   Programming passion
  I'm aware that most of us program because we like it and we have passion for it.But I've been thinking about people who make it big-time in the whole Computer Science field.Would you still have passion for the act of programming if one of your creations suddenly becomes a huge success? Or would your passion diverge out of programming and into the business and theoretical part of your creation?Take the founders of Youtube or Google, or any major software company for that matter. Most of these started out as young guys with a passion for programming or technology. After completing their creations and having major success with them, do they still feel the same passion for programming? Do they still go back to their bedrooms at night and code for fun? Or have they "out-grown" their passion with their overwhelming success?How do you think it would play out for yourself in a similar scenario?   
  interesting question, from what I've seen they get dragged into the whole buisiness of it with no time to program after. Whether they still do or not I don't know.Personally if I had the money from making it big I'd live a simple life doing what I enjoy, be that programming for fun or whatever.   ;  Passion of course, but also as long as there's a challenge. I think a lot of people lose interest because it's not challenging enough any more. Some don't. John Carmack for example. He's still very active in his field, even though he's been doing it for over 20 years and he's done a lot of big things, obviously. As long as you find interesting things to do, you'll keep on doing it.I think I would .. speaking as for now. Of course, after making big and having lots of money to spend .. who knows.Interesting topic, looking forward to other people's opinions.   ;  I only know one guy personally who took astounding technology and moved into a business sort of role from it (CTO then CEO). He enjoyed doing the business/showman sort of things, but always held passion for solving problems. Coding is an extension there of course, and he always enjoyed that.The main problem isn't that these people lose passion for programming as much as many new projects just won't hold the challenge or grandeur of what they've already accomplished. Still, they'll find something.Personally, I've programmed at home before I did it professionally, and even now that I program professionally. I have no stomach for business or social endeavors.   ;  For myself I have no idea. I guess personally I view programming as a tool I use to achieve certain goals.Passion in programming arises unconsciously for me when I'm coding towards a specific goal. I guess one of the greater goals in programming is to create something really useful and successful. Once this is reached, if one has no more creative ideas, passion for programming will likely die off.Then again, programming is just a tool. One may still keep the passion in creating (by designing programs or giving ideas) while leaving the actual programming up to others.   ;  I think I would fall along the lines of using it as a tool to achieve a higher level and move on from there. I enjoy programming to great extents, but I know that I will want to head into a more business oriented role, and its possible that it will eliminate my programming.I've never been much for hobby programming, just something I know I can do and enjoy to do in a work environment for the time being. I find it just a phase in my learning in a sense, a handrail for the next couple of steps, but after that I might start using the other handrail(business/management).When it came to sports, I gladly played Soccer for maybe 15 years or so, but I decided I wanted to try something else, went on to cross country, and now I've moved on to hiking/camping. If they don't do it anymore, it's possible that they might not miss it in the depressing sense, but just that they have moved to other means to achieve personal goals.Deal   ;  Although I'm not a programmer in my civilian job, I hold a job similar, an electronics technician.  While they both deal with seperate ends up the spectrum - hardware and software - they both give satisfactions in solving problems, and usually in the most unorthodox method.For 2 years now I've been working with a warranty company that repairs video game systems and cell phones in a corporate setting.  I'm now a senior technician for the handheld game system department(PSP/DS) and have worked in multiple departments throughout the company.  While I haven't achieved anything as good as a super corporation such as Google or Yahoo, I have had the fortunate opportunity to change the way the Standard Operating Procedures are looked at for the repair process as a whole in the company.  Furthermore I've actually had the chance to sit down with some of the engineers of certain cell phones and video game systems and give them guidance on how to make the repair process easier and faster for customers via their engineering methods. To me this is a HUGE success as a hardware technician, it solidifies to my peers and superiors alike that I know my job well enough to guide others in training, and even the development of new versions of a product!  In saying this, I STILL GET EXCITED everytime I open up a new piece of malfunctioning hardware...it's like Christmas to me solving all the little puzzles inside them and learning new things everyday.  For me, anything I learn technology wise will always be rewarding, and ask some of the people I hang around - show me a piece of technology that performs outside the box and I become ecstatic :)   ;  For folks that get pushed into a CTO role it's still programming minus the physical act of programmer.  Just a mindset change.  Instead of solving the granular problems repeatedly, you solve global tech problems, come up with solutions, and have somebody else do the gruntwork.If you go 100% business, with no tech exposure, yeah, that's a complete 180 from programming, but at the very least I know CTOs still enjoy making the large technical decisions.  Those are arguably more complex/fun ;)   ;  I would consider myself pretty successful.I was a developer on Heroes of Might and Magic, Ghost Recon 2, 187 Ride or Die, Leisure Suit Larry Beach Volley, HOT PIXEL, Ready Steady Cook (Europeans know this), Catz 5, Dogz 5, and more.  I wrote the now-famous story for Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night (Is Robert a bad enough dude to rescue his son?)I started as a regular programmer and moved up through lead programmer, senior programmer, game-programming professor, head of gaming department, and finally CTO.I currently develop my own middleware (along with my company), making up to $1,000,000 per year via sales profits.If you are worried that any large amount of money could distract you from your passion (even if it did not come from that passion), I can also mention that my pencil portraits sell for $15,000 to $30,000 each, on top of the middleware sales.I recently decided to take a break and have a 2-week vacation.Frankly I was bored out of my mind and constantly found myself running back to my computer to continue coding on the middleware.  I don’t have to work at all; I work due to my passion for coding.My passion is as strong as ever and it will never change.When the middleware is entirely complete, I do plan to take a break and invest more time in art or music, but only until I decide what exciting new project to start coding next.L. Spiro   