...that has nothing to do with the problem in my opinion.
Yes, programming is fun in general but then you come in touch with the reality of the job only to find out once again that
1. you are not making things, most of the time you maintain some old crap because nobody wants to spend time and money on building a new better version etc
2. The thing you are working on is useful but you can't really tell how. The damn thing is so big that all your input after years of work is almost invisible to anyone, even on your team
3. Library here, framework there and most of your own code is just a clever way of putting them together. Fascinating at the beginning, a boring routine a few years later
4. okay, sure, that's enjoyable, sometimes too much.
5. Again - works in theory, breaks after the next meeting. "No time to rework and polish. It works somehow and generates money, so go help those guys finish their work. Bad architecture? Hard to maintain? No matter, management sees only frontend anyway"
Yes, I've started doing personal projects as a therapeutic exercise.
My personal projects used to be about the end goal: making something that I want to make but don't get to at work.
Lately they've been more about the exercise: the sheer pleasure of writing code that's my own, that will always be my own, that works well and all lives in my head, even if what it actually does isn't especially new or interesting. It's like a digital zen garden.
I feel like this sums it up pretty good for me. Even today when I get challenged and have to come up with a clever solution, I'm enjoying it but 90% of work is fetch data, show on front end, user edits, save in database.
I have been working on a large project for over 6 months now, 30k lines of code.....it still feels like I have not done much.
Work on small projects. I'm writing all projects myself and it's still fun, when you decide everything. I can write my own HTTP server implementation if I feel like it.
I do plan some side projects to do in vanilla JS, which should be more fun. However, at work I'm working on a significant project, and it can become a real drag.
It does have to do with the problem. Your points only go to show why people grow to hate coding despite the enjoyment it once gave. My own suggestion is to try to create something not for money or fame but simply because you think it is good and take whatever time you need on it.
...that has nothing to do with the problem in my opinion.
Yes, programming is fun in general but then you come in touch with the reality of the job only to find out once again that
1. you are not making things, most of the time you maintain some old crap because nobody wants to spend time and money on building a new better version etc
2. The thing you are working on is useful but you can't really tell how. The damn thing is so big that all your input after years of work is almost invisible to anyone, even on your team
3. Library here, framework there and most of your own code is just a clever way of putting them together. Fascinating at the beginning, a boring routine a few years later
4. okay, sure, that's enjoyable, sometimes too much.
5. Again - works in theory, breaks after the next meeting. "No time to rework and polish. It works somehow and generates money, so go help those guys finish their work. Bad architecture? Hard to maintain? No matter, management sees only frontend anyway"