However, I still have to force myself to do it. I like the workplace and I love the projects, but it's still a chore to get anything done. I did the five levels of Google FooBar this spring (and later blew my account by requesting an extra challenge and forgetting about it) in an obsessive compulsive manner, but I suspect that if anyone had payed me to do it, it would have taken at least twice the time it took me to complete it. What is going on here?
P.S. FooBar nerd snipe: Implement a function that returns
sum([floor(i*sqrt(2)) for i in range(1,n+1)])
There is nothing novel about working with the same codebase day in and day out…
BUT, I believe it is possible to find the novelty. I’ve found refactoring to be a very peaceful and creative exercise that gives me a healthy dose of dopamine.. you just have to “listen” to the code and follow the refactoring path. The creativity spikes happen when your deciding on what pattern to use or how to name something. It’s simple stuff, but it gets me by and I have found a way to get joy from it.
Unless you want to work at a startup which can provide higher levels of ownership, uncertainty, loss, and reward, getting the dopamine rush will be harder to find on the stable path of an established company.
It’s a trade-off.
I once heard a factory floor worker say that the way he dealt with it was to make a game out of his job. In his case he would try his best to compete with himself to put out the most parts with the best quality. Another one talked about reframing his mindset. He understood that work was what was financing his life. His family, his vacations, and much of the fun he had in his life. So he did what he had to do to have a nice life.
You'll need to figure out how to maximize the fun and minimize the other. This goes for any job you have or get.
The really big bright spot, with you, is that CS gives you the foundation to many types of jobs. If ultimately you decide that coding is not for you then you can pick from many other types of jobs. Again, you'll have to figure it out.
I'm surprised that school doesn't cover this situation as part of job preparation. I think most of us have to deal with it no matter what kind of work we do.