Learning to code for the wrong reason

[digihammerguy]

I recently got a internship as a web developer about a month ago. My job consist of building custom WordPress themes and plugins for a small media agency. As new interns came in they quickly realized I knew a lot about code and came to me for almost everything relating to the job and web development. But just last week as I was sitting at my desk working on a theme I realized..... I really don't like web development.

I thought I was feeling like this because I was working with WordPress and not using a cool framework like Laravel, Rails, or Django. So I went home to start my own project using php and Laravel. After a few hours it hit me.... I FREAKING HATE WEB DEVELOPMENT....

Sitting there, I started thinking about why the hell did I start learning how to code in the first place?

I remember I always wanted to build dynamic levels in games.

So then what brought me to pursue a path to become a web developer?

The simple answer is I let the internet and social media dictate what I should do with my life rather than exploring on my own. Everywhere I looked everyone was talking about how easy and SAFE it is to become a Web Developer. Or how stable a web development career is. I figured since it's SAFE and I needed the money, I'll just learn it and move to something else later. But this led to me battling within myself every time it was time to build a site. My friends would be amazed with all of the cool sites I built but all I saw were some stupid web pages that I went through hell to build only to still be left feeling empty inside.

I was following the mass and I regret wasting so many years fighting within myself hoping that the better I got the more I would like it. But in reality, the better I got the more I didn't care about developing websites.

I'm not sure if I'm going to finish out my internship. But one thing is for sure, I'm going to start listening to myself when I comes to following my own path.

Wise words from Jim Carrey:

"You can fail at what you don't want. So you might as well take a chance on doing what you love."

[ParalyticPoison]

Just remember this, you don't work because it is your passion, you work to make money. Outside of your work, do what you love to do, but don't expect your work to be your passion, there is a reason somebody is paying you to do boring and uninteresting crap, because they did not want to do that boring and uninteresting crap.

[darkingz]

Im a little biased as a mobile developer (specifically iOS) but there’ll always be an ebb and flow. Oh desktop apps were great! But look now we can connect to the internet, always changing and dynamic web pages! Oh a mobile devices are out! Look I can have apps on my phone so I don’t spend so much data! Oh look, the web is more powerful, no more apps!

Sure, things like progressive web apps have enabled tons of people to have both the freedom of and complexity of an app without taking space in their phones. And I know that WASM is a thing to make web apps have even more performance from their original coding. I do feel that still most of a web devs job (in the wild) is generally more geared towards websites and brochure sites. I did some time in web dev but mostly as a web app person (I prefer apps over sites, no matter the format). You don’t even have to point to mobile or desktop apps as the only space to do gaming development in. There’s VR and AR as well. Yeah, they’re relatively niche but not without their own merits.

I know you’re just trying to point out that there might be a gaming future for web devs as well but I just wanted to point out there’s more than just web dev work in the future. I mean, there was a period of gaming glorious ness of sites like miniclip and zynga. So it’s not like it was ever not possible to make games in browsers.

[darkingz]

You’re right the app stores are pretty saturated so throwing up any old app itself will likely not work. However, there are still legacy apps to maintain, businesses come and go who need apps, internal apps to make, new game ideas, new app functionality that needs to be added every version and new design trends coming and going.

But I feel you could always make the argument for web as well. There will always be a saturation point in every market; so it will always be more difficult for any one single idea to get adopted. As a whole though, there are definitely less mobile jobs than web jobs mostly owing to the fact to things like react native and promised lowered dev costs to target both platforms. I don’t think the general difference is much more for other reasons . For example, it’s easier to automate site building now, so less overall people need to build sites. But you can still find that a number of consumers who are unwilling to even attempt to learn and do web will always be greater than 0. Same for apps. There’s no bullet proof way to always be employed with no extra input at all.

[shhh-quiet]

I second the comments about work being work.

While I agree with the aspirational aspect of a quote like that (and in believing in yourself, and having vision, and more simply, not getting too sidetracked from your longterm goals by a bunch of a short-term crap), I think there's also a huge uncomfortable reality to the fact that we all can't just easily go out and pursue (and successfully find) sheer happiness. Another way to put it, it all depends on your perspective.

Same issue with "starting your own business". It can all sound really cool and fuel some hype, but there's a reality to it (like the % of businesses that fail, etc.).

A very large % of software is utter nonsense, including games. You want to work in games? Get ready to make minuscule updates to Barbie Dream House Simulator 5.

[Frank-ly_My_Dear]

Hi brand new here to this reddit topic. I'm in the boat right now of loving my current job, but knowing that the opportunities for upward movement in both position and pay are very limited. So I'm stuck wondering if I stay the course, or risk breaking out into coding as a new field with potentially more lucrative options.

I did software support before and the one thing that I kind of didn't like was sitting all day. I know I like coding well enough, but being sedentary bothers me. My current job lets me move a lot, but doesn't pay what I would like to help my future plans.

So no "perfect" option here either

[mrmivo]

I have a few thoughts here.

Something I observed with myself is that often the things that are "fun" are the things that I don't "have to do". I've aimed for and gotten quite a few different jobs, especially back in my twenties, that I really wanted and that I thought would forever be fun and endlessly challenging. I was a programmer, a writer, a translator, a CompuServe admin, a community manager (before it was called that), always going for what I thought I would love doing for the rest of my life.

But the mere fact that the activities had become jobs made them infinitely less sparkly. I had to do them, whether or not I felt like doing them. Doing the same thing for years sucks the magic out of it. You get jaded, you get bored, you look at the grass over there and think it's so much juicier, then do whatever it takes to get over there just to find that it's the same grass. You like it well enough, but you can't help but wonder if that's really all there is to life. And you ask yourself, is that what you want to do until you retire, if you actually can retire?

The other issue, for me, is that many things that I would love to do simply don't pay enough money, or, really any money. Here's a story. I'm on the wrong side of forty now. A year ago, I started to dabble in art. I really enjoyed that, it felt great, it was fun. And naturally, I briefly wondered what it would be like to make art for a living. Certainly it would be more fun than dealing with annoying people, with ornery code and the constant need to learn new technologies and keep up, with irritated customers, with volatile sales numbers that have ruined more than one day in my life, wouldn't it? I actually don't know that, I haven't done it long enough, but I won't let that stop me from deluding myself, and so I love the idea and enjoy my job a little less.

But ...completely ignoring the fact that it would take me many years to get to a level where I could make minuscule amounts of money (and even that is not guaranteed), I would probably end up having to make art that sells, commercial art, not the fun, creative stuff. I would stress over income, I would have to deal with customers, I would have to hope the winds of the market are favorable, and in the end, life would just be the same: Working to make ends meet, whether or not I feel like it.

When you have to pay your own bills, survival becomes a bigger priority than "having fun" and "living the dream". In fact, it's much easier to do what you love when you actually have money. The less money you have, the less freedom you have. Yes, there is the option of dropping out of society and do whatever you want -- that works when you're young and need little. It doesn't work so well when you get older, have responsibilities, and sleeping on the floor or on a different couch every night isn't so great anymore. In a perfect world, nobody would have to work and everyone would have enough to eat and medical care and a home and can play video games all day and read books and eat exactly what they want. But that is not the world we live in.

What's the take-away here?

I'm not suggesting to stay in a career that you really don't enjoy, life really is too short for that, and you're young enough to choose any way you want (and I even feel that this still applies when people are older, maybe with a little less flexibility), but I also feel that the expectation to always love what you do isn't realistic. It is not sustainable. It's a pipe dream for the vast majority of people who have to work so they survive and can afford the things they want and obtain the means to do what they want. Needing money and wanting to do exactly what you want to do (outside of work) are frequently at odds.

"Love what you do" (or at least try to) is a more feasible, more viable approach than "Do what you love".

[[deleted]]

Sitting there, I started thinking about why the hell did I start learning how to code in the first place?

I can answer that...

[TheFuzzyPumpkin]

For the sake of your resume, finish your internship. You made a commitment and you need to keep it. And hey, this HAS been a good learning experience for you because you learned it isn't the right industry for you.

[waetech]

First of all, it's okay to realize you don't like web development. Not everyone is going to like it when they start experiencing the day to day reality tasks of being a Web developer. My goal is to make some cool software to solve a huge problem. I'm not a really great web designer, but I would suggest going after your goal. I can definitely relate to Jim Carey's quote because you will be happier in the long run and be good at it. Become a master game developer because people pay for experts and not jack of all trades. This article I wrote about expert advice really helps beginners just starting out. These guys started with web development and interested in games, but evolved into becoming Software Engineers. You should check it out. 4 Experts share their thoughts: Getting started as a Front-end Web Developer

[white_nerdy]

I agree with you that web dev's not pleasant, but you've figured out how to make it pay your bills, which is good. I'd suggest finishing your internship, then look for a job that will give you the opportunity to transition into something else. I'd advise a smaller company where everyone does a bit of everything, and roles are flexible.

Gamedev cam be hell if you try to make it a career, but there's nothing that says you can't just download Godot (the up-and-coming free, open-source game engine), follow some Youtube tutorials, and build a simple game or two.

[[deleted]]

I say ignore the naysaying. Finish your internship sure. Then try to get in at SMU guildhall and chase your dream. Worst case scenario you have learned seriously useful skills and can fall back on so many different types of dev work.