What to do if you are a coder and you are getting tired of coding?

1 points by sara_gozalo 11 years ago | 3 comments

Hi all, I am a software engineer, I work in a big company, I have worked here for 2 years, using the same technologies all these time. I love the company because allows me to work with music and tech but...at the end my work is to be a coder with music data. I go to hackathons...or I used to go, I loved them and I think I still love the environment but...I am getting tired of coding. I always find a excuse to do something else, I love to do small projects, prototypes but I am getting soooo tired of coding...it is not as excited as it is used to be... I am only 25 years old...and I am pretty scared...what the hell am I supposed to do? Project Manager -> NO! I want to solve technical problems, be creative...dunno maybe I am just dreaming for the perfect job...any suggestion coders?

mrodrigues1 11 years ago |

Once in a while I have the same issue, and I had the same worries that you do. It usually occurs after some really intensive time working/studying. I've been so tired that simply reading or listening about coding would make me feel nauseous.

After being there several times, I concluded that it's something I must live with. I don't know if it's related to my depression, but even so, it's not something that will simply go away.

The good news is that I always feel better after a while. I've developed some techniques to help overcome these moments:

- Take a break. Do something that don't have any relation to coding, like martial arts, painting or playing music (in your case, music may not be an appropriate escape). Preferably something that doesn't need much analytical thinking, and that forces you to move your body. Mind(s) and body are connected, and the act of programming usually makes us exercise only one side of our minds.

- Do some cowboy/passion coding. Take a problem completely different from those your are used to solve, learn a new paradigm, put yourself out of your comfort zone; in other words, dive deep on the unknown. This will help your mind to remember why you love so much coding.

- Do nothing. Lie in the bed for a whole day or two, watching some garbage on Netflix. Don't take any baths, and only eat junk food. Hit the rock bottom, let your bad feelings hit the peak, and your body will eventually heal itself. I usually do this only when I'm so demotivated that I can't even manage to get up and do the stuff I should be doing.

That's it, I hope the best of luck! You'll be fine!

mattlondon 11 years ago |

I had the same issue after about 5 or 6 years.

I took a bit of a side-step into something entirely different (online ads) where I basically had minimal chance to code, apart from the odd ad hoc tool or script.

Now the only code I could do were trivial little hacks at work, or my own projects at home.

And now after about 3 years not coding for a living, I now realise that coding really is what I want to do. I work for a great company now - great equity, great facilities, free food and all that - but I miss coding and am pretty unhappy in this job despite the great conditions & super-smart colleagues because I now understand that I want to code again.

This time I will probably not go back to a big company, and would more likely go to a small place or even work for myself.

tl;dr - take a break. you don't know what you've got until its gone.

crispy2000 11 years ago |

What else is there is that you like to do? How tired you are of coding? Could you do it another 3-5 years? Two years is not long, so perhaps you've picked the wrong field.

If your main marketable asset is your coding skill, consider being a trainer, writing a book, becoming a software architect.

You may find it more interesting to work in a small start-up in which you will not only code, but likely manage servers, do the testing, and whatever else needs to be done.

Another option is to work in the same industry, but perhaps in a related area, such as sales, application engineering, or some business function such as purchasing.

That'll be $0.02, please.