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Ask Slashdot: How To Avoid Becoming a Complacent Software Developer?

An anonymous reader writes: Next year will be the start of my 10th year as a software developer. For the last nice years I've worked for a variety of companies, large and small, on projects of varying sizes. During my career, I have noticed that many of the older software developers are burnt out. They would rather do their 9-5, get paid, and go home. They have little, if any, passion left, and I constantly wonder how they became this way. This contradicts my way of thinking; I consider myself to have some level of passion for what I do, and I enjoy going home knowing I made some kind of difference.

Needless to say, I think I am starting to see the effects of complacency. In my current job, I have a development manager who is difficult to deal with on a technical level. He possesses little technical knowledge of basic JavaEE concepts, nor has kept up on any programming in the last 10 years. There is a push from the upper echelon of the business to develop a new, more scalable system, but they don't realize that my manager is the bottleneck. Our team is constantly trying to get him to agree on software industry standards/best practices, but he doesn't get it and often times won't budge. I'm starting to feel the effects of becoming complacent. What is your advice?

5 of 275 comments (clear)

  1. Various methods exist... by Bloke+down+the+pub · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... just make sure you have an alibi. Ideally, make it look like an accident - but don't try anything too clever. Otherwise some cop will get a gut feeling or a hunch and the minute he's officially taken off the case you're toast.

    --
    It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
    1. Re:Various methods exist... by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, it's a shot in the dark.

      But, take a stab at it.

      --
      http://www.geoffreylandis.com
    2. Re:Various methods exist... by vux984 · · Score: 5, Funny

      but don't try anything too clever. Otherwise some cop will get a gut feeling or a hunch and the minute he's officially taken off the case you're toast.

      You know it. And from watching things like Bones and CSI:Miami I know that not only do they investigate every case like its the only thing they have to do with their time, but that money is also generally no object. And if you are really unlucky, the laws of physics will turn out to be fairly flexible to.

  2. passion is cheaper than salary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yeah.. Find a company who will pay you small dollars for long hours and leverage your passion for work into profit for the owners. Most excellent.

  3. Re:Embrace the burnout by Chelloveck · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wally is my role model.

    --
    Chelloveck
    I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.