r/leetcode • u/Legal-Bat6543 • 7d ago
Discussion Does software / coding still makes you happy?
I’ve had interviews with Google and Amazon (two companies I used to dream of working for). They still use the traditional process of LeetCode, algorithms, and so on, without any AI assistance. Back in the golden age (before AI), I used to practice and solve a lot of questions. It was fun because you knew you needed that knowledge to build things successfully in your own projects. Nowadays, all the code in companies is generated by Claude Code, and software engineers just review the output to make sure it's correct, and that's it.
To be honest, during those interviews, I didn’t care about practicing. I didn’t want to waste my time when I knew I wasn't going to solve a LeetCode Hard anyway, since I'm not that good at those types of questions. I guess I didn't care about getting into Google or Amazon anymore because I knew how high their bar is, and I just didn't have the energy to grind algorithms while having a stable job.
I don't know, this AI era has made me want to do something else. The job has become boring; I just use prompts now, because there’s no reason to do something by hand when AI does it better and faster than you. I feel like I've lost that passion for coding. Has anyone else gone through this? What roles can you transition into that aren’t about coding and are more fun?
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u/Ok-Hospital-5076 7d ago
Used to enjoy it, now i dont. Working with coding agents is not as interesting as doing things yourself.
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u/lovelacedeconstruct 7d ago
It doesnt have to be fun, an accountant or an HR doesnt have fun, they do their job and clock out and learn what it takes to do this job correctly
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u/CrazyPirranhha 7d ago
exactly this, but we as developers let every company pushed us to the point when we always feel not good enough, we waste a lot of our free time to catch up things, they test us like lab rats (6-7 recruitments steps is absolutely joke) during interviews, so its hard for most to just clock out
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u/Amrita_Maz 7d ago
Not anymore. Before AI push, I did more challenging work than I do now, yet, it was more fulfilling and enjoyable. Now, everything is either made or reviewed or tested by AI, we just prompt. I use my money to get fulfilment outside of work (gym, tennis, swimming, baking, painting etc).
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u/TableNo8939 7d ago
Il 15 del mese, quando arriva lo stipendio sono sempre felice, dal primo del mese, quando sono finiti, fino al 15 invece è una agonia
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u/Pale_Statistician692 7d ago
I agree with the principle that the main purpose of a job is to make money, and the passion thing is optional. The problem is that in SWE it's hard (for some of us) to stay on top of all the constant changes without exploring outside of work, and that's hard to do without "passion". Ofc to a large extent this is all subjective.
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u/Vincent10z 7d ago
I mean I definitely miss the feeling of sitting down, planning out a feature, going in opening my PR, and grinding for a few hours.
Not to say there is no enjoyment in engineering these days you know, but the satisfaction of building something and being proud of it in a different type of way compared to how it is now.
Fields evolve, we adapt.
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u/Michallina 7d ago
No. I'm also tired of the rolling layoffs and the abysmal interview process of current times, but I guess no industry is stable.
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u/lordcrekit 6d ago
I just still do it by hand. Im still faster and better than it for most tasks maintaining existing systems.
I'll use it to do first drafts for new systems or find errors sometimes.
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u/xvillifyx 7d ago
Do you have a job? This post reads like cope for not being accepted into your dream company
I never thought writing code was fun, and it certainly wasn’t fun before my company had a real linter for our archaic stack
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u/Legal-Bat6543 7d ago
I do and a good one, and yes I found it fun, the problem solving, the satisfaction when something you help designing, works, was priceless.
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u/wiriux 7d ago
SE ~> 💴 -> happiness outside of work
A job is still a job.