There's Nothing Wrong With Coding Just to Pay the Bills
15 Jan 2025 #careerI hate seeing “passionate” listed as a requirement in job postings.
How can we measure passion? Is there a quiz, like those magazine questionnaires? “Find out if you’re a passionate coder in less than 5 minutes with 10 easy-to-answer questions.”
The best coders I’ve met at past jobs weren’t what we’d call passionate. By passionate, I mean making open source contributions, speaking at conferences, and writing posts. They were busy enough making money.
We all start as “passionate,” but as time goes by all that passion fades away
The other day, Miguel, one of my readers, shared a similar experience. Here’s an excerpt of his email:
Personally, I’ve become discouraged in my programming career and no longer aspire to work at one of the most important tech companies. I just want to pay my bills and meet my family’s needs.
If you are in a similar situation, you’re not alone.
At some point in our careers, we all feel the same way. I know I have.
Probably, it’s because we’re problem solvers at heart, and companies confine us to cubicles and box us in with SCRUM and its ceremonies. And we don’t get to solve problems. Yes, “ceremony” is the right word.
When I started coding over 10 years ago, I dreamed of joining a big tech company like Google or Microsoft too. Sliding between offices, having a chef cooking our meals, getting a massage…
But, I realized big companies have their own challenges. More middle managers and more office politics. More of being a small cog in a machine. Even smaller cog and larger machine. They’re not the best place for everyone.
Code for money, but don’t let your work be your only source of meaning
There’s nothing wrong with working at a coding job just to pay the bills.
We have to do what we have to do to put a roof over our heads and bread on our tables. If it’s coding, so be it.
But if we’re coding just for money, we should have hobbies, side projects, and other activities to find a sense of meaning and value outside work. Otherwise, the day job will become a burden.
You don’t need “passion” to be a great coder. It’s fine to code just for money and clock out on time. Do a good job, of course. But remember to build multiple sources of fulfillment and meaning.