Simple Programmer

Questions:
- what kind of career do you want?
- What specific job market are you currently in?
- You mention the pay is great but dislike the work. How much time can you dedicate on projects you're curious/passionate and capable of doing?

Regarding unhappiness at work, I was in your situation some years ago and found that the solution to my problem was putting in the required hours at work and then going home and working really really hard on the things that mattered to me. Also I found that having a daily exercise routine helped a lot with my productivity and mood!

Regarding leaving your country, I'd start by marketing yourself better. Your site doesn't give specifics on what your ambitions are and does not showcase why I'd want to hire you. Perhaps, if you SHOWED me what projects you can do for me, I'd be more inclined to see where you'd fit in my organization. A great example of good marketing was this kid's portfolio that sprung some weeks ago: http://www.hostmeinca.com/

Another way to leave is by getting a masters in another country. Look for masters in a field you're curious about and then search for scholarships. There are tons of scholarship resources out there (google Fullbright, Daad, Gates Millennium Scholarships, UK council scholarships). A masters is also a great way to network and meet potential employers or even future coworkers that might end up giving you a recommendation down the line!

Some other advice (and I know the HN crowd will probably…

I have actually written about this a lot as it is one of those topics that I am fascinated with. The trick is not to try and motivate yourself but to build systems and processes to get things done regardless.

For me, it boils down to 3 things. Pre-planning, habits and elimination. I have written about each separately on my blog http://www.new2code.com/2016/06/deep-work/

I plan a lot of stuff on my Google Calendar. My whole days are planned in advance including free time. When I am learning a new language, I set aside time for study. If a friend asks me to hang out, I can just check to see if I have prior commitments. I also have the regular gym slot and after 2+ years, I am simply routine when it comes to exercising.

Next, learn how to build habits and routines. This saves a ton brain power. There is a great video on habit building

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdKUJxjn-R8

Also, check out a book by Charles Duhigg called The Power of Habit.

Finally, cut out the news and as much information as possible. Not watching the news added a ton of happiness to my life. This also cuts out distractions. Check out something called the Low Information Diet which goes into more detail as well as a book called Deep Work by Cal Newport

I also wrote a guest post on the blog Simple Programmer that goes into more detail on the willpower.motivation side of things https://simpleprogrammer.com/2016/09/07/limited-willpower/

I hope that helps. Largely I don't believe in long-term…

It's almost the argument of programming vs computer science coming out here.

This is math:

{x | x.id = 1}

OTOH, a SQL query is a SQL query.

This thread is hilarious though. It's like

- Cashier: here is your change.

- Customer: you did math!

- Cashier, no, I gave you change.

- Customer: that IS math!

- Cashier: You mean, I used math to give you change?

- Customer: No, giving change doesn't use math, it IS math!!!!" [2]

= D

Moving along.. FWIW, indeed SQL was created to model set theory (relational algebra and tuple calculus), the close relationship is no accident of course [0][1])

> No one is moving goalposts

I feel too they are.

First goal post:

> Coding IS math. >> No, not always. Quite a lot of high-level code doesn't require any math at all. It doesn't take math to perform CRUD operations

Second goal post:

> CREATE, READ, UPDATE, DELETE are fundamentally mathematical in nature

CRUD is closely related to SQL, and SQL is closely related to various mathematics. Are they identical and therefore equivalent? No - because your database is not going to like it when you write "{x | x.id = 1}", and the Oracle DB might not like something that you can write for your Postgres DB.

[0] https://simpleprogrammer.com/mastering-sql/

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL

[2] To quote: """Not "coding uses math", I mean it is math""" @ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43872771

You seem quick to denigrate JavaScript, and programmers who willingly choose it, wherever you can. But with regard to the kind of complexity the OP discusses, which roughly translates to added cognitive load, it's not at all clear that JavaScript is worse than C++ -- and I have real experience with both.

To avoid dismissing C++'s complexity too easily as simply the price of flexibility and performance, let's review what C++'s complexity looks like in practice. For example, read this:

http://simpleprogrammer.com/2012/12/01/why-c-is-not-back/

Memory stomping bugs; all the ways to initialize a variable of a primitive type; copy constructors; overloaded assignment operators; move semantics; smart pointers; value versus reference semantics; the list goes on. Against the cognitive load imposed by complete control over memory management, and lack of verifiable memory safety, JavaScript's warts seem quite minor to me. I imagine that many programmers who work in "managed" languages would agree.

I have not, thanks for sharing it is nice that also collects links from Reddit.

Other similar websites

Most mentioned in StackOverflow http://dev-books.com/

Most mentioned in Hacker News

http://hackernewsbooks.com/top-books-on-hacker-news

http://ramiro.org/vis/hn-most-linked-books/

Recommended books by guests in Developer on Fire podcast

http://developeronfire.com/book-recommendations

Personal lists

Jeff Atwood:
https://blog.codinghorror.com/recommended-reading-for-developers/

Joel Spolsky:
http://new.joelonsoftware.com/navLinks/fog0000000262.html

DHH:
https://signalvnoise.com/posts/3375-the-five-programming-books-that-meant-most-to-me

Steve Yegge:
https://sites.google.com/site/steveyegge2/ten-great-books

John Sonmez: https://simpleprogrammer.com/2015/03/23/the-ultimate-list-of-programming-books/

Diagramming.

I'm serious.

The more I (as a developer trying to master design) delve into the product design space. The more I see that there is no more fundamental skill in design than that of constructing 'information architectures'. Essentially, mapping (or diagramming) the most important pieces of a design that you are making.

It is literally the key to creating a great design.

I wrote more about this in a guest post here: https://simpleprogrammer.com/information-architecture-developers-learning-design/.

Think about the design of Apple products, is it really just the way they look that makes you love them. Or is it more subtly, the way the work (of which UI is a component), and how that makes you feel?

Definitely worth thinking about.