While the low stakes can be seen as a privilege, I could also argue it can be seen as utterly detrimental.
Many of us suffer from mental health issues up to burnout. Why do we burnout if we're not dealing with life or death? Something is psychologically wrong with this job.
This is, obviously, a multidimensional issue, but one of the probable causes is Alienation. Ultimately, some software developers can, consciously or not, question the meaningfulness of spending 40+ hours a week on stuff that is, to a large extent, pointless - even harmful. Sure, the money is good, but how much cash do you need to buy meaning? How deep in the hedonic threadmill can you go before snapping?
I'm not even sure if these questions apply to myself, it's just something that keeps coming up in my own therapy and among friends in the trade.
Well put. After 10+ years in the industry I question how much value I've actually brought into the world, and it certainly did lead to major burnout, which I am only recovering from now after 8 months being funemployed. Only in hindsight do I see how bad it was for my sense of fulfillment in my life.
Many of us suffer from mental health issues up to burnout. Why do we burnout if we're not dealing with life or death? Something is psychologically wrong with this job.
This is, obviously, a multidimensional issue, but one of the probable causes is Alienation. Ultimately, some software developers can, consciously or not, question the meaningfulness of spending 40+ hours a week on stuff that is, to a large extent, pointless - even harmful. Sure, the money is good, but how much cash do you need to buy meaning? How deep in the hedonic threadmill can you go before snapping?
I'm not even sure if these questions apply to myself, it's just something that keeps coming up in my own therapy and among friends in the trade.