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Comment by vinceguidry | Hacker News Reader

> why I think you're getting so much opposition

Getting plenty of upvotes too. If I find I'm not controversial enough, I'll dig around for something more interesting to say.

> you are suggesting we should be satisfied simply being programmers

I'm doing nothing of the sort. What I'm saying is that you shouldn't let your job become your identity. Dream big, but realize that the best company to be the receptacle for those dreams is the company you build yourself. This was a hard lesson for me to learn, but ultimately it makes everybody happier; you, your SO, the company you currently work for, the people you're working with on the side.

My go-to saying for this is "Don't fall in love with something that can't love you back."

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Thanks for your clarifying where you're coming from. I read comments like

> All good things eventually come to an end, and you need to be ready for the inevitable.

> You're just not in a position to be able to change how people think about things. Your skillset is not with people, it's with code.

> You're still getting paid the same, but are having your responsibilities taken away. Most other people are overworked and underpaid, you're getting underworked and overpaid. So why complain?

and it sounds like 'The professional world sucks. Deal with it.'

But with a bit of context I think they can be read in a way that should resonate with more people here, perhaps 'The professional world sucks. If you think you're ready to go out and tackle that problem then get out there and do it.'

I'm not interested in resonating. I want to challenge people's beliefs. I don't care for platitudes. I want to dive down into the subtleties and tease out complex truths.

I don't think the professional world sucks. I think it's awesome. I spent much of my twenties doing construction work. That world sucks. The professional world sucks only so long as you lack professionalism.

Once you learn professionalism then the professional world stops being able to hold you. I have been Office Space-ing my work life down to where I can do pretty much whatever I want with my work time.

I have been cultivating business contacts for some time now, creating a network of clients so that I can make my jump into the business world. The professionalism you learn in corporate jobs is invaluable there.

Every day brings with it a more relaxed approach, more return on my efforts, more ease in learning new things.

Developers are missing out on the unique opportunities that the professional world offers by focusing on non-issues like whether their bosses will allow them to pay down technical debt. How utterly silly from my perspective! If it's that important to you, just man up and do it, damn the consequences!

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