Programming is a manifestation of curiosity. Therefore, programming is a spark that, once ignited, probably never really dies. You can suffocate it and pretend it's out but when things free up again it will come back. If I wouldn't be working I would simply be programming on my spare time more than I do now. I can only speak for 30 years down the line, though, so YMMV.
Working is a whole another thing. It's a great opportunity to work on interesting and challenging things. It's also an opportunity to see those interesting and challenging things serve goals you don't find so interesting and challenging. That's obviously because the owner of the company gets to decide what the company makes. The problem is decent income and good benefits. There's really no other way to fix that problem except to stop working and get your income from a company of your or your investment returns.
Much of what I do at work is not programming even if I am a programmer. Most of it is communication, maybe comes down to fixing bugs so that other people can continue their work, and then there's a slice of actual development in between, at times. It's not necessarily development that would always be fun but it's still interesting and challenging. I could imagine doing something else but the nature of work wouldn't change except that the payoff would likely be lower. I could work on something else but not as an employee.
Working, not necessarily that happy.
Programming is a manifestation of curiosity. Therefore, programming is a spark that, once ignited, probably never really dies. You can suffocate it and pretend it's out but when things free up again it will come back. If I wouldn't be working I would simply be programming on my spare time more than I do now. I can only speak for 30 years down the line, though, so YMMV.
Working is a whole another thing. It's a great opportunity to work on interesting and challenging things. It's also an opportunity to see those interesting and challenging things serve goals you don't find so interesting and challenging. That's obviously because the owner of the company gets to decide what the company makes. The problem is decent income and good benefits. There's really no other way to fix that problem except to stop working and get your income from a company of your or your investment returns.
Much of what I do at work is not programming even if I am a programmer. Most of it is communication, maybe comes down to fixing bugs so that other people can continue their work, and then there's a slice of actual development in between, at times. It's not necessarily development that would always be fun but it's still interesting and challenging. I could imagine doing something else but the nature of work wouldn't change except that the payoff would likely be lower. I could work on something else but not as an employee.