Being a programmer is great. It’s a promising field with plenty of job openings and good pay. That’s what everyone says, convinced that the life of a programmer is like a fairy tale. But is it really? Today, let’s talk about the challenges of working as a programmer.
Learning
One course or one book on programming won’t be enough to become even a Junior developer. And you’ll definitely never reach Senior level without continuous learning. Programming is all about constant self-education and practice. The IT field evolves rapidly—new programming languages appear, old ones get updated. If you pause for a few months, your peers will move ahead. If you're not “in the loop,” you'll constantly feel like the life of a simple programmer is tough and unrewarding.
Programming Is Creative Work
Many people mistakenly think programming is pure math, computer science, and nothing else. But in reality, a programmer must also be creative. It's not enough to learn a programming language and basic algorithms. You have to feel like a creator turning a blank page (meaning your screen) into a new project.
Monotony
Creativity is great, but some stages of a project involve monotonous tasks. Be prepared to spend several hours straight staring at a monitor, typing out hundreds of lines of code. Is it hard to be a programmer, considering this? You decide.
Love for Puzzles
If you don’t have strong analytical skills and consider yourself purely creative, think twice before choosing the challenging path of a programmer. As we mentioned, creativity is essential, but it must be balanced with the ability to solve complex logical problems and structure large amounts of information.
Eyesight
Speaking of vision. Constant strain on your eyes is one of the main reasons why being a programmer can be difficult. There’s no need to explain how spending 8+ hours a day at a computer affects your eyesight. Glasses with protective coating, vitamin drops, and eye exercises can help—but unfortunately, they don’t offer full protection.
Freedom of Movement
Another stereotype about programmers: take your laptop and travel as much as you want, working in between adventures. In reality, experienced developers will tell you that large projects—and even everyday comfort—often require more than just a laptop. You may need two or even more monitors. It's unlikely you'll enjoy moving every few days while dragging around a ton of gear.
Workspace
Following from the previous point, your workspace becomes your full-time environment for 8–10 hours a day or more. Prestigious companies usually understand this and create comfortable working conditions. If you’re setting up your own workspace, make sure it boosts your productivity rather than becoming another challenge of being a programmer.
English Language
Whether you like it or not, you’ll need to improve your English. Without it, working as a programmer will be tough. You know that all code is written in English, right? Many good programming courses include some English lessons as a bonus. Don’t ignore them! Learn the basics, and as you work, you’ll naturally expand your vocabulary.
Stress Resilience
A buzzword, maybe—but you won’t survive in this field without the ability to handle stress. If you work for a company, you’ll need to get along with colleagues, even when opinions clash. If you go freelance, your need for stress resilience multiplies. You’ll have to deal with clients yourself and wear many hats at once.
A Strict Schedule
Whether you work in a company or as a freelancer, chances are your day will last longer than 8 hours. This isn’t always about poor time management—though yes, you need to keep your scheduling skills sharp so deadlines don’t haunt you. The need to work overtime often arises from updates to “finished” projects. And those updates rarely come at a convenient time.
High Income
One of the main perks of an IT career, and the biggest draw. But don’t expect sky-high job offers after one month of work. If you’re ready to work hard and consistently, then in 2–3 years you’ll become a specialist that top companies will fight over. But again—it takes effort. Programming isn’t one of those stories where you go to bed poor and wake up rich. It’s hard to be a programmer if your only motivation is the paycheck.
Discipline
This point overlaps with many others but deserves its own section. Most well-known IT experts got where they are thanks to self-discipline. It determines how effectively you manage your time, prioritize tasks, and how fast you grow professionally.
Responsibility
Another crucial trait that affects your career growth. As your projects become larger in scale, you’ll grow too—meaning you’ll have to make more independent decisions and take full responsibility for them.
Collaboration with Colleagues
Thought being a programmer is a lone wolf job? Not quite. It's much easier to grow when you have a mentor or experienced colleague nearby to help and guide you. In a company, this is easy to arrange. But what if you’re a freelancer? We wrote a separate article about developer communities where you can discuss professional topics. Keep in mind: walking this path alone without asking for help is not just ineffective—it’s kind of foolish.
We didn’t write this article to scare or discourage you. On the contrary! Our project, WAY UP, is here to support your journey to becoming an IT professional. But it’s important to see things clearly and work on improving your weak spots—because we all have them.