# The tragedy of the geeks

Since the first computer entered our home, I was hooked.
This happened more than four decades ago, and continuously tinkering with computers has given me a well-paid and comfortable job.

However, getting such jobs seems linked to spending a significant amount of your personal time practicing your skills.

Many people seek careers related to computing because jobs have attractive conditions.
However, they might later regret the time and energies spent trying to get into the field when they learn that getting a good job requires unexpected effort.

This document tries to explain to people who want to work with computers this phenomenon, to help them make a better decision.

## Tinkering

Working with computers is the only career I can think of where all of the following are true at the same time:

* You can work on personal projects that are very similar to the projects you would do in a job.
* There is a reputation of abundant well-paid job offers with good conditions.
* Working on personal projects sounds fun.

This means that many of us end up spending a significant amount of time working on personal projects.
This time investment increases our skills and the things we know.

## Hiring

Hiring is one of the most highly debated topics in this industry.

Many people believe that many candidates cannot do the job.
There are many stories about new hires who cannot write simple programs.

Whether this is common or not is not as important as whether people making decisions believe there are large differences between candidates.
When people who hire think that their hiring decision is going to have a large effect on them, then they want to make sure that they pick the right person.

My perception is that most of the organizations that offer good job conditions (and many who do not) try to be very selective in hiring people.

## Hiring tinkerers

When you are hiring people, candidates who have spent significant time on personal projects tend to stand out over candidates who have not.

This improved perception during the hiring process does not necessarily relate to improved performance on the job.
However, I believe that people who tinker on their spare time tend to land better jobs.

## Handing out advice

Because there are good jobs working with computers, many people think about making a career in the industry.

There are many curriculums and formal education programs, from shorter (typically one year) to longer (four or five years).

Some of them provide advice to land a good job, and students who follow programs who do not, tend to ask for advice.
In any case, one of the most frequent pieces of advice on the topic, is tinkering on your own time.

I believe this is actually good advice, as in that it's more likely to be an efficient way to increase your prospects.

However, remember that hiring is roughly a competitive process.
An organization evaluates a group of candidates, and tries to pick the best one.

So to stand out, if more candidates tinker (because this is effective advice), the more you need to tinker to stand out.

I cannot estimate how much you need to tinker on your own time to land a good job, but my guess is that it is more than what someone wanting to get into the field expects.

As long as this dynamic continues, the tinkering required to land a good job will increase.
Only reduced competition can reduce the tinkering required, and reduced competition can happen by few factors, such as increased demand for workers, or a reduction in job seekers.

## Breaking the cycle

I cannot think of much that we can individually do to break the cycle.

Maybe if people coming into the field are aware of this phenomenon, they will be able to make a better decision about what to do.

If a sufficient amount of people decide that the time investment is not worthwhile, then perhaps the competition will decrease.
And if people are well informed and decide to move forward, at least they will be less likely to become frustrated or regret their decision.

## Further reading

* [A paean to programming](https://bertrandmeyer.com/2025/04/23/a-paean-to-programming/), by [Bertrand Meyer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Meyer)