3 ms·

> You just do it. On the job. Without asking for permission. And hope your boss is forgiving.

by dabockster 9y ago

crispyambulance 9y ago
Perhaps, but I have NEVER heard of somebody getting fired for "up-skilling" while still getting work done.
- maxxxxx 9y ago
  I have seen people squeezing in a whole new stack just because. Like instead of adding two new web APIs to the existing server suddenly you have that weird beast that's half Node and half .NET.
  - jaggederest 9y ago
    I think that's one of the gaping flaws to that method of skill acquisition. It's a great way to introduce politics and negative-sum-games to the workplace. Suddenly people are picking projects and stacks based on personal aggrandizement rather than professionalism. Maybe companies should start hiring a chief behavioral (economic?) officer to go with the chief culture officer.
    - maxxxxx 9y ago
      I don't blame this on the people doing it. There are some idiots but in general it's mainly because a lot of people don't feel challenged and therefore look for something interesting. Managers should encourage innovation but control it. I see so many projects where management rejects every kind of change without discussion. Either only losers will stay in that environment or you get this kind of underground projects. If management looked at something more than only deadlines and budgets the whole climate would improve.
  - crispyambulance 9y ago
    That's hilarious. But that's what people do when there's no "boss-sanctioned" way to up-skill and learn new things. I think lots of smart folks get started by cargo-culting an oversized solution/platform onto their sad boring projects, then gradually step into bigger and better things at other employers. The two-headed monstrosities are a necessary evil to get started for many people.
  - JBReefer 9y ago
    I'm literally working one something that's exactly that, right now. Connected by HAProxy joining APIs from both sides. Weird.

> You just do it. On the job. Without asking for permission. And hope your boss is forgiving.

crispyambulance 9y ago

Perhaps, but I have NEVER heard of somebody getting fired for "up-skilling" while still getting work done.

maxxxxx 9y ago
I have seen people squeezing in a whole new stack just because. Like instead of adding two new web APIs to the existing server suddenly you have that weird beast that's half Node and half .NET.
- jaggederest 9y ago
  I think that's one of the gaping flaws to that method of skill acquisition. It's a great way to introduce politics and negative-sum-games to the workplace. Suddenly people are picking projects and stacks based on personal aggrandizement rather than professionalism. Maybe companies should start hiring a chief behavioral (economic?) officer to go with the chief culture officer.
  - maxxxxx 9y ago
    I don't blame this on the people doing it. There are some idiots but in general it's mainly because a lot of people don't feel challenged and therefore look for something interesting. Managers should encourage innovation but control it. I see so many projects where management rejects every kind of change without discussion. Either only losers will stay in that environment or you get this kind of underground projects. If management looked at something more than only deadlines and budgets the whole climate would improve.
- crispyambulance 9y ago
  That's hilarious. But that's what people do when there's no "boss-sanctioned" way to up-skill and learn new things. I think lots of smart folks get started by cargo-culting an oversized solution/platform onto their sad boring projects, then gradually step into bigger and better things at other employers. The two-headed monstrosities are a necessary evil to get started for many people.
- JBReefer 9y ago
  I'm literally working one something that's exactly that, right now. Connected by HAProxy joining APIs from both sides. Weird.