HACKER Q&A
📣 dottjt

Do you consider coding "work"?


For context, I've been struggling with work/life balance.

One thing I've realised is that I've never really viewed coding as work, even though I do it for a living (including in my spare time). I think instead I've always viewed it as a hobby, and I've therefore never really had this sense that it's something I could do too much of.

In retrospect, I've come to realise that although I enjoy coding and treat it as a hobby, it is ultimately "work" in the sense that I've been burning out from it.

I think then realised that not all hobbies are equal and that some are equivalent to work, whilst others aren't.

For example, video games I feel aren't work. Whereas something like coding or doing house repairs is, simply due to the effort involved - irrespective of whether you enjoy it or not. I think another example is art, but when you're studying it to get good at it - that also to me is work, due to the nature of studying.

Do you consider coding "work"?

  👤 al_borland Accepted Answer ✓
Even video games can be work. Think about being a video game QA person who needs to go through at test every edge case, even if they don’t like the game. Or someone trying to 100% a game, there are parts that will feel like work.

Leisure time can take many forms, and coding can be a fun hobby. However, if you do it at work and feel burned out on it, it could be helpful to have a hobby that gets you off the computer to create some more variety.

A barista likely doesn’t want to see a cup of coffee while they are off work, meanwhile there are tech worker who will turn making coffee into a hobby and they love it.

It’s not a question of if coding is work or not. It sounds more like coding is no longer providing you with enough variety and differentiation between work and leisure time. I know a lot of people who have hobbies that look like work, but they like it and it’s different enough from their day job that it’s enjoyable. Woodworking is a common example.

👤 nequo
The burnout that you’re pointing out is a sign that it is work. People who play video games competitively often go through burnout:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/esports-burnout-in-video-gaming...

So I think about it as this: if I regularly feel pressure to complete tasks that I don’t want to, then it is work. This covers activities that one is not paid to do and that others may call hobbies. For example, training for a marathon as an amateur.

👤 pudgyblues
I think it's work even if it's for fun. I'm like you, I'm a software dev and I code things as a hobby. I like exploring and making things happen and doing ctf type things. Even though it's fun, it still gets tiring and I have to take break.

Even with games, they're fun until they're not. Sometimes I get a few hours into a game and then just never finish because i can't force myself to enjoy the gameplay. I feel like at that point I would call it "work", but other games I can play up to 100 hours. I don't think i've ever stayed interested in a game longer than that.

But anyway, do something else to relieve the burnout, and then get back to it. Sometimes I just need a new project.

👤 Hatrix
Work is tracing code written by others and implementing new features on top of that to someone else's specifications with input from non-developers on a deadline. More people involved = more work.