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I'm 41. Traditionally, as you got older you had more demands on your time, but you could offset that with experience which made you faster and better. I don't k
by CalRobert 3y ago
I'm 41. Traditionally, as you got older you had more demands on your time, but you could offset that with experience which made you faster and better. I don't know if I'm slower than I was in my 20's, but I definitely know that I spend a lot less time developing my skills outside of work than I did back then. I have two kids, a house that needs fixing, and a million other things to do.
I wonder if part of the reason so many IC's go in to management is simply that "how do you handle a team conflict" has a more evergreen answer than "how do you do some random task in X framework, describe the cost of different approaches in big-O notation, and do it fast". Or, of course, you've had 20 years to build up your network of professional friends and you all get each other the nicer jobs.
- zikduruqe 3y ago> I spend a lot less time developing my skills outside of work As someone that can see retirement on the horizon... screw that. When the work day is done, I close the laptop lid and eschew technology. If I am not getting paid to develop any skills, then I am on my time. I've never known a heart surgeon that practices on his kitchen table in his free time. I'm not going to practice standing up some k8s stack in my free time.
- fifteen1506 3y agoUnfortunately we're all running not to be in the forefront but not to be left behind. You can well believe that when VR is disseminated, surgeons will practice at home.
- verbify 3y agoA family member is a doctor and spends a great deal of time on continuous professional development (mostly reading journals to stay up to date on new approaches and best practices). I assume as he gets closer to retirement the ROI for this effort will diminish.
- CalRobert 3y agoUnfortunately this is not an option everyone can avail of since we are, by the design of our society, in competition with our peers for necessities like housing and healthcare. I might not want to spend my evenings learning NextJS (also wtf is up with Vercel and vendor lock-in? Why the hell does anyone use this?) but my peers may.
- holoduke 3y agoA good thing about having kids is that you become a decent manager. In my case with 4 kids tou have to improve those skills and is useful in professional life.
- tgv 3y agoI agree. Experience is improves many tasks, from system administration to architecture. I'd say the latter is almost impossible without extensive experience. Nitpick: the complexity of a task rarely changes.
- taway_6PplYu5 3y agoOlder data scientist; let's call it 20+ career years and I started late. I can look at a situation and usually almost instantly see the right approach. Couldn't do that when I was earlier in my career; at least not with the same level of confidence (which is supported by my results working in practice). I can mentor my team-mates to be able to do the same. Work with me for a few months and your skills will certainly improve. I can spot errors in thinking as well as errors in code; correcting the errors in a person's thought, in how they approach a problem, can have profound results fast.