I’ve heard this before, but haven’t found it the case personally. I started work in manual jobs and messing around with computers was my evening hobby. Many years later, I now do IT as a job (partly from gaining skills from that hobby) but also have continued it as my primary thing to do when I’m not working. I was worried when I changed into this career that my hobby would become too much like work to be enjoyable, but I’ve not found that.
Is this the same for other people, or am I unusual in doing something in my off hours that’s so close to my career? I’m genuinely curious to know if others have found the same or whether they found another hobby.


Back when I started it was the norm to get a job with whoever would hire you so that you get the experience to grow and improve your lot in life. I was in a field where if I wanted to move I could get a new job right away. This led to the enviable position to work in a number of different industries, which taught me so much about business and industry. Along the way I worked for some great people but ultimately I would encounter some pretty questionable practices/points of view that were discouraging. As much as I’m sure today’s world is a much different experience, the ability to collaborate with strangers I think is a game changer. My brain doesn’t function well enough now to survive in this environment but I agree that this can lead to positive change. One caveat is that it allows both good and bad actors to excel.