My most rewarding professional experience have come from 1) working with a respectful and high-standards team 2) solving a real world problem that is either new or inadequately address by current solutions 3) where I have a really clear idea of the value I add and see how I contribute.
I don't agree that many people draw the same obvious conclusion that family and friends rate higher that paid work-- note that in your response you explicitly draw a distinction between them that isn't necessary.
So while I understand you have an implicit bias towards saying that domestic labor isn't work, and while I understand that this bias permeates not only the question but our culture at large, I disagree that this bias is necessary.
And I feel like challenging that implicit bias is a worthwhile use of my time, so thank you for allowing me to make this specific and tiny project a little more explicit in my own mind.
Yeah, no. I think we do all sorts of things and they are all "real work". But it falls into different areas. This particular area was about professional projects & jobs. In case this is an English language thing, it is common vernacular to call one's paid employment "work" without making a value judgement on other activities.
I think domestic work is extremely important and real work (and frankly, resent the heck out of your implication otherwise). You didn't mention self-improvement and education or charity, either, but I wouldn't be rude enough to imply you don't value those by not including them.
I know that we have a lot of biases about what constitutes work; the point here is to challenge that bias. That feels like a legitimate project to me, so I try to do it when I can.
I found this via HN the other day and it feels relavent to your response:
https://jdebp.eu/FGA/put-down-the-chocolate-covered-banana.h...
Comments like this indicate nothing but a demonstration of the ad hockery defense of familialism, which is increasingly becoming common here in HN for some reason.
To answer your question, if you're looking for a cool business so you can do what you want that is great and if you're looking for "meaning" that might be something else. There is no way that I would presume to tell anyone else what they should find meaning in. If a family is not what you find meaningful, then you're a person and that's your entirely legit decision.
So:
A) the question is what projects I personally find most rewarding (not what projects I think other people would find rewarding),
B) the echo chamber response is resoundingly "my tech side project that I make little money on" (good for those folks, I sincerely am sure they love their families too, even if they feel like it's better to serve them through employment... heck, playing music with my buddies is very similar),
C) the OP's favorite part of being a developer is "when you solve the problem and make their life easier, even if it was easy to solve. I'd love to find something where every day was like that!" and I don't feel like something along the lines of "perhaps directly caring for the humans around you" is a crazy, out of context, hippy dippy answer.
I hope that doesn't sound like either a "defense of familism" or wear you out... it's just my own lived experience and I am sharing it because it's been helpful to me. I don't expect you to agree.
No, it was not if you read even first three sentences past the title. The sentiment is nice but it has nothing to do with the question.
