i was trying to explain to someone that we have really specific problems that others don't really understand, which i think is why devrant exists. it was kinda frustrating, cause idk if i explained it very well.

what would you guys say is the worst part of working as a dev that others wouldn't get?

@BubblePOP eloquently put, thank you

Most definitely answering questions of "how long will it take?"
The most precise answer is "yes". The one they (non-devs) should but will never accept is "I don't know. Maybe it will take 15 mins, maybe it will be 15 months. Can't really tell. Homogeneous odds on the entire spectrum"

@JsonBoa i really feel this one... we're doing a massive job that might take over a year and i think our boss wants it for this month. like... I don't think that's gonna happen, we've been saying so for a while, they're just deciding to be mad no matter what later

Estimates
complexity
extensibility [planning ahead]
code ergonomics

I feel like context switching happens in ungodly amounts during our work, which isn't that common for other jobs.

@Hazarth that was a very dev way to put it 😂😂😂

i agree, and the context switching when people interrupt us too, it's so disruptive

Thinking about work outside of work hours. And the mental exhaustion that stems from it.

@Hazarth argh, I got called out again! DAMMIT!

Although, as I proceeded with video editing, I started controlling this urge 😏 Why? Because the results are fast to come and they are satisfying enough.

everything.
from experience, if someone doesn't have at least some experience with dev, they don't really get any of the problems, even when you try to describe them. except maybe some small subset of problems with clients being morons, but there it's still just a small subset.

Pretty much everything. I've tried to explain my current task to a non-programmer friend. He's "half of those aren't words and the other half are words but they do not make any sense put together like that".

So I have to resort: "it's like when building a house and it's half way done and the client wants to add a balcony but the balcony needs to float in the air and could it be inside the house and be naturally repellent to cats. It should allow tigers through though. Also the client wants the roof to be upside down as they want a handy pool at the same time. Does this make any sense to you?"

It is a constant battle in my mind if I should go deeper into specifics for this part or just pass the superficial info.

Answer is always be as superficial as possible. If I went into all the details, I could easily take 24hours talking about my codebase and what I do/did. I also get the urge to find a pen and paper and start drawing the shit 😅

So I always watch their faces while I talk, if they start drifting I cut short and move back to superficial explanation. As a rule for myself I try to finish my explanations in 5-10 sentences. Even if the shit was developed for more than a year. This way they think they know and I know that I saved everybody’s time.