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Programming DOES NOT require passion - so why employers expect it?!

Published
•3 min read
Programming DOES NOT require passion - so why employers expect it?!
G
Gregory Witek

In this video I'm talking about why passion is not necessary to be a good software developer, and why despite this companies put this word all over their job requirements.

I realize my take might not be very popular. Do you agree with it or do you thinkit's impossible to be a good developer without passion for coding?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0gG4ubtSm0

Outline:

0:00 Intro 0:46 Passion in other jobs 2:59 Passion in software development 3:58 How to be good at anything 5:39 Why employers abuse the word "passion" 7:34 Job like any other 8:30 Outro

Notes

Intro

  • passion is mentioned often in job offers
  • I think not only passion is not necessary to be a good developer, also I think companies don't care about it
  • so why is it so commonly threw around as a requirement?

Non-passionate success

  • I have a dentist I go to whenever I'm in my hometown
  • he always does great job and I can trust him
  • stomatology is his job, but not his passion
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo
  • huge basketball talent, but preferred football
  • started playing to help his parents
  • took him 2 years to realize his talent and take it seriously
  • worked hard because he was used to working hard, not because he was passionate about basketball

Passion does not mean skill

  • I've worked with some great programmers
  • some of them were passionate about coding
  • they do side projects and try new things in their spare time
  • some of them have other passions they follow
  • during work they do their best, and after work they spend time with their families, they travel, make videos or take photos
  • I've also worked with average of below average programmers
  • among them were people doing it purely for money, but also people who are passionate about coding

How to become better

  • talent + hard work + smart decisions
  • not all are equal
  • these are only internal things, of course there are external factors like wealth or luck
  • where does the passion fit here?
  • passion can keep you motivated to work hard
  • passion can help you make smart decisions
  • but passion itself is not a must have here

Is passion useless?

  • not at all!
  • I'm sure there is correlation between passion and success
  • passion will keep you going
  • the passion itself does not make you good
  • lack of passion does not make you bad
  • programming is a profession like any other
  • you can do it whatever your motivation is
  • it's a relatively easy market, you don't need to be among the best to make a good living
#programming#general-advice#career
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Comments (1)

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Mario Giambanco5y ago

Spoiler alert: it is.

Passion is not specific to programming. You should be passionate about any job you hold be it programming, dentist, garbage collector, accountant.

Passion is a drive to do better; to learn more; to want to find out what's next and pursue it.

Why would I go to a doctor or dentist that wasn't passionate about their career? That person probably doesn't care about new techniques or drugs or procedures. If it's just a job to them, how do I know they actually care about my health?

Same thing for programming. If you're not passionate about what you're doing, how do I know you have my project in your best interest? That you look at code holistically and try to make it better?

It's ok to not enjoy programming. It can be a good pay check and a decent job. But if you don't enjoy it, I'd probably look for a new career.

I'd rather hire a passionate junior developer that wants to do a great job and learn more than a non-passionate senior programmer that is calling it in.

You don't need to be the best programmer. But you at least need to care about the work that you do and show interest in it. Who would want to hire a developer that isn't otherwise?

I've been a web developer for 20 years now. TWENTY. I am not the best Angular developer out there but my job title and experience would say I'm pretty damn good. I am passionate about the work I do; strive to do a great job every day and hit my deadlines and treat my team with respect. Passion to learn and do a good job got me to where I am. Not looking for the next best paycheck.

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Gregory Witek5y ago

Hey, thanks for the comment! I see we disagree on this (although I think less than it seems), which is perfectly fine, I expected people to have different opinion on this topic.

There are a few things that I want to address though:

I'd rather hire a passionate junior developer that wants to do a great job and learn more than a non-passionate senior programmer that is calling it in.

What about a programmer who thanks to this job can get out of poverty? Or a candidate who wants to save money for their children's education? Ex-felon who wants to put their life back on track?

There are tons of things that drive people to do a good job and become better, I think that by discarding people just because programming is not their passion, we are making the industry less inclusive and diverse.

But you at least need to care about the work that you do and show interest in it.

I totally agree - you should care about what you do and show interest. There is a lot of space though between passion and apathy, so you can enjoy your coding, you can care about your work, but your true passion might be playing guitar - this is not an impossible situation.

If it's just a job to them, how do I know they actually care about my health?

Because they're hopefully decent people and want to be fair. If I need money and offer to help you moving your apartment, and you pay me money for that, I want to be fair, I want to know that we're both satisfied with the deal, otherwise I'll have a sense of guilt.

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