If I Wasn’t Writing Software…
on 05.23.06, 06:58am in software • comments (1)
I mentioned this back in 2004, but I still think it’s interesting that almost everyone I know in the software industry has some sort of alternate career tucked somewhere in their psyche. I bring this up because I found that I had one of those moments yesterday when I said to myself "I should have become a chef" (not that I’m any good at cooking or have any insight to that career path, but it’s nice to think about a bizarro universe once and a while).
While there’s a few individuals I know who would be happy coding forever, most have some sort of alternative career/job that they think about. I wonder if it has to do with the software industry in general, or do people just think that the grass may be greener doing something else.
Or, perhaps it’s as simple as asking "What Should I Do With My Life?"
Neil Cowburn (May 23, 2006 @ 10:05 am)
It’s true. Almost everyone I know industry has some dream of doing something else other than software. For me, I dream of being an outdoor activities instructor. Somedays when working in this industry, I would pretty much give anything to be outdoors thrashing some trail on my bike or sussing out a new bouldering problem or two. I think for many (including me) it’s those “Someday, someday!” day-dreams that quite often keep us motivated.
Also, there’s the angle that, for some, coding is still a hobby if even they earn a salary doing it, and there’s a feeling that they’ll get a “real job” someday.