Learning is Life
I was recollecting the early days of my career with a colleague today at lunch.
My first job was working on a Tandem Mainframe. I used languages such as COBOL and SCOBOL and TACL to develop programs for a large oil and gas company in Canada - PetroCanada. I then developed a PC-based system that ran on OS/2, C and Oracle DB. (Please don't contact me for TANDEM SCOBOL jobs. I know there is still demand out there for that, but I am not the guy for that.)
My next job was supposed to be OS/2 and C, but quickly I fell into learning HTML and JavaScript and CGI-programming.... solo-developing a enterprise-wide web front-end for Bell Canada. That was fun. They used to CHARGE companies for web browsers back then. Netscape Navigator cost $99 per workstation.
And in the interview for job #3, my boss asked me if I knew SQL Server (I did not, only Oracle), if I knew Active Server Pages (I did not), and hired me anyways. So I met none of the skills he was looking for but picked it up on the job.
I got fully into the DOT COM boom with my fourth job, where I was leading a development team in a company that was hiring new developers every week even though we didn't have work for them right away. Hire, hire, hire...
The whole technology world changes every few years.
And I'm sure your story is the same. 20 years ago, what tech stack did you work on? 10 years ago? 5 years ago? Have things changed? (I hope so!)
That's why it's on US as developers, architects, and operations to keep our skills up to date. A company might offer to send you on courses or more likely provide you a subscription to Udemy for Business or similar training platform. But it's 100% up to YOU to ensure you are growing and learning and moving your career in the direction that you want it to go.
And maybe you don't know what direction you want your career to go just yet. That's OK.
In that case, the answer is "up". You want to become better at what you do. You want to be recognized as an expert. You want to be recognized as a master. Even if you're happy with what you're working on, and it's not dying out any time soon, we get fulfillment from becoming better.
Always be learning. Learning is life.
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