Sorry if this is just complaining to you. I've been thinking this way a lot lately.

I've been programming professionally for eight years. I just have so little interest in doing anything with computers anymore. For me programming has become a continuous stream of problems. For example, if you try to install software A you'll run directly into something like "error 12394: can't read stream. blah blah blah" and then you have to Google that and eventually find out it's because SQLite isn't installed or it is but it's global. You know, stuff like that. Maybe you get a mystery error that you just have to Google your way through and by the end you've tried so many things you don't even know if it was JUST the last thing that fixed it. Stuff like that.

But maybe what I find the most frustrating is the subjective nature of what "good" means. Like it's all in head-space. You can write something absolutely brilliant and no one has any idea unless you sell it to them and at that point it's just about selling it to them. For example, I've been doing woodworking as a hobby and with that there is a physical object that people can see. If you don't do your cuts right it's obvious. People can see. Your work speaks for itself.

I could go on but basically, programming has changed for me. I used to feel being good meant knowing the most and at some point the people who knew nothing changed what the important things to know were and it's been backwards ever since. I'm just tired of sitting behind a computer screen all day. All day! I swear I'd rather plow fields but that pays like $4/hr.

Anyone else feel like this? Just looking to see what like minded people have to say about this. Thanks.