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Staying Motivated as a programmer
2K views
Feb 6, 2024
"Staying Motivated as a Programmer" is an inspirational and practical video that addresses the common challenges of maintaining motivation in the field of programming. The video likely explores various strategies for overcoming obstacles such as burnout, frustration, and imposter syndrome. It may discuss the importance of setting achievable goals, finding passion in projects, seeking inspiration from peers and mentors, and embracing a growth mindset to continually improve skills. Additionally, the video might offer tips on managing time effectively, maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and celebrating small victories to stay motivated and focused on long-term goals. By sharing personal anecdotes and practical advice, the video aims to empower programmers to overcome challenges and sustain motivation throughout their careers.
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0:00
Being a new programmer is really exciting and frustrating at the same time
0:02
It can be really hard to get up the motivation to learn how to code and then to keep doing it over and over again day after day for months
0:09
So Gabriel, I totally feel your pain. Thanks for asking. And in this video, I'm going to be sharing with you my experience on what motivated me and how I stay motivated in two parts
0:18
First, as a new programmer learning to code and then as my career advanced over the last eight years
0:25
And to put this all into perspective, I'm not an overnight success story
0:29
In fact, I had to take two attempts at learning how to code. My first attempt failed, and I was not able to keep up the motivation to learn
0:36
until I hit that point where I felt like I could be successful going forward
0:41
Instead, I got kind of complacent in where I was at, and I was looking at everything I had to learn, and I was dealing with the doubts
0:46
and is this really what I want to do? It's going to require a ton of commitment of time
0:51
and I just wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my future, and so I really struggled to keep up that motivation to learn
0:57
and things fizzled pretty quickly. And it wasn't until quite a while later that things completely changed for me
1:04
The environment I was at work was such that I couldn't really coast anymore. I wasn't liking it
1:09
I was feeling a lot of toxic culture. And I was feeling a lot of stress that I was taking home to my family
1:16
And I basically just needed to get out. And at that time, it hit a point where I looked at my options
1:22
And the only straightforward option that made sense is something that I could do
1:26
and that I could still be able to provide for my family, and that I could do without having to go back to school
1:31
was to go down the path of learning to code. And so that's what I ended up doing
1:35
So for me, the motivation to really make that step was a lot of pain and suffering
1:41
And even then, with that motivation and tailwind behind me, there were days I wanted to quit
1:46
There's lots of them. I felt very frustrated. It's like a roller coaster
1:50
I'd figure something out, and I'd be totally excited, and everything's great, and then I just totally hit right into a wall
1:56
something frustrating and I'd be pounding my head on it for a couple days and I felt like
2:01
I'm not even sure I can even do this and that cycle just kept going over and over and over again
2:06
and I'll be honest it was really really hard and I'm someone who really enjoys learning and
2:10
problem solving and yet it's still really hurt for me because it is like facing this huge
2:14
mountain of stuff to know and figure out and tell I could become competent and one of the best ways that I can say to really overcome this is to really take things
2:24
one small pieces of time, set really small goals that you can achieve and those will accumulate
2:28
over time into something bigger. Don't try to bite off more than you can chew or too much too early because it's just
2:35
too easy to give in and lose that motivation that you have
2:39
And because it's not going to be easy, there are days where you just have to suck it up and get to work to try to work through these obstacles
2:45
And the same thing is going to happen well into your first job. There's going to be a lot that you have to like overcome and it will feel very discouraging
2:53
and feel like you want to quit on days. But you just keep sticking at it
2:57
You put your head down and you grind and you get to work. And over time, that will become easier
3:03
Then as a new software engineer in my first job, I was largely motivated by three things
3:08
The first thing that motivated me was the desire to not get fired and the pressures that I
3:12
feeling from imposter syndrome and that I really need to step up and carry my weight and not
3:18
really knowing where that actual level was, where that bar was for my experience level just
3:23
meant that it's constantly pushing higher and higher trying to become better and trying to, you know
3:27
prove that I could do the job without getting booted. The next thing that motivated me was career
3:34
advancements as well as getting praise. It felt good to get good feedback when I was doing a good
3:38
job on features and I really liked that. I was enjoying when I was building and I was getting positive
3:44
feedback and I was also looking for ways to try and improve my career because I knew this was just
3:48
the start. Now at the time I really didn't know how big things could go. I mean I'd heard and read
3:54
some stuff and everything and I knew that I was an entry level and that there's lots of opportunities
3:58
to get promotions and raises and I wanted to prove myself and I wanted to get a promotion and
4:02
the first step for me was I was working contract and I wanted to be able to go on full time at that
4:08
And the third aspect that really motivated me was the money. There's a lot of opportunities to make good money
4:15
And at the time though, I knew I could increase my salary. I really didn't know how much because I just didn't have a lot of insights into it
4:22
So I continued to work towards getting that full-time position and I got renewed for a second year of contract
4:28
but not on as a full employee because it was a super selective process and there about 80 other candidates all vying for like two or three positions and i could have tried to get onto those positions but then I ended up applying at another company just to see what would happen
4:44
And I realized they were going to pay me significantly more than what I was making. And I was going to be a full-time employee with lots of benefits
4:51
And so I didn't even bother with applying for any of those other positions at my first company
4:57
Instead, I made that leap. Now, this also set the stage for me going forward with future jobs
5:03
because it was an eye-opener. So right out the gate in my next company, I was working hard
5:07
One of my main motivations there was to try and position myself to learn the things that I need to
5:13
and to do a good job and build up experience that would help me down the road at the job after that
5:18
Now, I didn't plan to just bounce immediately and I didn't know when that future time would come
5:22
for me to make that leap. But I wanted to be prepared and maximize the skills
5:27
that I was learning and developing during this time so that I could be in a better position to get a better job
5:32
And by better, I mean at some place where there's even more opportunities to learn and grow
5:36
Throughout this mid-level period of time, I was still motivated by money, but it also became very painfully obvious that staying at any given company
5:43
it was going to be much more difficult to get those raises. I tried really hard
5:47
I worked through things. I went through the promotion process, and I actually got a promotion
5:52
But it was a ton more work than it was worth, because there's just so many hoops you have to jump through in the politics of the company
5:58
and companies try to minimize how many people they're promoting it. any given time and even if you do get a promotion, the pay raise usually isn't going to be as good
6:07
as if you were to go to some other company. And that's where it really sunk in the value of
6:12
going outside of my comfort zone and moving to other companies and not being afraid to do
6:17
something new and that if you get stuck in your comfort zone for too long at a company
6:21
it's going to hurt you financially if that's what motivates you. Then as I moved into the senior
6:24
software engineer phase of my career, my motivations largely changed. There's still the
6:30
motivation to make more money. I always have a game plan for how to improve my finances
6:36
But other things became really important to me too. For example, when I had started interviewing
6:40
at other companies, even if I got a job offer, I was also paying really close attention to
6:46
the team culture. Is this the team that I want to work with? Do these people seem fun to work with
6:51
What about the company Is it a company that building something that I can be proud of The actual environment of the place really mattered And what is the dress code like I mean I a hats t and shorts kind of person and I just really don want
7:04
to be wearing slacks and dress shirts or collared shirts to work
7:08
I want to be comfortable and be able to have a more chill vibe at the place that I'm working at
7:13
Then there's also the projects. I want to be working on something that's interesting, but that's also challenging that
7:18
will help me to grow and develop skills. But it's got to be something that I enjoy
7:21
Now if it's a really good company I'm at and they move me on to something that isn't fun
7:25
which happens. It's just part of being in any career. I'm not going to be quick to just leave and bounce from that company
7:31
I'll hang around around and I'll work on that project and see if things change because
7:35
sometimes things move around every couple months or six months. But if it looks like it's going to turn into a long-term thing, then that definitely would
7:41
affect me and I probably would give up a pretty good job and move somewhere else if I felt
7:46
like I was stuck on something that I just didn't enjoy working on. And I also want to be working at some place where people appreciate me and the value that I can deliver and the contributions that I make and that it doesn't feel like I'm just feeding some monster that doesn't care
8:00
Most days, I really like being a software engineer. Let's face it, it's a good job that pays well
8:04
There's good benefits and there's challenging things to work on a lot of times
8:08
Compared to other jobs that are out there, we just have a lot of flexibility and we're treated better and more value
8:14
I mean, not at all companies. But there are days where I definitely wish that I was doing something else is
8:19
Is there something else interesting that I could be doing with my life rather than software
8:23
Because it can be really stressful. And it is mentally draining to be writing code and thinking through some of these problems all the time
8:30
It's kind of like a roller coaster with the highs and lows. You just enjoy the highs while they're there
8:34
And then during the lows, you grind and get to work until the next high comes. And it's not a career that you really have to worry about there not being enough jobs in the future
8:42
because there are more complex and more problems that are emerging every day as technology is speeding ahead
8:47
and so there's going to be plenty of work to do, especially for those who are willing to be devs that are going to develop the skills to solve complex problems
8:55
and that are going to be willing to get outside of their comfort zone and to work on these difficult scenarios
9:01
There's going to be high demand. If you're headed down this path of learning to code and you're starting to feel demotivated, you should just suck it up and get to work
9:08
You should also watch this video up here where I talk about my favorite strategies for how to become a software engineer quickly
9:14
Thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next one
#Career Resources & Planning
#Self-Help & Motivational