Intro
Lemme just start by saying that this is a rant. So take everything I say with that in mind.
I’m going to address the, often unmentioned, disconnect between what passion/pet projects in software are actually like and what the projects employers and recruiters expect us to have.
Why are Projects Good for You?
As a developer, it’s important that you always practice your coding skills in real projects, not just exercises and puzzles. Programming is inherently all about creatively solving problems, so it’s not hard to see why most personal projects arise from a need in your life to be addressed.
The type of problems that inspire projects are often specific to some aspect of your life, so your solution’s likely to be custom to your needs. However, as you work on a project and identify it’s shortcomings AND its potential you’ll begin to expand its scope, this is considered ScopeCreep in some contexts but not always.
Projects can lead you to learn new tools and skills, and introduce you to new communities, hobbies, and interests. Sometimes, these happy coincidences lead to life-changing outcomes, as you never know what skill will come in handy for you in the future…
So, I’m all for projects and wish I can have 10 at a time, and finish all of them with lifetime support. But, sadly that’s not possible, so I try to pour real time and attention into whatever I’m working on in the meantime.
The Problem
There’s this idea or notion among the recruiters and talent hunting population, that the people they should be looking for are the ones that have built big, scalable, multi framework, multi-microservice, SaaS, B2B, AI/ML, BaaS, PaaS, with 10000 users, bringing in $100M a year, in their spare time. Everyone else is not even worth a rejection email…🙄
It’s further exacerbated by influencers in the ComputerScience and SoftwareDevelopment sphere that are constantly making short-form content for project ideas that will make aspiring devs stand out, without actually understanding the sheer time and energy commitment required.
Additionally, if I as a passionate programmer, in my spare time, have made something special that and brings me joy and experience, do you honestly expect me to dedicate my time applying to every variety of Full Stack role for a React GPT-wrapper paying a measly 72k/yr?? No. I’d be going all in.
The reality is that most personal projects, are small in scale, they should always start razor focused, be fun and interesting to You, avoid scope-creep, and ultimately solve a real problem!
Outro
This doc’s more of a frustration rant, than a useful analysis of the state of things and where projects fit. My research (the 6 people I’ve talked to) all corroborate this and agree with all my points and arguments so don’t worry about it.
Keep building things that interest you, my friends.