Having the title of a computer programmer may have a nice ring to it. However, full-stack developer Pranta Dutta believes the job is often romanticized. As he wrote in a post on the Dev.to community, their lives are way more stressful than what most perceive.
“(Coding is) more like building a LEGO spaceship from scratch while the instructions are in Klingon and half the pieces are missing,” Dutta wrote.
Software engineer and startup founder Walter Guevara has been at it for more than two decades. In an article for his website, he also dispelled some myths about programmers, particularly those who glamorize their lives on social media.
“Being a professional programmer is much different than being an Instagram model. For one, you are not in bed,” he wrote. “You are in traffic probably, on your way to an 8 am meeting with your team as you discuss the quarterly earnings and product roadmap.”
However, Guevara also clarified that programming is as stressful as any other job, especially those that involve working on a computer. It entails the same obligations as responding to emails and attending meetings, which can consume an entire day.
As he noted, life as a programmer is “only as stressful as you allow it to be.” And if you’re in the same line of work, he advises enjoying the good days and finding a way to get through the dull and tedious ones.
So, how do programmers or those in similar occupations mitigate the stress of their jobs? Software engineer and full-stack technologist Madhusudhan Konda encourages people in the industry to pick up a hobby instead of simply blowing off some after-work steam at the local pub or binge-watching a Netflix series.
“People don’t really understand the benefits of having a consistent hobby – it’s a saviour in your later part of life – trust me,” he wrote in an article for Medium, suggesting simple activities like reading, hiking, and LEGO building, to more complex hobbies like pottery.
Konta also shared some valuable advice on time management, which many professionals may struggle with. According to him, it’s about finding the difference between actual work and the noise surrounding it.
He also recommends using the Pomodoro Technique, which involves working in 25-minute intervals followed by five-minute breaks in between. However, he urges working in 55-minute intervals instead.
“Focusing all your energy on that line of work and ignoring the rest of the unnecessary noise is what gets you going further in your career,” he wrote.
