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I think going deep on something is the key. It lets you keep learning without getting bored and needing to jump ship. One of my pet peeves is how programmers th

I think going deep on something is the key. It lets you keep learning without getting bored and needing to jump ship. One of my pet peeves is how programmers think "keep learning" means "learn another programming language". Not that that's bad, but after the twentieth or so, . . . instead try learning something "adjacent" to what you enjoy & do well. For example for a Ruby+JS web developer: read some HTTP RFCs, play around with SSL certificates, learn some admin/devops skills, get really familiar with some part of modern JS/HTML like your framework or build system or HTML5 canvas or video, read the Rails Github issues list and fix a couple bugs, try writing your own gem, try writing your own gem with some C/Rust implementation, go fix all the n+1 query problems in your app, learn how to use CTEs and lateral joins, learn some plpgsql, write your own Postgres extension, etc. Or pick something adjacent-but-non-technical, like marketing or SEO or sales or financial statements. Remember that careers are long, and learning pays compound interest. There is no reason to get bored!

ac2u 8y ago
I would piggyback on your answer to say that learning those adjacent skills will also help you work on your process of learning in general. You're less likely to get stuck and give up because they're adjacent, and then when it comes to learning something not adjacent you're already a more experienced at learning and organising your thoughts when it comes to tackling a new problem.
shostack 8y ago
This really resonates with me. I'm a marketer who has become more and more technical over my career. The amount of opportunities that has unlocked have really been worth it for sure, but it also simply lets me be better at my trade than those who do not have those skills because I see connections they may not, and I can implement those things independently or with fewer resources than others. It also frankly just makes things more interesting, because when I think I've reached the bottom of a rabbit hole and risk getting bored, suddenly there's this new tunnel branching off of it that I can explore, and before I know it, I'm delving into expert-level problems of a part of my industry I've never considered before.
gspetr 8y ago
The problem I have with this, is that if you don't get to use your new shiny tech in your job, over the years you tend to forget the knowledge, at least that's the case for me. Does everyone else have eidetic memory? I found myself having to look up syntax and idioms of languages I was productive in a decade ago.
joelx 8y ago
This article makes fundamental errors. School performance is NOT a great indicator of intellect. The most successful people I know did just enough to get by decently in school and spent the rest of their efforts on activities that made them happy or were more productive. People who drove themselves crazy working as hard as they could in school generally didn't get anywhere in the real world.
- crimsonalucard 8y ago
  Anecdotal evidence. Data shows success in school correlates with career success.
- withdavidli 8y ago
  >People who drove themselves crazy working as hard as they could in school generally didn't get anywhere in the real world. I think these are the people the author is referencing. These students did amazing if measuring by GPA, but did so through hard work and a lot of thinking. Got praised for GPA related achievements which reinforced their over studying/thinking behavior, which leads to the scenarios the author describes. The most successful people you talk about likely wouldn't have the issues the article addresses.
crimsonalucard 8y ago
Its mindnumbing to learn the extraneous details about something that's basically understood. I dont want to master x86 assembly when I already get the concept of what it represents. I want to learn new concepts. Make a lambda based computer for example. Browser development is the worst. Hacks and compatibility details galore. I hate the fact that to get into front end development I would have to master how to get around someone elses mess.

ac2u 8y ago

I would piggyback on your answer to say that learning those adjacent skills will also help you work on your process of learning in general. You're less likely to get stuck and give up because they're adjacent, and then when it comes to learning something not adjacent you're already a more experienced at learning and organising your thoughts when it comes to tackling a new problem.

shostack 8y ago

This really resonates with me. I'm a marketer who has become more and more technical over my career. The amount of opportunities that has unlocked have really been worth it for sure, but it also simply lets me be better at my trade than those who do not have those skills because I see connections they may not, and I can implement those things independently or with fewer resources than others. It also frankly just makes things more interesting, because when I think I've reached the bottom of a rabbit hole and risk getting bored, suddenly there's this new tunnel branching off of it that I can explore, and before I know it, I'm delving into expert-level problems of a part of my industry I've never considered before.

gspetr 8y ago

The problem I have with this, is that if you don't get to use your new shiny tech in your job, over the years you tend to forget the knowledge, at least that's the case for me. Does everyone else have eidetic memory? I found myself having to look up syntax and idioms of languages I was productive in a decade ago.

joelx 8y ago

This article makes fundamental errors. School performance is NOT a great indicator of intellect. The most successful people I know did just enough to get by decently in school and spent the rest of their efforts on activities that made them happy or were more productive. People who drove themselves crazy working as hard as they could in school generally didn't get anywhere in the real world.

crimsonalucard 8y ago
Anecdotal evidence. Data shows success in school correlates with career success.
withdavidli 8y ago
>People who drove themselves crazy working as hard as they could in school generally didn't get anywhere in the real world. I think these are the people the author is referencing. These students did amazing if measuring by GPA, but did so through hard work and a lot of thinking. Got praised for GPA related achievements which reinforced their over studying/thinking behavior, which leads to the scenarios the author describes. The most successful people you talk about likely wouldn't have the issues the article addresses.

crimsonalucard 8y ago

Its mindnumbing to learn the extraneous details about something that's basically understood. I dont want to master x86 assembly when I already get the concept of what it represents. I want to learn new concepts. Make a lambda based computer for example. Browser development is the worst. Hacks and compatibility details galore. I hate the fact that to get into front end development I would have to master how to get around someone elses mess.