8 years ago I asked a question here and wanted to see if opinions have changed: would you hire a programmer that does not write code recreationally?

Software development is a craft and we should start treating it like one. We don't expect a cobbler to go home in the evenings and continue making shoes just because he loves his craft so much.

The fact you're comparing software engineering to being a "cobbler" is sad enough. Would you expect a scientist, a musician, a painter to also be strictly 9 to 5 and never try to work on something, because they enjoy it?

If your job is so boring and repetitive that it seems like fixing broken shoes all day, then it's a sign that you're not skilled enough to put creative effort into it, and that then results in this disinterest of doing it for the sake of doing it.

That's why coding for recreation is a good metric for a developer with potential: it means they're curious about learning more, and they enjoy the creative effort that goes into their work, rather than being a bottom feeder who sees writing software as a factory job where the assembly line is replaced by a keyboard and a mouse.

Of course, if someone has an intensive day at work, they won't be open to code even more when they're home to rest and see their family. But when you're between jobs, or have a slow week at work, which will happen at some point throughout your life, you may find yourself coding for fun. And that's the question, here. Have you even done it, and what have you made. Not whether you fill an hourly quota every week.

/r/programming Thread Parent Link - reddit.com