How can you not be romantic about programming? (2020)

I am deeply, deeply romantic about programming. I consider it an act of self-actualization. But answering the question literally, I am not representative of everyone in the industry, and that's a good thing. It's easy to feel romantic about your vocation when you have a number of reasonable options for achieving modest financial security, and you thus had the privilege of choosing the one that most closely matched your idea of self-actualization and self-identification. Not everyone in this economy has…

To use another sports example, I watched "The Last Dance" recently. There's footage of Dennis Rodman working out and he says to the camera, "Its not just basketball we have to deal with on this team... Its the pressure of the bullshit. I'll play the game for free. You get paid for the bullshit after. Basketball is a simple game, but when you leave this confined zone. Its hard."[1] That's why people get disenchanted with programming (and with a lot…