Developer Side Projects
Discussions revolve around the purpose, timing, value, and challenges of software developers pursuing side projects outside their day jobs, debating if they should be hobbies, career boosters, or skipped for work-life balance.
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When are you working on side projects? What works for you?
Congratulations for finding jobs that let you have side projects
If you are expecting your side project to support you, it isn't a side project
Maybe take the day off from your day job to work on your side project? :)
Why not just code your side projects on the weekend?
TLDR: don't do side projects. Unless you have an unlimited reserve of time and energy.
Side projects are the only reason I'm able to continue working professionally precisely because they are not work. Everything about them is different from work. Programming is a great hobby and in my experience turning it into your job destroys it as a hobby. Working on a side project is to find a new avenue for programming as a hobby, so they you can continue programming for money because that's the most feasible way to make money as a programmer, but can also program freely without p
The likelihood that a side project is going to pay off is very slim. If you are doing a side project for the sake of doing a side project, you are doing it wrong. Doing other things like fitness and raising a family are worthy projects, in which case your coding job is now your side project.
I think this happens because the term "side-project" has a lot of possible interpretations:- Hobby project to play with some tech just because you find interesting- Hobby project to play with some tech that might help your career in the future- Homework project to learn about the tech you currently use at work- For-profit project to hopefully earn some extra money- For-profit project to hopefully earn enough money to allow you to quit your day job (my case now)
That's what side projects are for.