A
male
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:I know this doesn't really deal with relationships, but I need some advice.In high school, I did my work and got good grades. Sure, I was reserved and kept to myself. Everything is different in college. While I am still pretty reserved, I have made friends, one in which I really like. I came in excited to become a great programmer. However, it's my senior year, and that passion seems to have gone out the window somewhere along this journey.I don't know what to do. This semester has proved to be the most difficult to me. Why don't I have the same motivation to get the work and grades done like I could in high school. I came into college to become a programmer because I didn't know what I else I wanted to be. Now, I just don't know. Programming use to be fun to me, but now it just feels like work.I feel lost in the shuffle as other programmers excel. If I can't regain this passion and become a decent programmer, then I don't think I have a career in my future. I don't even want to think what life is going to throw at me once I graduate.Anxiety and frustration has taken over my life. Is there anything I can do to get out of this downward spiral? Reply to this Question
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male
reader, anonymous, writes (9 July 2010): Asker
Thanks for the replies. I do hate some of the assignments I do which usually revolves around implementing the already implemented. Of course, trees are another thing which have been the bane of my existence. I know there's a reason to understand how and why it works.
I just feel I am not the programmer I should be. In class, feel I have a reason to program something, but outside of class, I just don't know where to start. Classwork just seems like a chore. Thanks for the different perspectives between school and career.
A
male
reader, PM  +, writes (9 July 2010):
 I have to say that I know your story a little too well as I went through something almost identical to this. I, however, didn't make it to my senior year but was beginning to feel like you do now by the time I hit 2nd year. I programmed in high school and had gone to university to become a programmer but had gotten tired of the endless assignments stacked on top of each other and really struggled to get through. I did get through it and now that I have, I'll share with you what I wish someone had told me and the things that others did tell me that helped.
The first thing, as ask_oldersister has already pointed out, is that school can be pretty different than working. In school, I hated the endless test cases that I had to write and I realize now that that was because doing so in school lacked context. There was no larger picture. An assignment was a way for teachers to test you but in the workplace, test cases are about ensuring that your software works in the way you say it will. It becomes a source of verification instead of a triviality. It actually means something to you.
The second thing is something a career counsellor told me. He said that the average person switches careers 3 times which, I hope, will take some of the burden off of you in thinking that you can only be a programmer and nothing else. Writing code employs a specific set of skills, like problem solving and careful thinking and these skills can be transferred through to a number of different areas. In fact, problem solving is one of the most important things in life in general. So rest assured, if you decide you do not want to program for the rest of your life, that does not mean your degree is useless. Your degree means you've learned skills and that's what people will hire you for.
The last thing is something that's helped me in a number of areas of my life, but particularly programming. In university, programming was a chore. I would often think to myself, "I don't want to write a method for linked list insertion!" or "I don't want to think recursively!" What I realized was that I had lost sight of why I got into the field in the first place: resolving issues. What I enjoyed most from programming was knowing that I could create software to make things easier for someone. I've realized since that writing code for assignments was unfulfilling because I knew that code was never going to be used for anything. I've written quite a bit of code since then and have enjoyed every moment of it because I knew that it was going to go to good use.
Anyway, the point of this bit of rambling is that if you've lost your passion for coding, then it may be time to ask you what about coding you were passionate about in the first place. Find that and you'll find your passion.
Hope everything works out for you.
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A
male
reader, TimmD +, writes (8 July 2010):
 Anxiety and frustration is quite common for someone your age. In the past, you've always had the luxury of time. Plenty of years before you would be out in the real world. Now you are realizing the pressure is on. You feel like you have to do these things not because you want to, but because you need to.
Why did programming interest you back in high school? Don't give me "I just chose it because I couldn't think of anything else...". There is a reason you chose it. And there is a reason you KEPT doing it. If you hated it that much or if you were that bad at it, you wouldn't have kept going. Now you are being tested. You're looking around at other people and you are comparing yourself and that is freaking you out even more.
Programming is difficult. Not everybody is capable of doing it. Trust me, I'm VERY familiar with this subject. And trust me again when I say, if you weren't any good you wouldn't have made it this far. You need to look deep down within yourself to remember the times you were excited about it. You have the ability to create things in a way other people cannot. Stop thinking about what can go wrong and start thinking about what you can do right. You may think you have a hard time ahead of you but guess what? You've already done the hardest part. Programming is a part of you now. All you have to do is apply it.
Think of programming not as a job, but as a tool. What are you going to use that tool for to create?
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