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I think what specifically you need to know about largely depends on the field you are working in. A colleague once told me it is important that you are constan
by rethab 10y ago
I think what specifically you need to know about largely depends on the field you are working in.
A colleague once told me it is important that you are constantly working on something in your free time that is not something you do at work (eg. different technologies, different programming languages paradigm, different database type, etc).
This simple advice does two things: You are constantly learning, and you are making sure you're looking beyond whatever it is you are doing for money. You are widening your horizon. Maybe you discover something that you can eventually use at work, maybe it will never be useful.. Who knows in which direction we're heading?
- lutefisk 10y agoSounds like a recipe for burnout. I've tried a few times picking up a new language in my free time, but since I program for work it made my days feel 3 hours longer. I've started picking up hobbies unrelated to programming, it's much easier to spend the time learning something completely different.
- rethab 10y agoSo when I said "work on something not work related", I didn't necessarily mean "creating a side-business". It could also be studying or something. In my specific case, I try to study a specific subject each week, for which I invest 4h per week. In fact, it doesn't even have to be technical, I just try to focus on something rather than reading bits and pieces about everything on HN, Twitter, etc.