The Stress Of Being A Computer Programmer Is Literally Driving Many Of Them Crazy

[steve2470]

http://www.businessinsider.com/syndromes-drive-coders-crazy-2014-3?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+businessinsider+%28Business+Insider%29

Being a software programmer is one of the best jobs these days for your pocketbook and your job security, but it can be incredibly bad for your mental health.

Two things are going on that are literally driving programmers crazy.

One is something known as the "imposter syndrome." That's when you're pretty sure that all the other coders you work with are smarter, more talented and more skilled than you are. You live in fear that people will discover that you are really faking your smarts or skills or accomplishments.

Women programmers frequently confess to suffering from imposter syndrome, and that's not surprising. The syndrome was actually first documented by psychologists Dr. Pauline Rose Clance and Dr. Suzanne Imes as a particular issue for successful women. It's also the subject of a number of self-help books geared toward women.

[jeff47]

1. No, no.....I'm fine.....*twitch* (nt)

[randome]

2. The idea that you had to be obsessed with coding in order to be good at it was true at the start.

Not so much now.

The biggest problem I see today is that things change too much, too quickly, for little advantage. I blame Microsoft for their habit of putting out updates that change things for the sake of change instead of actually provoking advancement.

I enjoyed learning how to program in the 90s. I was suitably obsessed with it. Not so much now simply because there is a wide enough field that one can find a comfortable niche, at least in the right geographic area.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

[unblock]

3. yes, the industry began a self-absorbed quest for abstract improvement

at first it was all about getting the job done, through any means that worked.

it was called "hacking", back when the terms meant skillful, creative engineering; rather than anything untoward.

the "structured programming" came along, and this was a meaningful improvement over assembly language and early versions of fortran and basic and cobol.

the "object-oriented programming" came along and this was a big paradigm shift with diminishing returns over thoughtful structured programming. used properly, it's an improvement, but it's quite easy to write absolutely terrible and confusing code in an object-oriented language. as a practical matter, there's a trade-off and it's not clear to me that this was overall an improvement. certainly it wasn't a major one.

since then it's been this library or that structure or add-on or interface and it's all abstract and arbitrary. if you just have raw programming skills, you're now lost without detailed knowledge of the latest brainstorm of someone at microswift or whatever.

further and further diminishing returns.

[bemildred]

8. C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot;

C++ makes it harder but when you do it blows away your whole leg. -- Bjarne Stroustrup

[randome]

9. Few companies I've worked at understand the word 'refactor'.

They have no clue and no interest in developing their own generic libraries. I agree, it's all 'hacking' now and not the 'good' kind it was in the beginning.

I hate making code changes in the 'hope' that I'll get the desired result. But that's how much of it is done today because it's become far too complex.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]All things in moderation, including moderation.[/center][/font][hr]

[rock]

4. That doesn't sound right to me

I was in the computer programmer business (now retired) and nearly everyone in it that I had contact with thought they were the best. Now admittedly most were pretty poor. I don't think they were faking it. I'll read more about the subject, but for the moment I'm going to stand by my long held belief. A final note: they mostly struck me as having the same range of skills as the "singers" on American Idol, and the same estimation as to their abilities.

[phantom power]

5. I feel like a cave-man. 24/7/365

[whistler162]

6. As some one who as worked

for over 30 years supporting programmers all I can say is. It is more of a short walk with most!

[reformist2]

7. As jobs dwindle, if you're not a fanatic about your work, you're going to be miserable.