4 ms·

This is a great benefit of being a software developer. With a decent amount of motivation it's possible to increase our knowledge and skills by a huge amount.

This is a great benefit of being a software developer. With a decent amount of motivation it's possible to increase our knowledge and skills by a huge amount. The internet puts so much information at our fingertips. Especially in recent years there are so many new languages, databases, libraries, etc. that if you want to learn something you can just do it. You don't need to go through a masters program, or even through a training course for that matter.

jgg 16y ago
If you really look at it, this is true for just about any field. For example, most of my mathematics education has come from the Internet or sources that were pointed out/purchased using the Internet. Other than giving you access to smart people face-to-face and a stupid piece of paper, the Internet can give you everything valuable about a college education and more. (I know you can earn degrees online, but they are usually extremely poor quality and often inconsistent.)
nzmsv 16y ago
This is true of languages and libraries, but learning entirely new concepts is harder. First of all, one has to figure out what to learn, and then actually learn it.
- derefr 16y ago
  If you just start reading some of the code-bases you use (libraries, compilers, operating systems, etc) to find out how they do the things they do, you'll quickly figure out what you need to learn—it'll feel like having absolutely no idea how the code you're looking at works.
- nekopa 16y ago
  That really hits the nail on the head. I am currently trying to learn chemistry, and trying to figure out the what to learn part has been extremely hard. Even trying to get a handle on the correct terminology so that you can then search online for more information was hard enough. I am trying a two-pronged attack on this problem. First I am reading Asimov's short history of chemistry, to try to get a basic understanding of the field. Second, I am trying a couple of projects where I think chemistry could be useful, and so by exploration I hope to also get a handle on some aspects of the field.

jgg 16y ago

If you really look at it, this is true for just about any field. For example, most of my mathematics education has come from the Internet or sources that were pointed out/purchased using the Internet. Other than giving you access to smart people face-to-face and a stupid piece of paper, the Internet can give you everything valuable about a college education and more. (I know you can earn degrees online, but they are usually extremely poor quality and often inconsistent.)

nzmsv 16y ago

This is true of languages and libraries, but learning entirely new concepts is harder. First of all, one has to figure out what to learn, and then actually learn it.

derefr 16y ago
If you just start reading some of the code-bases you use (libraries, compilers, operating systems, etc) to find out how they do the things they do, you'll quickly figure out what you need to learn—it'll feel like having absolutely no idea how the code you're looking at works.
nekopa 16y ago
That really hits the nail on the head. I am currently trying to learn chemistry, and trying to figure out the what to learn part has been extremely hard. Even trying to get a handle on the correct terminology so that you can then search online for more information was hard enough. I am trying a two-pronged attack on this problem. First I am reading Asimov's short history of chemistry, to try to get a basic understanding of the field. Second, I am trying a couple of projects where I think chemistry could be useful, and so by exploration I hope to also get a handle on some aspects of the field.