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Comment by LouisSayers | Hacker News Reader

100%, and to add to this... people who are just doing it for the money should absolutely quit, because they tend to end up wanting to switch roles or often quit a couple years in anyway.

People that actually enjoy writing software / solving problems are the ones that get ahead.

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> people who are just doing it for the money should absolutely quit

I hate to tell you this. But any job that pays as much as a software dev in the USA is going to have 50% or more people who do the job for the money. You can learn to love what you do. But when you're 18 trying to find out what to do, for a lot of people money matters most.

I love being a software dev. I got obsessed when in college, made a lot of pet projects just for fun, kept that energy up throughout my career till I got married and had kids, and I am so glad I made that choice. But if it didn't pay what I knew back in college it pays, I wouldn't have done the job.

I've also noticed that over the years those are the candidates who are most unable to find a job. And having interviewed a fair number of candidates, the number of passionate devs out there is smaller than you'd expect.

I've been really surprised by that as well. Often, I'm the only dev on the team that does development and learns new things on the side.

I disagree.

I have been in it for the money and also in it because I like it. I don’t like it for 8 hours per day but I do like CS.

I don’t love it though, and have transitioned since. But having the skill, the background and the grit (due to not loving it), it’s awesome.

Just to give a more nuanced perspective. I think the whole love it or leave attitude is too binary.

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