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I'm always worried that it's not great for me professionally. Because the "cool kids" are always off learning the hot new thing, and I can do what I need to in
by JimboOmega 10y ago
I'm always worried that it's not great for me professionally. Because the "cool kids" are always off learning the hot new thing, and I can do what I need to in the "old" thing, and so I don't learn the hot new thing.
Aren't I, as an engineer, supposed to be constantly entranced by the bleeding edge of technology? Whether it's the latest lisp Dialect, the latest functional programming language, the latest NoSQL database, or whatever the latest is?
Granted the nature of my work is such that I wind up using tons of new technologies every new year, but I don't go out and experiment with them with no particular use in mind.
- morgante 10y agoYou can build in the hot new thing though. I'm also a very practical learner. It's hard for me to pick up anything (whether it's a language, technique or a theory) without applying it. So to pick up new technologies I constantly cycle them into new projects.
- JimboOmega 10y agoI can, but I won't build in the hot new thing for the sake of the hot new thing alone. What that tends to mean is that when I'm looking for a new job, my skills at old company are in old thing, while everyone is excited about hot new thing. This is typically most obvious with javascript libraries.
- khedoros 10y agoThis resonates with me. A lot of my tools update, and I eventually find good uses for the new/changed capabilities, but unless I have a particular use in mind, or unless it provides a concrete benefit, it's hard to chase after the new-shiny.
- jrumbut 10y agoI'm mixed on this myself. The way I look at it is that since I am more focused on results, I'm always looking for new tools that will do more of the work for me. That said, I get what you're saying. Often it's clear the new fad doesn't provide much utility. In those cases it's like waiting for a cold to be over.