Remember the old days - if you're more than, say 10 years in IT business? Perhaps you've been starting in the 60s and been wearing a white frock. Or, some years later, you've been inventing the first mini computer or writing one-of-a-kind software. Or you experienced the home computer era in the 80s and had one of these fabulous 8 bit machines that taught you Basic, Forth, or Assembler. Maybe you bought a 16 bit computer and felt mighty when rendering your first computer graphics or playing with your synthesizer. Or you started in the 90s and realized that computers have to be connected to unleash their power and that the Internet was going to change the way you are experiencing the world and all the information distributed there.
It was exciting. It was new. It was fun. You've been a pioneer and, mostly, you've been one of a few. You could make things possible because you knew more about these geeky things than anyone else in your company, your circle of friends, or your family.
What did change since then? Where has the fun gone?
I've written in this post about the dwindling attractiveness of IT (or, more precisely, computer and information science and the jobs related to these the industry has to offer). Obviously, the problems already start in school. Sometimes I'm listening to young people lamenting their IT courses and complaining about their teachers. But I don't think it's the teachers but the curriculum. IT is a school subject like any other and there's nothing special about it because today computers are everywhere and writing short programs or learning how to write letters with Word is quite boring. This kind of teaching won't make the next Turing.
Later in the job, many IT people experience the firefighter syndrome: instead of developing new systems and being creative, all work is about fixing bugs, resetting passwords, installing service packs and make the machines work. Since there is no next big thing waiting behind the corner, nowaday's IT jobs mean caring about the standards. The software market is widely saturated and you may get tools for virtually every kind of problem. Great if you're needing and using tools. Lame if you want to develop someting new. Sometimes revenants of past eras are tumbling through the market (the newest one is Web2.0), but neither the jobs nor the people keep their promises because the is nothing substantially new you might find. But chasing trends is no fun and soon you'll just get older and younger people will take over.
So, how does the fun come back? I don't have the nostrum. Sometimes it's a nifty little tool you might have developed and you're publishing on your web site. People's reaction on tools the have searched for is often satisfying for a developer. Maybe you want to share your knowledge with other people: so get vocal and write about it. If your gainful occupation is just for earning money, make the most of your talents during your spare time. You are defining the deadlines, your plans and goals and reaching them is always rewarding. (Source)