Worst realisation of myself when I was a greenhorn dev? Nobody gives a f***ing damn of what you achieve as a software developer. For them you're just the uncool nerd - end of story. That's where I just stopped having any conversations about my job at all... unless it's with other devs.

Never found this to be true ... I mean they don't want the details but if your passionate

@FitzSuperUser yeah but other than the details, what's there to talk about?

I think you have to build things that impress non-technical peeps. A really cool svg animation or a VR demo goes a long way to impress normal folks

@stisch, even simple stuff like games, things related to education or shopping or music or anything that's useful or amusing for everyone. Algorithmic prowess and amazing software architecture doesn't resonate. Just like I don't care to listen in fine detail how my cousin makes nail art, but I love to see the final outcome.

I believe that the worst thing is how little is your work on a project appreciated when compared to the work you did behind the scenes... You may have spent hours configuring databases, making connections, handling exceptions presenting results, but then a user comes in and tells you that an image is a couple pixels off or something... But I guess that happens with every profession after all..

It's even worse on the west coast. People know developers make above average salaries and therefore we are to blame for the gentrification problems. So it's not just a lack of interest, it's a passionate hatred for software engineers around here.

You guys seem to have a different experience than me. Even if I show them the product ( which looks awesome by the way) and spare them any details, they're just "meh"

@theZorgEffect it depends on your circumstance. maybe they dont see the best part yet. just show them you can do it and blow their minds... ;)

I've always had similar experiences. I can be so proud in my creation which I've sunk lots of time and dedication into, and yet they could care less, or even worse, tell me I'm wasting my time. 😠

Are there cool nerds...