Filed under: Business, Developer, Features
Dev Chair : Keep sharp, stay valuable
Oh, sure, the development environment is about as challenging as beating your 7-year-old cousin in a game of scrabble. And, so what if the closest thing you'll be seeing to the "bleeding edge" during office hours is the paper-cut you get from your first paycheck? It's a job, and a well paying one at that, so what could be the harm?
Plenty, that's what. When surveying your list of options while trying to find a new Aeron chair to call home, consider this; You're only as good as the job you'll be qualified for next. Spend 24 to 36 months writing in some long dead or proprietary language and you might as well have taken a sabbatical to study ancient Latin. At least Latin geeks get women. They must do; otherwise, what reason would they have to study Latin?
What if you find yourself in a position where, in the interest of debt service, or family obligations, you've just got to take that high-paying job which happens to be more boring than dry white-bread toast? How can you stay current, while still checking bank at the boring 9 to 5?
Contribute to an open source project, or start your own
If you're a Linux or BSD junkie, chances are you've contributed on some level to an open source project at some point. Why stop there? Contributing patches to and following development of some leading edge open source project is a great way to stay fresh in the nuts and bolts of serious development.
Make daring suggestions to merge new or newer technology into your boring day-job environment
This isn't as risky as it sounds, as long as you have the drive to follow through on the implementation. Do you see some way new development methods or tools could save the benefactor of your boring day job time, money or effort? Don't be afraid to speak up! Often, when you first start a development job in an established environment, you see things with a pair of eyes that the old guard of developers lost long ago. All those little quirks, inefficiencies and missed opportunities you see so easily, the long term maintainers turned blind to back when Clinton held the White House.
You may be surprised how a strong idea, coupled with strategic and well thought out presentation to the powers-that-be, will go over in your new environment. Added to which, if you're the guy who brings it to the table, you've got every chance of leading the reins to implementation. Do well and you could be writing your own ticket within, or without the company inside which you're currently stuck.
Take an evening class
Most of us dropped the campus life a long time ago, but that doesn't have to be the case. Spending some of that extra cash you're making on additional professional training in a language or skill you see yourself lacking can pay off big time the next time you hit the job market.
To thyne own self be true
As a developer, staying on your toes, and on the leading edge, is the ticket to the long green. Simply put, stay current or you could find yourself living in a van down by the river. Think outside the box now, to avoid living in one later.