"I think you’ve misunderstood the purpose of a side project for engineers. They’re supposed to be hobby projects that demonstrate the developer’s abilities as well as their commitment to following through on projects."
Most managers at my company view side projects positively. One of the main reasons is that it shows the person has a creative mind and is at least a little passionate about technology/coding and learning on their own.
aye - I don't list inactive projects, but some hobbies/side projects provide a small sense of what kind of person you are like and what it will be to work with you.
I wonder how I would fair in your evaluation of what I'm like if I have Android apps for ballistic energy calculations and a calculator for determining the alcohol needed for a party.
This isn't part of the evaluation, but it's a useful item to include for conversation starters. Whether these are useful conversation starters in a particular company is up to your judgement.
If you are interviewing for an Alcohol friendly company then the calculator might be a fun side project that shows you know Android development. Raytheon would probably love the ballistic energy calculator. If your interviewing with the quaker church then both items will probably have you rejected for culture fit.
Most people chuckle when I demo the alcohol calculator. They especially like the drunkenness slider to select how drunk your guest are expected to get. I make sure to give them the background that it was an idea that I started in college. The ballistic one is extremely simple, but that was my first ever Android app and I chose it for that reason (didn't do a regular calculator because there are sooo many of them out there already).
Most managers at my company view side projects positively. One of the main reasons is that it shows the person has a creative mind and is at least a little passionate about technology/coding and learning on their own.