Dev.to
7/10/2026
Data from 47 developers: abandoned side projects correlate with slower promotion timelines
Original: Your Passion Projects Are Killing Your Career. Here's the Uncomfortable Math.
Short summary
An analysis of 47 developers found that those with the most abandoned side projects had the slowest career growth — promotions delayed by an average of 14 months. The author advocates a 'rule of one': one deliberate side project at a time with a hard deadline, finished or killed on that date. Shipping one complete project builds more career value than starting ten that never reach real users.
- •Developers with the most side projects had promotions delayed ~14 months vs peers
- •Most quit projects between hour 60-100 — after setup cost but before compounding value
- •The 'rule of one': one project, hard deadline, finished or killed — no indefinite 'on hold'
Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.
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