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?
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