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The Problems Programmers Solve Are Mostly Not Programming Problems
Many people say that programmers have a tough job, and the words commonly associated with this role are busyness, overtime, and staying up late. As programmers, we see this as a profession worth dedicating ourselves to, hoping to focus our energy on designing algorithms, improving designs, and optimizing systems — tasks that are creative and fulfilling.
However, the reality is that many find themselves endlessly busy due to various unexpected situations. For example:
After painstakingly writing your code, the product manager tells you the requirements have changed before it even goes live; you work overtime because you underestimated the workload, and now you have to fix your own mess, no matter how exhausting; after working yourself to the bone, you realize what you’ve built doesn’t meet the requirements, so you have to start over; you have to make large-scale code changes simply because the initial design was poor and couldn’t adapt to new requirement changes — the list goes on.
We work hard, but a significant portion of our time and energy isn’t spent on technical work. Instead, we end up dealing with these seemingly unworthy tasks.