting you.

By the way, sex and sports are social activities that rank very high on enjoyability.

> I'm talking about the guys that live and breathe everything CS/SWE related. The guys that will continue to work on hobby projects at home after work, the guys that are extremely invested in every part of the tool-chain, and are passionate about all the stuff I found boring.

Every trade/craft has these kind of folks. I think it comes from people who like to teach others or have to work closely with others. Things like deep toolchain configuration become table stakes on large or open projects.

>> And then there's the competition - I early discovered that I could never outperform my competition.

100% this. I'm a bit competitive, but only a bit :). After 20 years of being a dev I realised I didn't want to compete anymore and shortly after that I quit as a dev.

I've now switched more into an analyst role and because I've been a dev i think I know what makes a good analyst because I know what I would have to know to write the code - if it were me. But here's the best part, the mark of a good developer is their attention to detail. And attention to detail is also the mark of a good analyst, but as an analyst you don't have to sacrifice yourself to the detail of tool-chains, stacks and frameworks.

Working on large scale problems as a dev, and doing it right, is slow (with a small number of devs) and chaotic with a large number. But as an analyst I can work at the speed of thought, work on many projects simultaneously, and see the fruits of my ideas take shape as the devs start to deliver them and I shepherd them into existence.

So for now I'm pretty happy, I write code in my spare time for fun and like the OP - I'm back where I need to be.

What does an analyst do exactly?

Typically interface with customers/users/stakeholders, identify and document requirements, and...well, beyond that it varies a lot in different orgs, if its not actually coding, and its involved with the process of developing/maintaining software, there's some organization where someone titled as an "analyst" (usually with a prefix like "business", "system", or something) does it,

Ya like walk us through a day?

Figure out what the customer actually wants to do

Figure out the existing workflow and document it

Figure out the actual requirements, not what the customer says the requirements are

Figure out what their existing solution does and how it's used in real life

In most industries, software analysts are a thing of the past. Scrum has largely replaced them, and project managers, with product owners - the people who have to do both of these jobs for a price of one.

> I'm talking about the guys that live and breathe everything CS/SWE related. The guys that will continue to work on hobby projects at home after work, the guys that are extremely invested in every part of the tool-chain, and are passionate about all the stuff I found boring.

Because it’s just absurdly important. I can’t say anything about the projects you’ve worked on, but I can pretty much guarantee that the projects I work on will descend into an immediate free for all without the toolchain.

I agree! Automate absolutely everything you want to get done, otherwise it will stop getting done :)

I feel the same to an extent.

I realised that as of this year I've been programming in one language or another for 37 years. Right now, if I stopped writing code I wouldn't miss it for a while.

Like you, I think I got into coding because of the same urge that makes me want to build stuff and do bits of DIY. When I was a kid coding was a constructive, creative outlet that didn't require much space or resources other than a computer (a ZX Spectrum in my case), and it didn't make a mess.

Could you say more about your analyst job? What kind of an analyst are you? How are you measured?

What does it mean to be an analyst? What do you do day to day?

And how do I find these jobs? Do I simply search for “analyst” in job search engines?

Or is it a job you basically have to convince someone to hire you for rather than submit a resume?

Sounds great!

Can an experienced SE switch to an analyst? What kind of jobs would you search for?

This comment resonates with me

What kind of analyst?