The Pros and Cons of Programming as a Career

I’m self-taught coder. It is the best way I have found to make money and it interests me. I like computers and I’ve always had a talent for doing things with them. Here I detail some of the pros and cons of making a living from coding, programming, web/app development and related sectors.

Pros:

• Money
• Space to think
• Creative space over how you achieve things
• Programming is a useful skill to know as it can earn you money but it can also be helpful to be able to understand gadgets and machines that can be programmed
• Participate in an emerging technology
• Intellectual challenge
• Get to meet intelligent people

Cons:

• Screen time
• Still a very poor wider understanding of what programmers do by rest of society (and the scope of the work behind the scenes).
• Too male-dominated
• Usually office-based and not physically active
• Nascent technology means it is continuously developing
• Niche technologies mean it’s possible to get pigeon-holed by technology
• Legacy systems
• Time-consuming
• Gap between ‘ideas’ and technical barriers to delivery
• Technical debt - Legacy or poorly designed systems that have to be worked with
• Often stuck in the same office
• Doesn’t involve a lot of travel

Conclusion

Douglas Adams once said that each era has its new technology and if you can make a living from it then good for you.

• Computers
• Coding
• Programming
• Career