What I Really Hate About Becoming a Programmer :(

[Anonymous]

I am going anonymous for this one but I am a known GAGer here.

I am 22 years old and a student of programming. I have almost finished my college vocational educational degree and will graduate summer 2017. I don't like programming. Hell, I almost regret choosing programming as my profession but that's what I asked for back then, so can I really complain when I really wanted to become a technician?

Yes, I can.

1. All I do is sit in front of a computer for many hours every day

and I look at codes, type codes, test, make things work, recheck (if there is a problem, then I fix it if I can), repeat.

I realized this "lifestyle" isn't exactly healthy. I already wear glasses because of my super short sight.

2a. Glasses are a big pain in the ass and make me look uglier

in my opinion! I cannot afford contact lens while still studying and looking for a job, so I have to wear glasses or I won't see clear past half a meter. Since programming requires you to look at the display for a very long time and very often, your eyes sharpness are bound to be ruined.

2b. Programmers tend to look nerdy and are typically nerds

, right? I try my very best to NOT look like one. In my opinion they are not good looking at all. I will never ever wear clothes, that make you look like this guy.

Yes, I am intelligent but I try my best to NOT look like a glasses wearing, World-of-warcraft playing, smartass nerd.

I just want to look "normal" AND good, not nerdy. I find nothing attractive about it.

3. Constantly coding is depressing!

Do you see anything? As a programmer you have to because it's your job and it's in your title!

It's BORING! Very boring! Doh!

4. People assume you can fix or know ANYTHING just because you are a programmer

Well f◘ck 'em! They have NO idea what it means to be a programmer!

A programmer is someone, who writes lines of codes in any programming language, that performs anything the programmer commands the machine to.

Finding out how the automated coffee machine works (without manual!) and then taunting at someone, who is a programmer for not knowing because the programmer never saw that machine before IS NOT WHAT A PROGRAMMER IS SUPPOSED TO!

I hate these plebs like I hate bed bugs! Ugh!

5. Speaking of coffee... this will steadily drain your health! You get little sleep and code into the night.

There is a stereotype for programmers, that programmers drink lots of coffee, get as little sleep as possible and sit late at night when everyone else sleeps, coding.

This is the worst nightmare I can imagine!

I am NOT going to sacrifice my health and I am NOT going to drink coffee and I am NOT going to get less than 8 hours of sleep per day because I value my health more than anything else.

I had bad experience with coffee and that included dependency, restlessness, restless nights and all that made me as a result drowsy throughout the day - a zombie.

I cut out coffee in winter 2015 and it was the best decision I made since I can't remember when. The benefits were just too great and I am not going back to coffee again.

I also limited my tea drinking habits. No more than a maximum of 2 cups per day. I normally do not drink tea at all but I prefer just water or mountain dew/other soft drinks or juice. Water is what I drink the most out of all.

I only drink tea if it's specially brewed by a special mixture recipe I made myself and that includes tossing in the pot ginger, raspberries, honey, lemons and/or healing herbs (such as amaranth, fire nettle leaves, motherwort, mint or thistle branches). I do NOT drink plain tea otherwise :)

Having little or no sleep is drastically DETRIMENTAL in every way of our bodies, health, mind and focus.

6. You have no life! Your life is dedicated to programming and it's your only purpose.

It's just true. Ask any real programmer and whoever says otherwise is lying.

Or that person loves programming like I love masturbating.

7. You are husband/dad material or you are known to make much money

That counts for me at least!

I do not make any money right now and I also appear as such.

However if I get to be dating someone, I prefer to NOT mention my profession or job title because a programmer is typically known to make much money, right?

Let's look at the stats hm?

I don't live in the USA. Where I am the salary rate is much lower generally.

Still that means I am a vulnerable target to gold diggers and women, who want a family.

I do not want to become a father and I do not want to get married. I love my freedom too much!

So I have no other choice but to be vague about it. What I do for a living? "I'm a warehouse worker in an IT store." I will say so, so that I am financially stable at least.

And once I trust someone completely, I *may* consider telling the truth but dare she gets issues of it because I wanted to protect myself from gold diggers.

Then I have to consider the gossip risk if she breaks up with me and tells the truth to everyone, I can forget about having a girlfriend, who loves me and not my wallet.

The protection of my own identity is my duty and responsibility.

And I think nearly every woman wants to get married and have children. It's just what they really want.

8. I did not even learn to hack

What kind of educational program is this when we do not learn how to hack or protect websites from hacking?

Guess that's a duty for my free time rather than academic duties.

That's all... for now

I cannot remember right now what else I really dislike about being a programmer.

I talked to a few programmers and asked them if programming means to sleep very little and be dependent on coffee. Both told me, that it depends on the person, not really the job! I hope they are right.

Because I either live to live my life or live to work. The latter is not something I plan with my life.

But at least now I know what I like to do

I like working with multimedia. I'd like to work with video editing tools and graphic editing tools and become a graphic designer/video designer. That job is fun in my experience :)

But not programming. Not for me.

[bcromartie]

You'll be fine. While you work as a programmer you can begin your career in multimedia. Believe it or not working in different fields allows you to bring something more to the table so you'll know and see both sides of the equation and that makes you that much more valuable.

That and there is more to the real world than what nightmares you hear; I don't think programmers have the lowest job satisfaction.

[TuMeManques]

Oh I feel bad for you. There is no way I would ever cut it as a programmer.
At least take comfort in the fact that you must be incredibly intelligent. I'm sure you could venture off into whatever you want to do.

[meowcow]

That sucks.
I'm not a programmer, but I do sit in an office staring at a computer most of the day.

I remember my first day at work in an office was spent staring at excel spreadsheets. After 2 weeks, I wanted to kill myself, and also had nightmares that I was working on spreadsheets... only to wake up and go to work with more excel spreadsheets.

Luckily, I found a similar job but with much more diverse range of responsibilities which I like very much. I hope you do too one day.

[NearlyNapping]

1) Goes for a lot of professions. Well, pretty much all office jobs.

2b) Then don't look nerdy. It's not a job requirement.

3) I agree. I hate programming. Dropped out of my last programming class. I was working overtime, doing moonlighting work on top of that, taking a programming class at night, up at 2:00am trying to find the damn bug, and I seriously wanted to go to bed. I said fuck that and dropped the class the next day. Wasn't leaning much anyway.

4) True of a lot of professions. Try telling someone you're a mechanic. "Oh, you're a mechanic? May car's been making this funny noise..." I don't mind, just saying.

6) Hint: Stay away from anything retail. Retail has absurd deadlines. They are based on getting it out for the Christmas rush, not on how long it actually takes to do. Three weeks to Christmas cutoff and you need another four months? Get the damn code out and the hell with whether it works or not.

7) You aren't seriously complaining about making a lot of money are you?

[myTake Owner]

About the 7. th point you did not exactly got the idea, that I complain about making much money but more like the social problem of it. Everyone want's much money as do I. If every title had the same pay, hell I'd be a warehouse worker or a graphic designer/video designer, or I'd sweep the streets.
The problem here is, that it gives you THE INDICATION OF HAVING MUCH MONEY, which in turn attracts women with raging eggs, who get horny over someone rich and gold diggers. THAT'S the problem!

[NearlyNapping]

Yea, I understood what you meant. I just thought it was kind of ironic because most people would love to have that problem. Most people have a general idea what professions make good money and which don't.

[mits777]

I am a software engineer and programmer myself. Only 2 things are real here the fact that people thing of all programmers as nerds, and the fact that woman see them as $$$. About the other things it is up to YOU! I sleep 8 hours a day, I don't smoke don't drink coffee (I am athlete also so keep my regime). I work out after my job, I meet girls friends have fun so it is up to you. And yes any of us will have glasses and will have the eyes fucked. And no you can sleep when you want there is no relation to sleeping late, nobody forces you to do that. Typical jobs are 8-9 hours, I work from 9 to 6 pm (including breaks). After that I am free, also weekends free so you can have fun and anything else. I also tell some girls that I am project manager (which I am for real, but also code). They love it, some girls hate it when I say I am programmer !!(nerd stereoptype red flag) and may not text back. I have great body, good height don't dress like nerd (I am not nerd, I am athlete badass guy no relation to nerds).

[myTake Owner]

It's a good thing if girls don't want you when you tell them, that you are a programmer. That way you avoided someone with a nasty personality in the first place.

But still women see you as a catch and as a walking wallet if you tell them your title. They are interested in that kind of status and this proves, that hypergamy works and is very real.

How do you know if a girl is a gold digger or a woman on the rush of creating a family with someone wealthy or not?

Glad you shared your opinion.

[mits777]

Well times shows anything buddy. First I just tell them I am project manager something like that (always if they ask, if not I just don't say much about myself). You get to know the person as the time passes, no real magic here. But girls that want just fun get repulsed when they learn you are programmer lol, even if you are good looking. They may think that you suck at sex interacting or whatever or that you are boring at discussions (general nerd stereotype). WIth contact lenses I look very badass nobody ever imagines that I am a programmer lol so I am fine xD having my fair share of fun and of anything. Also I take my own food in job, I don't drink coffe, red bull other shitty energy drinks. I don't eat junk, I take chicken filled and other food that I cook myself (told you I was pro athlete and still train and compete, it is my lifestyle).

[myTake Owner]

Aye!
I dropped coffee and nasty food too.
I can't wait to get contact lenses. Glasses are nothing but disadvantages.

[mits777]

Yup glasses suck balls, but still I don't want to damage my health for other's sake. I use them like 1 in 2 weeks when I meet new girls only lol ;). In job and other places I use glasses because my health comes first then what people think of me (if it matters at all, we should love ourself only that matters).

[Rawrzz]

I've been trying to learn Python for the past week. God damn it it's a bitch. I can't imagine scanning a bunch of code looking for bugs. Just doing that with like 15 lines of code is really boring and also aggravating, to me. But, I also don't have a strong grasp on the concepts, yet. Most boring shit in the world. But, there is also a degree of satisfaction when you finally create a program that works as it should, no?

Damn plebs. I was actually thinking about this. "If I learn how to program only in Python, I wonder if people will automatically assume I should know everything about networking or cryptography."

In my understanding, knowing how to program is the fundamental beginning of knowing how to hack.

Dude. A lot of people on GAG already stare at a computer all day.

Graphic design is cool. Significantly less money, though. I think it's like 30k/y in the U. S. That would barely net you a stable living. It would be sufficient for a single person. For yourself. But, if you ever do want a family, you're going to need a lot more money than that. And saving for retirement would be problematic. Unless you live beneath your means. But, it's still cool that you picked up a skillset.

I have no skillsets. Unless you count PC gaming or doing drugs a skillset.

So hey, even if you hated it, it was still beneficial to learn.

[Rawrzz]

Also whenever SkyNet comes online, you'll be able to communicate with our computerized overlords.

[redeyemindtricks]

Dude, if people ask what you do, just say you're a "software engineer" or an "IT consultant" or any other thing that sounds better than programmer.

Also, if yr hours suck -- but you're good at making professional and social connections -- try to transition into some sort of specialized consulting.
I have a friend who does IT security consulting. He used to code. Now he tests corporate security systems basically by hacking into them, and exposing weaknesses, and then giving the corporation a list of the weaknesses that need to be fixed.
He makes something like $400 an hour, and he lives a nice lifestyle in the San Francisco Bay Area (= the most expensive place to live in the entire western hemisphere) working something like 15-20 hours a week, on average.

__

Lol at the color chart.
Personally, I think the female accounts on this site should be color #ff00ff -- I'm sick of this coral pink shit. LOL

[myTake Owner]

If I tell a girl, that I am either Software Engineer or IT Consultant (I used to work as an IT Consultant), they get attached to me like thistles and I expose myself to gold diggers. Not gonna do that.

[redeyemindtricks]

Dude do you live (or hang out) in the slums?
•________•
I mean... Software engineers make good money, but, not the kind of money that attracts hardcore gold diggers (at least not here in California, anyway).

__

Also -- If you continually attract gold diggers... that's most likely a problem with YOU, not a problem with them.

Read my opinion thread here:
www.girlsaskguys.com/.../q1997610-how-can-i-detect-a-gold-digger

[myTake Owner]

That question you linked here was asked by me too! What a coincidence, that you picked exact this question to link me :) .
Sorry, that I did not select your opinion as the most helpful, I just wanted to distribute the MHO fairly.

I already understand how to avoid becoming a target to gold diggers. Saying such a title WILL attract them because that's how hypergamy works and they DO make a noticeable amount of money.

I practice on my appearance to appear "average" and having also an "average" job title.
Dating women only with a job leaves out the possibly good women, who have a hard time finding a job. At the very least I'd like her to be trying.
What I really want to weed out are the gold diggers.
And protecting my identity is my duty. I would just say an average title, so that I am at the very least financially stable and don't fall victim into someone, who rushes to become a mother. That much is what I am willing to share initially.

[myTake Owner]

And yes, I live in an area similar to the slums. The pay for every title is much lower here than in Europe or the USA.

[redeyemindtricks]

Like I said on the linked question -- Material greed is practically impossible to hide. Unless you are *completely* unable to read people, that sort of thing will surface in yr first couple of weeks of interacting with someone in any significant depth.

Besides... Most people who make good money, do so with at least *some* intentions of spending it on people they like (friends, s/o, whatever).
Not saying you have to spoil yr woman (or yr friends) -- but, if you're not willing to spend ANY money in a rl, or if you insist on going 50/50 with someone who makes way less than you do... well, that's not an attractive quality to *anyone*, gold digger or not.

[myTake Owner]

Fair enough. o_o

I just keep alert at all times because gold diggers are a pain in the rear and my banks balance, not, that I am greedy myself.

[redeyemindtricks]

If you make such good money and you're single... what DO you spend it on?

[myTake Owner]

I am unemployed and am still applying for jobs. Tough times for me. It's been almost a year since I was terminated from my employment :(

When I was working back then, I spent my money on some things on my wishlist, that I had since I was a teenager - mostly hardware stuff. Then there came the shortening for employees.

[redeyemindtricks]

Good luck.

[myTake Owner]

Thank you!!!

[redeyemindtricks]

Yw. <3

[aficionado]

You know something? This is EXACTLY how I went when I was in university, studying to obtain a degree in computer science (which involved a lot of programming). I was filled with self doubts and about my choice of career.

But once I got into the industry, things changed - a lot! I actually started enjoying what I did!

Today, I have nearly 7 years experience as a programmer, and I would be happy to code up to 16 hours a day (with breaks of course), IF the work keeps me intellectually stimulated. I'm so glad I didn't change my profession, because I really enjoy programming and am passionate about it.

[Fathoms77]

Hey, take heart. A lot of people went to school and got degrees for things they don't end up doing for the majority of their lives. :)

The good news is that even if you don't want to be a programmer forever, you have a set of skills that can always earn you an income. That will prove huge in future years, I promise. And if you want to move on to things like graphic design and stuff like that, you have the requisite tech background. It's not like you went to school for programming and then decided you wanted to become a sculptor. :P

My degree is in psychology and I'm a writer and editor by trade, specializing in digital content. Of course, this means both of us spend a lot of time in front of a screen and nothing could be worse for the human body. My advice is to take frequent breaks, never snack, have a home workout regimen you stick to, go OUTSIDE at least once a day, and consider a stand-up desk.

[RandomReindeer]

I'm also 22 and a programmer, I gotta say, I absolutely LOVE IT!

But cheer up! A lot of programmers move up into management roles within a few years and stop doing a lot of programming tasks. Depends on your company though.

I can only relate to number 4, "For the love of god already, NO! I cannot fix your bloody phone already. I don't do miracles!!!" >:(

I do find it hard sitting in chair all day, I want a desk where you can sit/stand alternatively. They are becoming more common though. The hours are a bit longer than your normal job too :(

[sovetskii13]

I study T-SQL. I do get bored at times. Typing makes my hands and arms so tired after about two hours. Staring at the screen all day. And nothing is worse than getting errors when running a query. The messages in the errors rarely even make sense (to me at least). Forgot to put a period, parentheses, or something simple and the whole thing doesn't work. Always have to Google errors to find the answer.
I have read many many many articles on things like most demanding professions, highest paid professions, and so on in which some form of programming is always in the top 5. At least that's something.
There are days when I wanna go out to do some of my hobbies but got no desire because I feel tired. Ugh. Surprisingly my dad loves programming. I don't know how or why. It's just his thing.
Search for advice on professional sites about what to do when in certain situations such as hating your job, your boss, etc. Plenty of advice online. See if any of it helps you.

[Anonymous]

Join the Army bro. I was a stereotypical needy student in high school and all I would do was study and work on school work and made good grades and SAT scores. I then went to the University of Texas and studied engineering. After 2 and a half years of this, I got thoroughly burnt out and joined the Army as an infantryman, which is almost a complete 180 of what I did before. Greatest fucking decision I have ever made in my life. I enjoy my job, have such a strong circle of friends, feel like I'm actually doing something valuable, have so much free time to participate in other activities, and I can actually be proud of telling people my profession.

[myTake Owner]

I am unable to join the army because of my international citizenship.

[Opinion Owner]

What country do you live in? You don't have to be a citizen to join the US Army

[myTake Owner]

I am not in the USA. I am somewhere in Eurasia. :(

[Opinion Owner]

Lol then come to America and join our Army. Our Army is fucking awesome and would recommend it to anyone. Army life is a lot of fun. My unit trains with other country's militaries, and after talking to Korean and German troops, our military treats us a lot better and takes care of us better.

[myTake Owner]

If I only could. I have financial problem.

[Opinion Owner]

Okay well best of luck to you sir!

[myTake Owner]

Thanks man! Take care!

[kinggeorge007]

I'm a programmer and I enjoy programming. If you hate programming just quit programming and find another job. Hating it won't do anything good for you. From what you have stated I can conclude you don't really fit in as a programmer. Your carrier path is what you like. You can't force something as your carrier path. Go and find something else you can fit in.

[myTake Owner]

I'm excellent at programming, top student of my group. It's just NOT fun for me and comes with it's own itching downsides.

[Anonymous]

1. I currently have a stand-up job. I envy you. Mom partially sits and partially stands at work. Dad always sits. No, he's not a programmer. He's just a researcher/professor, and I think he mostly uses MatLab. He is aware of a couple of other computer languages, though.
2. I wear glasses. They do not make me look ugly. I hope not. Or maybe, I've just gotten used to my appearance that I just don't care how I appear.
7. It's true. Programmers are one of the best-paid positions. The average programmer makes a pretty decent middle-class salary. All the thinking-and-sitting job titles get the most dough.

[DizzyAster]

I am a web, software and video game programmer.
And this "2b. Programmers tend to look nerdy and are typically nerds"
is untrue for me.
Maybe you just look that way with or without being a programmer. lol.

6 is also untrue. All my friends, who are also programmers, have lives and hobbies, go on vacations to nice places, etc.

Honestly, most programmers nowadays suck.

[myTake Owner]

I don't look like a nerd and I plan to never look like one.

I still feel, that my purpose of life is to program since I have chosen that career.

[Izumiblu]

Launch cycles, i see my programming peeps clacking in their offices. I smile as i walk to the parking garage in the evening thinking, i am happy i ain't that. Then i grab my milky way latte on the way home and i see them again in the morning, the breakfast buffett was long cleaned out by the same peeps with all of them sitting in their offices wearing the same clothes they were wearing the day before getting ready for their next scrum and checking off the bug list.

[Mysterio421]

I am in the same boat. I like programming but I am not enjoying it as I used to and some of the problems are a pain in the ass but I am getting used to it. I like investing, fixing computers and phones, composing/making music and creating video games via code and graphics.

[Telekinetic-Potato]

Hey, I know this whole take was about you hating programming, but why don't you PM me and show me how much progression you've made with your video editing?

I'm looking for someone who knows their way (or is willing to learn) around some video software and can program. Even if you don't really know what your doing with video stuff yet, I know that programmers are usually lightning fast learners. So if you're serious about it lets talk.

[BrileyCat]

what do you really like to do? what is your passion?
music art business mechanics sports design gaming health food?
apply your effort education and knowledge in something you like
and work hard at it.

[myTake Owner]

Graphic design, Video design, Gaming, Health and Medicine.

[BrileyCat]

you listed a few of those in your op . very good fields .
you could start your own business and be successful no matter where you live .
plus there are lots of nice tech girls who code and program that are not gold diggers.

[myTake Owner]

I hear that too often.
I can not start a business so broke like I am.

[Anonymous]

As a graphic / web designer who occasionally has to deal with code, what I hate about code is debugging. spending hours testing and sifting through code to figure out why some dumb shit doesn't work.

I can tell you the minus about design from my experience is either dumb project mangers, sales guys and rarely clients trying to play art director and ruining your work. also not having the time necessary to do a good job or be creative. everything feels like a rush job and that takes the fun out of it.

[JohnDoeJr]

very exaggerated downsides.
I have friends who program for 5 hours a day and still make bank. There are ones that always work overtime as well, but it's not an industry wide pattern.

As a programmer I suggest you set time apart for physical activity and social interaction. Other than that it's a decent job.

[LadyTerror]

I'm a programmer too but the only ones I can relate to are 4, 5, and 8.

Granted, this is probably because I enjoy coding. It's definitely not for everyone. Maybe you should pick a field that you actually enjoy. What do you want to do?

[myTake Owner]

Graphic design and video design.

[LadyTerror]

Ah okay. That's cool! I'm actually a game developer but I'm more into the programming than the art or design. I do work on those too sometimes but I'm not that good at it.

[myTake Owner]

I should find a place at multimedia but the employers are sooo picky :(.

[LadyTerror]

Stop worrying and go for it! You might end up getting a job there :)

[myTake Owner]

But the employees are too picky, I have been searching for a job for almost a year now and still nothing.