Programmer, the dream and the reality of earning 30K a month, which one would you choose?

It has been exactly four years since I graduated. I have been living in the same city for these four years, working in a small IT circle.

Looking back on these four years, my life has become even more confused, and I don’t know where to go.

These four years can be perfectly divided into the first two years and the last two years.

First 2 years

At that time, I was like a hungry student throwing myself into the bread of knowledge, studying day and night.

My dream at that time was to become a technical expert. I would look at Taobao’s recruitment requirements when I had nothing to do, and then I would silently wonder how far I was from meeting Taobao’s requirements.

At that time, I basically wrote four or five blogs a week, researching the latest technologies and source code. When I was lucky, I would often make the headlines on CSDN and Blog Garden.

It was such a great feeling at that time. I thought I was getting closer and closer to being tall, rich and handsome.

Then I started my own independent blog. Of course, Alex ranked the highest at 210,000, and SEO and operations also made me feel proud.

At that time, I was wondering if I could soon earn over 10,000 yuan a month, become a great guy, and call the shots in the technology community.

The QQ group I created had so many admirers. For the first time, that feeling gave a poor kid who used to be self-abased and closed off a little confidence and pride.

Now when I think back, I learned a lot, but it was mostly superficial knowledge. I didn’t have any opportunity to engage in in-depth practical experience. I’m probably a pseudo-expert who knows everything but is not good at anything!

Looking back, it was really my vision that determined my choice.

I chose a "big" company (a big company with many people) and thought that the technical department was also awesome. After I got in, I found that the so-called IT department was just a traditional department.

Support and assistance. People are more concerned about business knowledge and functional implementation. They don’t care about the so-called 14 principles of page optimization, NOSQL technology, or cache....

People around me pay more attention to news and gossip, and are more concerned about who has bought a house or a car. No matter how hard I try, I find that I am just a pseudo-expert in the community.

It seems that my skills are useless in daily work, and my salary is also based on seniority, with an additional 20 yuan for each year of service.

Life changes after 2 years

It’s hard to get excited about writing a blog that makes headlines. The positive motivation is fading.

It is amazing that an independent blogging website has reached 210,000 followers worldwide

My salary won't skyrocket anyway, so I just want to relax.

I don't know where to release the turmoil and boundless energy of youth

At that time, I happened to read "Luo Hao: Relegation Round"

I am like the three losers at the beginning. I have made my blog reach 210,000 views worldwide and more than 10,000 page views a day. But I still can only eat Shaxian.

As Luo Hao said:

These primitive and pure industries are waiting for the IT elites to downgrade them, like dandelion paratroopers, descending from the sky in the dark night and rushing straight in. They will save these industries that should have died long ago with the smartest products and the highest-quality services. The lives of the losers will bloom with silver wings, becoming extremely plump and sexy.

So I chose a traditional and pure industry, hoping to release my turbulent youth.

My blog has basically stopped updating.

So I worked from Monday to Friday, and spent the weekend practicing Luo Hao's relegation round - learning and thinking about development in traditional industries

Like a lucky person, I seem to have found a way - the simple and crude way to make money the fastest!

When I stopped researching the so-called latest technology, studying source code, and writing such awesome blogs, and started a sideline business,

My damn salary has exceeded ten thousand. How sad and ridiculous this is! ! ! ! ! ! !

When I got more than 100 Mao Zedong notes after tax, I suddenly became so calm.

I just remembered that my side job actually earns me more than a hundred Mao Zedongs a month.

At most, I made 40,000 yuan a month.

Life is full of ridicule. I used to dream of making a lot of money and becoming a technical expert with a high salary.

I actually achieved it in the most impossible way...

Summarizing these four years

Life is full of shit. The harder you try to realize your programmer's dream technically, the more you realize it in an incredible way.

Choice is more important than hard work. Choosing the wrong direction will only waste your infinite youth.

The right time, right place, right people and luck are a very mysterious thing.

Where am I going today?

The current project is about to be disbanded.

If I find a new job, the salary increase of 20% is only 3-4k, which is not that attractive to me.

I have a full-time and side job, but I am always afraid to take the step of becoming a full-time employee.

Sometimes I think it's good to have both, 20,000 to 30,000 a month, and if I want to take a break, at least I still have a salary of more than 10,000 to worry about.

But what about three years later? What about five years later? Will I always stay at the so-called 20,000-30,000 yuan a month level?

Taking both into account, maybe neither of them is sharp

Suddenly I realized that after working for four years, now is the most confusing time.

4 years ago, I had the simplest dream of technology

2 years ago, there was the most direct practitioner of the relegation round

Today, I don’t know how to choose this path