I know this title sounds ultra-geeky. But this post is a retrospect on how cool it used to feel to write computer programs. Like most things in life, time (along with other things) wears down the enthusiasms associated with things you love to do.
For me, I can remember sitting in front of a Commodore 64 thinking up cool things to program. Writing programs that Poked/Peeked places on the monitor….that manipulated the cassette player input drive. Then getting a modem and actually connecting to CompuServe. Unbelievable.
In high school we had a TRS-80. We learned BASIC…and played a lot of Lunar Lander. That was a program where you tried to land on the moon, controlling thrust and descent. No real graphics….but it sure was fun.
Then, in the early and mid 80′s learning Pascal, C, Data Structures, Assembler, Fortran, and BASIC. It was still an incredible rush to figure out those oddball assignments like using recursion to simulate parking cars on the street. Then, one semester, we had to write our own compiler. Everyone was assigned to a team of three. My two partners were more interested in checking out the closest bar than writing the compiler. At the time I could not understand it. So, I wrote the compiler. How could anyone not want to solve this problem quickly??? A valuable lesson in life was learned.
Then, after graduation, came the hunt for a job. This is where I started to lose that enthusiasm. Each rejection letter seemed to take a little more out of me. Finally, I landed a cool job with a good company. I was sure I would enjoy this.
Another lesson hit me like a ton of bricks. I had to go to meetings? Fill out deliverable documents??? Only 25% of the time was spent programming? Wait a second. Then, over the years that 25% was whittled down to 20%, 18%, 10%, to now around 5%. For, you see, the skill of programming is not the highly valued skill it used to be. It has been commoditized. All development must be done according to strict rules and guidelines. The personal reward and gratification derived by the creativity and innovation has been almost completely stripped out.
This isn’t limited to a few companies. It is more and more common.
Yes, I know, I sound like a spoiled baby. “You still get paid a nice salary. If you don’t like it, leave.” I would….but with a family rooted in the area, that isn’t easy. And I really do like the company I work for….just wish I still had the passion I used to have.
I try to stay atune to programming by writing tools at home, as well as helping organizations and clubs who have purchased computers but need help realizing their true value. Helping people like that does give me a boost. There are some incredibly cool technologies now that make computer programming really interesting. Those keep me pumped, too.
Maybe it doesn’t have to do with programming at all. Maybe I just don’t want to grow up any more. I want to be that kid again.
Maybe I should go to ebay and start looking for a Commodore.
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