Side Projects

Writing software for work can be fun. You get to use cool technologies, and you get paid to solve tough technical problems. But writing software for fun can also be satisfying. When you’re at work, you don’t get to make every single technical decision, but when you work on side projects, you have a blank canvas. You can build whatever you want, however you want. It’s refreshing, satisfying, and frustrating all at the same time. Experiment and try new things, and don’t worry if the code gets messy because you don’t have other engineers peer reviewing your work. You’re able to cut corners in order to get something to work quickly, and this is where your creativity really shines, because there’s no risk of failing.

The excitement you get when you take an idea in your head, build it with code, and see it come to life is hard to describe. Lots of developers enjoy it so much that they’ll work on their own projects outside of work. It’s easy to get immersed in these projects because coding often doesn’t feel like work. We do it because it’s fun and we love the challenge of problem solving.

But it can be hard sometimes. Not because you can’t solve a problem, but because it often feels like there’s a stigma in our industry if you’re not working on a side project or contributing to an open-source project, especially when you’re applying for new jobs. There’s pressure to work on side projects so that you have some work to show a potential new employer, especially if you’re just getting started in your career and don’t have a lot of professional experience.

It’s completely okay if you don’t have any side projects or any open-source code you feel proud of to show off. You shouldn’t feel any pressure to contribute to the open-source community. If you do, that’s great, but don’t feel like you’re any less of a developer because you don’t code in public.

Contributing to open-source software can often be intimidating for inexperienced engineers. You may not feel like you understand the code enough to contribute, or you may be embarrassed to put your code out in the public—and that’s okay. The open-source community can be pretty harsh, and people often have unreasonable expectations for how software should work, even when it’s free.

Some of the best programmers in the world have never written a single line of code for open-source software. There are a number of reasons why this may be.

• They are forbidden by their employer. Sometimes, the contract you sign says you cannot share any code, algorithms, or learnings from your day job with anyone else.

• They don’t have time to write open-source software because they’d rather spend their free time with their friends, family, and pets.

• They don’t know what to build.

• They have other priorities in life outside of programming.

Whatever the reason may be, don’t feel like you absolutely need to work on side projects or write open-source software to be a good developer. It’s completely optional and should be something you choose to do because it brings you joy or maybe because you’re lucky enough to make some side income from a project.

In the end, working on side projects outside of work is a double-edged sword. It’s easy for some people to get home from work, open up the laptop and get right back to coding. Sure, it’s a good way to learn new technologies and level up your skills, but don’t let coding take over your life. You’re a programmer by trade, but don’t let that define who you are. It’s good to step away from the keyboard every once in a while, and honestly, you should find time every day to do things that don’t involve staring at a screen.