Cons of working as a programmer

My other article about the positives of being a software developer can be found here: https://dawidwnukowski.com/5-advantages-of-being-a-software-developer/

Bear in mind that this is a subjective topic and you can disagree with my arguments or find even more of them. This article is from my point of view. I’m more an indie developer or freelancer at this moment but still, I have a few years of experience working in the IT industry as a Java Developer at first and Android Developer later.

Time for cons then! Software development isn’t a dream work, at least not for everyone.

1. Very exhausting and stressful work

Software development job makes your brain work all the time. When you go to make coffee in the morning you are already thinking about today’s problems and solutions. When you have a meeting, don’t treat it like a rest. You have to learn new things all the time so even if you go home, if you want to get better, you still have to continue this exhausting work. Some challenging tasks can lead to a stressful day.

2. Competition around the world

We all know that everyone wants to hire a developer these days, but competition is there too! Advantages like remote work and (usually) a good salary can make your life tough. One word – globalization. Programmers from 3rd tier countries can replace you – they are cheaper and sometimes they are as good as you.

3. Too much sitting. Too many bad habits.

This job can teach you bad health practices. Very easily. When you work you sit 95% of the time. When you go home you are so exhausted that going to the gym can be almost impossible. By the way: what programmers do when they go home? They learn and code even more! And this free pizza every Friday in the office and a few cups of coffee every day can hurt you so much. It’s also not that easy to get high-quality sleep, especially working in IT. Take care of yourself!

4. No one really knows what are you doing 🙂

If you are a programmer, you probably like your job and you want to talk about it. Work is a huge part of your life and sharing some „interesting” story among your friends about how you wrote this two-line code that made system work 2x faster, can be impossible and when you try… just don’t even try. In some scenarios, you may be seen as boring or weird.

5. „Business people” high expectations

„Business” can’t understand software developers’ work as well. Deadlines are real. When you say you can’t do something „minor” because the application is written badly (or has old technology that needs to be replaced) and you would have to spend 4 days on it they will get angry at you easily. Begging for the time to refactor part of the code is part of this job in some companies. Programming isn’t predictable. Every problem can be different.