There is room for both the passionate and non-passionate developer.
Because passion doesn't necessarily equate to skill. Passion looks like an eagerness to be immersed in a topic and invest time in that topic. Some people work out of necessity and not necessarily passion (maybe just passion to make a living, pay the bills, and support their families).
What actually matters is that you:
- follow through with your promises and claims to your team or manager/boss/founder/yourself
- you leave things better than you found them
- you're reliable
If you adequately do those things, there is plenty of room for you, passion or no passion.
My dad was a fast jet pilot, I grew up on RAF bases watching jets fly overhead, as a scout I worked at air shows. It was all I wanted to do, but unfortunately I was too tall to make the entry requirements.
I'm 34 and still haven't really got past that. As a student I looked for job adverts for well paid positions and decided that I'd look to become a contract Java developer in London on an income that would put me in the top 1% in the UK. It took me 5 years and I didn't have to go to London. Many of my peers are still struggling to get a mortgage with some looking at 40 year terms. While I have one, I have the funds to pay it off. Now my family are financially secure I can start taking on fixed price work with more risk and more reward; building out a business and getting away from a cripplingly sedentary job is the next goal.
I think you need commitment (amongst other aspects) and passion is one vehicle to achieve that, I'd imagine a more rewarding one, but it's not the only one.
Because passion doesn't necessarily equate to skill. Passion looks like an eagerness to be immersed in a topic and invest time in that topic. Some people work out of necessity and not necessarily passion (maybe just passion to make a living, pay the bills, and support their families).
What actually matters is that you:
- follow through with your promises and claims to your team or manager/boss/founder/yourself
- you leave things better than you found them
- you're reliable
If you adequately do those things, there is plenty of room for you, passion or no passion.