I love to code. Developers very often make a hobby of coding, doing projects of their own using the same skills they use at work. One of the challenges of being a developer is keeping up with new tech. However, learning new technology is also one of the fun parts.
I suppose that’s one difference between an artisan and a craftsman. I can certainly see a baker spending they day at work and then also coming home and spending time making a cake or breaking bread at home simply for the joy of doing that and sharing it. I can’t though think that an electrician, no matter how good they are, sitting at home and thinking “I’m going to rewire that electrical panel and try those new circuit breaker I saw today”.
Staying at one job for a long time gives you the opportunity to learn your framework and application and do a better job of doing your job. On the other hand, it’s very easy for your skill set to get stale and then get rusty and out of date.
Dinosaurs Learning The New (Tech) World
I’ve been in tech for a long time, over 30 years. To a new developer, I’m a dinosaur, and to an extent, they’re right…
Years ago I was an excellent C programmer. I coded almost everyday and my stuff worked and worked well. But at the same time, I was only a good C++ programmer. I just didn’t work with it enough to be great.
But unlike a real dinosaur, we can evolve and stay relevant. If I start to learn a new technology at the same time as a new, younger coder, chances are I’m going to stay ahead because I have years of experience and I’ve already seen many mistakes and can avoid making them in new projects.
Update: The following two offers are no longer available 🙁
Today I saw an offer from AppSumo that I jumped on right away. It was a special deal on access to several training programs at CodeUpStart for $25. These projects will use several types of tech I already want to learn more about like python, Ruby on Rails, and ReactJS but also include some I never even heard of before today. What is Swift and Firebase? I don’t know, but I’m going to find out and I’m going to learn them. I’ll be learning all of them and they’ll go into my skill toolbox.
From what I see at this point, this is a cool deal and well worth the $25 bucks. As far as I can tell, this isn’t an affiliate link and I’m not going to get anything from this (but assume it is in case I’m wrong, gotta keeps the lawyers at bay), I just want to share it for others who worry about staying relevant in the tech world. Lifetime Access To Four Projects
Happy coding!
PS: Who sits home waiting for opportunity to knock? There are always opportunities out there, go find them!
