[markovski]

My question is how many people here program for hobby, and how many for money.
In my country it`s very hard to find a programming company to got hired in. So i`m learning programming as a hobby.

Is it worth it to learn programming for home usage? Is it worth to learn it as a hobby?

[tlhIn`toq]

A buddy of mine learn some basic C# in order to program his at home hobby weather station.
My boss doesn't code for work, but does code for GPS and robotics hobby.
I know a couple people that code for their smart telescopes.
An old school buddy I am still in contact with does web pages, but did some Canon SDK work so he could run a camera programmatically for some time-lapse shots just for the fun of it.

Quote

In my country it`s very hard to find a programming company to got hired in

What country would that be?

[markovski]

Macedonia, it`s small country (south of Serbia).

So your example is that it will find me useful in home-gadgets?

[Sergio Tapia]

Programming can be a hobby as well! I program both as a hobby and for money, but the projects I enjoy working on the most are my pet babies. It's a real high when you finish your own brain child.

[nooblet]

For me it's both. I did it as a hobby at first and then it progressed to doing it for money which is essence is a hobby too aka I love building businesses.

[Raynes]

I program as a hobby. I'd do programming jobs, but I'm just not looking for any sort of work.

[cfoley]

Is any hobby really worthwhile? I'd say yes if you have fun doing it!

[xclite]

Programming can also be one of the cheapest hobbies since all you need is a functioning machine (provided you avoid languages whose sdk you must pay for).

If you want to program something material, check out the Arduino and related microchips.

[Krishs]

Almost all programmers do both , they learn to earn but when they find it interesting they make it hobby.I personally use java to program professionally but find c , c++ and python to program small utilities for me as well for my friends and it became my hobby.

[m-e-g-a-z]

I program everyday, there isn't a day where I haven't got my IDE open. I would say it's more of a habit aswell as a hobby and can be fun too. It's a good way to stimulate your brain I say.

[Nikhil_07n]

For me, it's a hobby(officially) because I haven't gotten into a college yet. I used to code in VB6 for school and I liked it very much so I continued learning it just for fun(I didn't knew I was on a sinking ship). Although, now I'm moving on to serious things(Java, C++) as I'll hopefully get into a college in less than three months.

So.. for now, it's a 80% hobby and 20% preparation for college.

[submerged]

I take it as both, its a hobby and also, I can earn a bit of money for more hosts and such. But I want to learn it as quickly as possible to get better and better as I am eager to become an animator, so I take it as both, a source of money and a hobby (sometimes it can be a nightmare, instead of a dream)

[NickDMax]

I began programming as a hobby, that got me interested in mathematics, I got my degree in mathematics, I now program for a living...

[nooblet]

Krishs, on 14 July 2010 - 05:53 AM, said:

Almost all programmers do both , they learn to earn but when they find it interesting they make it hobby.

I know so many people that took the opposite route and there are many on this board who are in the same boat. Programming started as a hobby long before money was involved and for many, it's a hobby all the way through. Money comes secondary for many, not before. In some extreme cases, there are some that don't even care about money besides the need to survive standard cost of living. I know of a few extreme cases like these.

[xclite]

I considered it an interest long before it became a career choice. Kind of nice getting paid to do something you like, although I'm always afraid of burnout.