Programmer Passion (Slight Return)

> Professionalism, not Passion

> Yes, most of the time I only put in an eight hour day. That’s all you’re paying me for, and all I’m willing to give under normal circumstances because every hour I spend working for you as a developer is an hour I can’t spend working for myself as a novelist.

> But when the shit gets real, I’m there. I don’t do it because I’m “passionate” about my work. I do it because that is what professionals do.

Exactly. I completely agree. Even the most passionate worker will wake up one day and think "I don't feel like doing X today". That, imo, is what having a job is. Having to do something, in a set of rules, whether you want to or not. A worker doesn't need Passion, he needs Will and Professionalism.

> Unless you’re my wife, the relevance of your feelings to me is best expressed as an imaginary floating point value between fuck-all and jack shit.

I like the author and would probably buy him a beer.

For background info, see the original post on medium[0] and the HN comment thread[1]

[0] https://medium.com/on-coding/programmer-passion-considered-h...

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9211214

I was one of those ass hats that made developers work for 12-16 hours at day. You worked 60hrs in a week? Here, have a small bonus to make your SO feel better about it. Took me 15 years but eventually I realized I was pretty incompetent at judging time to completion (esp. other deveoper’s time). I made other people pay for what was basically my issue. In my view, few but the principals should work more than 35 hrs to 40 hrs a week except for very short sprints in unusual circumstances. Employers that make you work more have failed to raise enough money, can’t accurately schedule the development process or may simply enjoy causing you pain. If you want to run at peak strength as a journeyman developer, work 40hrs a week, sleep enough, don’t engage with folks that are hostile and take a month off in the summer (go somewhere totally different from your normal environment)

There is an OkCupid question which asks, "what is more important in a relationship: passion or dedication?"

After 12 years as a web developer, the only true "programmer passion" I have felt were for my own side projects, ones I have complete creative control over. Everything else is just a job to get done. I will show up and be dedicated for the allocated hours. But don't expect me to fall in love.

Wonderful, wonderful.