When you know its too late !!
- From: "Mr Newbie" <here@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 1 Nov 2005 18:30:29 -0000
You know its too late to continue and you may as well come to a stop when:-
* You reminise about the good old days when a 32K was all you had to work
with, and compact coding was a mans job, and not meant for wimps !
* You reminise when 10 PRINT "Hello World"; 20 GOTO 10 didnt get you
laughed at !
* You remember typing in a 500 lines of code from a computing magazine for
some stupid text based adventure game like 'Death In Poglovia'
* You still think Captain Kirk, Scotty and Spock were the coolest of all the
Trek folks
* You open the shrine doors and move the candles out of the way to reveal
that ZX81, and gaze at it with a longing glint in your eye.
* You remember loading DOS high to allow enough of the 640K to be available
for your network drivers to load.
:-D
<washoetech@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23T$Qrtw3FHA.3540@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> This is the way I look at it:
>
> We are in a line of work that requires constant learning. Even though
> some of us might have graduated college years ago, we are still constantly
> learning on a day to day basis. The second you stop learning, is the
> second you fall behind. Next thing you know, your that guy who talks
> trash about every new technology and will never stop using qbasic. LOL!
>
> I really think that while reading white papers, tech briefs, and coding
> new projects I am constantly picking up new techniques.
>
> Just my 2 cents!
>
> J
>
> "Kevin Spencer" <kevin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:eS$ad2v3FHA.1596@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Good points, Gregg.
>>
>> I should mention that, while I am quite eclectic regarding Microsoft
>> technologies, I do not have the time to learn everything about all of the
>> competing vendors technologies, even with my obsessive schedule of work.
>> Just keeping up with all the new innovative changes in the Microsoft
>> world, and world-wide standards, such as HTML, XML, CSS, XSD, XSLT, SQL,
>> HTTP, TCP, and so on, takes all of my time. I peripherally scan the
>> "also-rans" (as I think of them), but that's about all I can manage.
>>
>> These competing technologies don't play very well with Microsoft, and
>> vice versa, so it's really not necessary to cover the whole gamut.
>> Whatever one does, I believe it's best to stick to one compatible set of
>> platform vendors, and work within those limits, whether it's the
>> Microsoft crowd, or the Sun-Java-Unix crowd. Of course, some overlap is
>> necessary, as these technologies do interoperate with one another across
>> networks. But that's where the standards come in.
>>
>> --
>> HTH,
>>
>> Kevin Spencer
>> Microsoft MVP
>> .Net Developer
>> A watched clock never boils.
>>
>> "Cowboy (Gregory A. Beamer) - MVP" <NoSpamMgbworld@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> wrote in message
>> news:15DB12EF-F69D-4A4C-BBBC-DD08BB1D89B1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Find out what is hot in your market, as that skill is most likely to get
>>> you
>>> a job. Then, figure out the niches that pay the best and determine if
>>> you
>>> like them. If so, learn the niches and you will be both employed and
>>> well
>>> compensated.
>>>
>>> Learning languages/techs for the purpose of expansion has some value,
>>> but it
>>> can be a rat race if you are learning things that are not used in your
>>> market. Perhaps your town (or the town you want to live in) is very hot
>>> on
>>> Java. If so, then Java is a smarter focus than .NET, unless there is
>>> enough
>>> .NET work and not enough talent (then you fetch a premium).
>>>
>>> Unless you know your market (or the market you wish to live in), you are
>>> simply learning without a direction. You might luck out, but you might
>>> just
>>> waste a lot of time on technology that does not help you in any way.
>>>
>>> I, personally, have focused on .NET. Nashville, TN is a Microsoft town,
>>> so
>>> learning Java is not the best use of my time (I have worked on Java in
>>> the
>>> past, but have not kept up my skill). It is very useful to know SQL
>>> Server
>>> here, although many shops use Oracle (I have worked on both skills and
>>> kept
>>> the coding aspects up to date in both -- more proficient in SQL Server,
>>> however). I have no interest in learning PHP (at least not for the
>>> moment),
>>> as it takes away from my time to learn something that enhances my
>>> career.
>>>
>>> My suggestion is you do the same thing. Understand your market (or the
>>> market you want to move into). Investigate the job boards and see what
>>> is
>>> hot. As much as you can, figure out which additional specialty skills
>>> will
>>> improve your pay scale, but only choose those you are interested in
>>> (life is
>>> too short to work on skills that piss you off). Then, study and become
>>> the
>>> best you can be at those skills.
>>>
>>> Other suggestions:
>>>
>>> 1. Buy beta books to get info on new technology and not to learn the
>>> right
>>> way to do things. Most authors of early books are experimenting
>>> themselves,
>>> so the methodologies generally suck. You can still get great information
>>> out
>>> of them, but do not focus on the methodologies (the "mental
>>> masturbation"
>>> portions of these books).
>>>
>>> 2. Spend money and time to improve your skill. If you get one great idea
>>> out
>>> of a book, it is worth it. Do not shy away from spending your money on
>>> your
>>> education. The world is full of developers that wait for their company
>>> to
>>> train them. Many developers get paid very well to clean up their messes.
>>> Be a
>>> well compensated janitor, not the drooling kid.
>>>
>>> 3. Be flexible enough to adjust your direction when you see trends in
>>> the
>>> marketplace. You will make mistakes and choose wrong directions, but
>>> each can
>>> be a wonderful learning opportunity.
>>>
>>> 4. Don't be afraid to join betas, but make it a calculated risk. YOu can
>>> get
>>> burned by jumping on technology that goes nowhere, so be careful with
>>> your
>>> time. Spend enough time to be ready if you see a move on technologies
>>> you are
>>> not sure of. This guarantees a foundation if it goes somewhere, but does
>>> not
>>> completely waste your time. On technologies you are fairly sure will go,
>>> spend more time (SQL Server 2005, .NET Framework 2.0, etc.).
>>>
>>> 5. Don't try to learn everything. You can't do it. This is not a
>>> challenge,
>>> it is just reality. You cannot master everything with technology
>>> advancing at
>>> such a high rate.
>>>
>>> 6. Learn the fundamentals. Pick up books like Code Complete or take
>>> courses.
>>> Too many programmers do not know the fundamentals, which is a crying
>>> shame.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Gregory A. Beamer
>>> MVP; MCP: +I, SE, SD, DBA
>>>
>>> ***************************
>>> Think Outside the Box!
>>> ***************************
>>>
>>>
>>> "Adam Knight" wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> I am just wondering what skills sets most people adopt.
>>>> I have been coding for a few years now; and am getting a little tired
>>>> of
>>>> learning a new language or framework every time i open my eyes.
>>>>
>>>> Just wondering what everyone elses strategy is in keeping current and
>>>> puting
>>>> themselves in a position to be being rewarded (Financially).
>>>>
>>>> Do you just master one or two technolgies or are you being a jack of
>>>> all
>>>> trades like i have been
>>>> tempted to be..
>>>>
>>>> I initially started with C & Visual Basic, then adopted ASP Classic,
>>>> and
>>>> then became proficient with PHP/MYSQL., along the way adopting various
>>>> client side
>>>> technologies. Recently i have adopted .NET & SQL Server (which i
>>>> prefer). I
>>>> have looked at adopting java also..
>>>>
>>>> Just wondering how every one approaches the technology rat race, for
>>>> the
>>>> most benefit?
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Adam
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>
>
>
.
- Follow-Ups:
- Re: When you know its too late !!
- From: oaksong
- Re: When you know its too late !!
- Prev by Date: Code reuse, code behind, and can't inherit since already inherits Page
- Next by Date: Re: server.transfer
- Previous by thread: Code reuse, code behind, and can't inherit since already inherits Page
- Next by thread: Re: When you know its too late !!
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
