[hnuser847]

> For me, it's harder and harder to find the initial novelty that made programming fun.

I struggled with that for years before finally accepting that the magic wasn’t coming back. I’ve since moved on to other non-tech interests that are giving me that sense of magic again.

I think what a lot of us found to be so magical and entrancing was the initial process of discovery and learning. At least for me, it was downright addicting to figure out how to bend the computer to my will, but the thing about that phase is that it’s kind of a one time deal. Once you’ve learned how to write software to a professional level, the only way to keep the magic alive is to keep going deeper. And frankly I got to a point where I didn’t want to spend any more time in front of screen.

[BalKinYellow]

This. Since first getting paid for programming I've almost never programmed on my own time. Sometime I do still get in flow but rarely given what I'm tasked.

Also started "labor" hobbies (car maintenance, welding, etc) but I think a professional mechanic or welder would say the same thing about their jobs. Why? "Professional" (aka money) ruins everything after a while. You get to a point where all you do is the same thing over and over, maybe with slight variations in between. Unless one has full, money no object, choice of what jobs to accept, this will happen.