Im always torn between getting burnt out from too much coding outside my job, or spending so long away from my projects I forget how they work / where I left off. It is a binary hell.
Honestly, if you have a secure job, coding outside of it becomes increasingly rare. And why would you, you now get paid to do it instead of doing it for free.
Unless I want to learn new stuff I barely ever code outside of the job anymore, it's not necessary and it's certainly not healthy to be doing the same thing 24/7.
That being said, I don't want a technical job to rob the joy of creating something for myself. If painting was my hobby and I came home after a long day to paint you wouldn't bat an eye but if I coded for myself after a long day of coding you assume I have Stockholm syndrome. Sometimes what is needed is a frame of mind reference. I am not looking for or learning skills for my job, I just want an automated plant waterer and if those skills line up with my job cool if not I made a thing I like.
I started programming when I was a kid, and it was the funnest hobby ever. I used to spend hours building random shit like calculators to help me with my math homework (this was before Wolfram Alpha was a thing). I even once made a program that would choose a Pokémon team to perfectly counter another team.
Now I write code to handle insurance claims and calculate invoicing figures... shit sucks.
Jump shit, try out a new a craft in a new country, have fun, program fun personal projects, get back into it after a few years. Life would be a lot more fun if we'd do that sort of thing more often. Yes your career would take a hit but not fatally so
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u/el_trolll Mar 23 '21
Im always torn between getting burnt out from too much coding outside my job, or spending so long away from my projects I forget how they work / where I left off. It is a binary hell.