Confessions of a Workaholic Software Developer Pt. 2

By Jeffrey Bakker · Published March 6, 2026 · 1 min read · Source: Level Up Coding

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Confessions of a Workaholic Software Developer Pt. 2

“Just a few more years, and I’ll be where I want to be.”

Jeffrey Bakker5 min read·1 hour ago

We’ve already read the first one, right? Now let’s take the perspective by age.

I’m 20

The Comp. Sci. courses at my college are fine, but I wish we could build something I’d actually use.

I’m going to start my own side-project, just to keep myself engaged. I have a problem in mind to solve.

I’m 22

Okay, wow. I never thought my pet project would have tens of thousands of downloads. Probably because it’s free. Or that everyone had the same problem I’m solving; probably both.

Still gotta keep my day job, then grind out code on late evenings and weekends. I get hints that my family doesn’t approve of me allowing everyone but myself to benefit from my free work.

I’m 24

Okay, so I’ve been doing this Open Source thing for a few years, but I need to get paid.

I’ll still make my software Open Source, but monetize via optional online services. I’m going to be burning the midnight oil and invest in a server to get this going.

I’m almost 26

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