Beyond Hobbyist Programming

[Jase2]

Hmmm... then you've totally got me wrong.

Anyway, I'm joining the Royal Marines in a few months (September) - at least that is a lot more rewarding. Money isn't everything you know?

[Adrian Schneider]

Originally Posted by Jase2

Not in the Royal Marines. I'd rather die an happy person, with friends, than a rich person, and no friends.

What is the point living a life if all you're going do is code ect. I'd rather be out there, traveling the world. Come on, you only live once...!

This can be said for any profession. Why be a teacher, doctor, gas station attendant, programmer or dog trainer, when you can join the Royal Marines and have friends. Why can't people have a job and a social life? I'd say being shipped off in the military would be far less social than living at home.

It's not a matter of being rich/greedy, it's a matter of having a job to pay the bills, so you can live a normal life.

Usually people who are self employed value this (among other things), but have to charge higher due to the overhead of running your own business versus being a paid employee.

Money isn't everything, but it does have an enormous impact on the quality of ones life.


Good coders come from, and are rare in all countries. Just because someone charges more or less it doesn't mean they are better. However, their demand may be a good indication if you can't go on code quality yet.

@ the people laughing at the fact people pay thousands on websites... these are the people who run businesses. They invest in their business to help it grow. This is where quality matters - efficiency isn't a big deal until you start serving thousands of users at a time. Security isn't an issue until you have to worry about privacy, or losing money when a site is down. Scalable code isn't an issue until you start adding to or modifying it down the road (or when project scope changes). New coders do not understand these things, and will continue to dish out crap to those who are willing to pay for crap. Not to bash any specific region, but most of the outsourced work (usually in the middle east) I have to fix or cleanup is an absolute mess, and costs the client more in the long run than if they dished out a little extra for quality to begin with.

Just because you can't see the difference, that doesn't mean there is none.

[Jase2]

I maybe Boofo

Guys, please don't take it out of context.

Originally Posted by SirAdrian

I'd say being shipped off in the military would be far less social than living at home.

How do you work that out? In the Royal Marines you do have a social life - as well as getting to travel the world. Really, that is living life to the max.

I see coding as an hobby -- it's something I'd never do as a profession. I appreciate all people who do it as a profession, and wish them the best of luck. I just think there is more to life out there, and sitting on your backside all day will only make you regret it in years to come. :

I think we've gone way off topic hehe.

[Adrian Schneider]

How do you work that out? In the Royal Marines you do have a social life - as well as getting to travel the world. Really, that is living life to the max.

I see coding as an hobby -- it's something I'd never do as a profession. I appreciate all people who do it as a profession, and wish them the best of luck. I just think there is more to life out there, and sitting on your backside all day will only make you regret it in years to come. :

If you sit on your backside all day then yeah, you are missing out.

If you are self employed you can set your own hours, spend more time with your family, and even have them near when you are working. We're expecting a little girl this fall, and I couldn't imagine being away from them for months at a time. I am not limited to working in one physical location, which lets me travel as I want to. Best of both words? I think so.

I've travelled around a bit due to programming too... met a few clients of mine in North America, and will probably continue to meet them worldwide in the years to come.

Just because you are coding, it doesn't mean you sit on your ass all day and have no social life.

[Boofo]

Originally Posted by SirAdrian

Just because you are coding, it doesn't mean you sit on your ass all day and have no social life.

So... that is a bad thing?

[Jase2]

Originally Posted by SirAdrian

If you sit on your backside all day then yeah, you are missing out.

If you are self employed you can set your own hours, spend more time with your family, and even have them near when you are working. We're expecting a little girl this fall, and I couldn't imagine being away from them for months at a time. I am not limited to working in one physical location, which lets me travel as I want to. Best of both words? I think so.

I've travelled around a bit due to programming too... met a few clients of mine in North America, and will probably continue to meet them worldwide in the years to come.

Just because you are coding, it doesn't mean you sit on your ass all day and have no social life.

Where have I said you have no social life?

My point is being, I'd never do coding as a profession -- there is more to life. YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE! At least in the Royal Marines you get a sense of achievement

I'm not on the computer as much as I'd like now - life is too short to sit in front of a computer all day.

[Boofo]

Aren't you part of the helpcenter team?

[Jase2]

Yes, I am. But my reply to that is, I work fast. I also pick the right days when I'm not doing much

[Boofo]

Well, according to what you posted about that elsewhere, you said you spent alot of time working on it and that was why there was a paid version. Which is it?

[Jase2]

I do a lot of behind the scenes. It really isn't ready yet. I only work on HelpCenter when I'm online. Come on though, HelpCenter support so far has been great - I really aren't here to disappoint. Unfortunately, when I leave for the Royal Marines, I won't be able to work on it. Rest assured, we have Paul and other coders. You have to remember, I'm only 16 - a lot of my time at the moment has to go into my exams.