10 years of repeating cycles of the following:

#interview
them: yeah, this is a gamedev position, c#, unity, prototyping, maybe some hololens r&d

me: cool! exactly what i was looking for, as i said a few times, i can't do php anymore, it literally causes me literal deppression.

them: don't worry, we have people for thaz, but we have nobody for c# and unity, with some art skills feel as well as you do.

me: great, glad we're on the same page. i'm taking the job! <3

them: great! oh btw, there's this enterprise intranet app in php that needs some additions, can you please do them?

me: ... what did we talk about during my interview?

them: yeah, but it's just gonna be a short thing, don't worry.

me: ...well...ok, i think i can do that.

*3 to 6 months still on the same, or the next, php enterprise bullshit app. i'm totally exhausted in all ways possible, stressed literally permanently, dreading every day, every new ticket, every meeting every contact with everyone, not able to give a shit about what i do anymore, thinking about suicide*

them: you lazy incompetent fuckup, you're fired!

* i stop communicating and coming out of my room for anything else than toilet, and shopping. stop communicating with my friends, with anyone, anxiety and exhaustion caused by even the thought of talking to anyone about anything, or doing anything, is usually unbearable. i spend 3 to 8 months like this, just sleeping, drinking, watching youtube, sometimes playing games but even that "activity", or rather even the thought of that "activity" is often exhausting. after that time, i kind of recuperate emotionally and mentally, start looking for another unity+c# gamedev job, find it, apply,
goto #interview

My self-esteem increased. It was the first time I felt truly good at something.

Coding saved me from a dark place. Computers saved my life. Coding gives me food and shelter so I won't starve to death homeless

I am an insecure person. Coding gave me a much needed boost in confidence in my skills.

Sleeping Disorder 😜😜

Big part of the reason why I ended up migrating to a completely different country
Wouldn't be here otherwise

It all started when I was driving and wasn’t paying attention to the road bc I was trying to think of a solution to a coding issue when all the sudden a deer jumps in front of my car! My car is smashed and I call road service. They send someone out and as I wait I decide to do a little coding while in the middle of the woods with my laptop. I sit down and the same deer (remarkably un phased) charges me and kicks my laptop like a football. I suffered not one but two impacts from coding...

I get to live undeservedly comfortable life.

I was gonna be an Electrical Engineer.
It was the last year of highschool, I was offered a job if I learned how to code.
I did. I loved it. Later I went for Systems Engineering instead.
3 years later I don't regret it, but I'm also starting Electrical Engineering in parallel next year.
Wish me luck, but it's ok if I die I guess.

I got a job early on before my peers and I achieved some kind of financial independence and for that I'm greatful and blessed. If it's only for financial gain so one can help themselves and their family, it's more than enough.

I got a job without trying very hard... Unless your consider all the time I spend coding hobby projects trying.

It's made it possible for me to be self-employed and work from home, which for an introvert with bipolar disorder is the difference between working for a living or being on disability.

I realized how much I suck at maths.
But seriously now, I started understanding the way things work, what makes them 'tick'.
It feels good to look at a random huge advert screen and immediately conjure up a pseudocode how I imagine the developers must have done it.

Ekhem.... da money? Sure I can go on about how it changed my approach to real life problems or how it keeps my mind flexible and always learning more BUT the truth is - those are just nice things on top of being able to buy food and pay rent

coding has given me the opportunity to have a stable job and to grow as a professional and as a person

I got more interested about the technical side of bugs in video games.

Really didn't understand the Pokémon hype as a kid, few months ago watched an entire YouTube series explaining the Old Man Glitch and ACE exploits in the game. 🤷‍♂️