I spoke Monday evening at the Minneapolis Java User's group, and thanks to a nifty iPhone utility provided by qik.com, I was able to stream (and record) the video via my iPhone.
Because it was streaming, Surya was able to watch the talk from Philadelphia. (I love technology!). You can read Surya's review of the event here. http://www.suryasuravarapu.com/2009/02/career-20-take-control-of-your-life.html
He also includes a link to the qik.com video.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Fix a Bug Today!
One of the things we constantly advise people to do is take action when they want to get involved, and known, within a community. A great example is JRuby. Charles Nutter worked on it, at home, on his own time, and was hired by Sun to work on JRuby full-time.
These days Charles constantly posts opportunities for others to take advantage of. Today in a Twitter post, Charles said:
These days Charles constantly posts opportunities for others to take advantage of. Today in a Twitter post, Charles said:
headius Here's an interesting bug for someone...our BigInteger-to-double conversion seems to be buggy. Got a better one? http://is.gd/hoOJ
Monday, January 5, 2009
What's Your Strategy?
"Fail to plan and you plan to fail" a manager of mine used to say. She was right. If you don't have a target, it's hard to miss, but it's hard to hit as well.
Having a road map or strategy is a vital part of anything we do, but we so often muddle through. We adopt the "Just Do It!" mantra. "Shut up and code!" It doesn't work for software projects and it doesn't work for our careers either.
You've also got to remember that no plan is perfect. A WWII general (whose name I forget) said "The plan is essential. The plan is useless." Plans rarely survive contact with the enemy, and they certainly won't survive contact with our lives. We've got to be able to let go of plans that run astray and reset our goals to things that matter today.
But today's topic is about your strategies, not ours. We'd like to ask you to share your best career moments. In the comments sections, or send us email if you'd prefer, tell us:
Having a road map or strategy is a vital part of anything we do, but we so often muddle through. We adopt the "Just Do It!" mantra. "Shut up and code!" It doesn't work for software projects and it doesn't work for our careers either.
You've also got to remember that no plan is perfect. A WWII general (whose name I forget) said "The plan is essential. The plan is useless." Plans rarely survive contact with the enemy, and they certainly won't survive contact with our lives. We've got to be able to let go of plans that run astray and reset our goals to things that matter today.
But today's topic is about your strategies, not ours. We'd like to ask you to share your best career moments. In the comments sections, or send us email if you'd prefer, tell us:
- What's the single best career move you've made?
- The worst?
- Do you have a plan today? Have you ever?
- What career advice do you wish someone had told you X years ago?
Friday, November 14, 2008
Exercise
My apologies for blog post being written in 3rd person. I don't usually refer to myself that way, but this is an early excerpt from the book. Unedited and unfiltered. :) Please be kind.
-Jared
A few years ago Jared started lifting weights again. An important bit of background is that Jared was on the North Carolina State University wrestling team once upon a time. He wasn't a starter, or second string. Or third string. But when the coach needed someone to use to demonstrate a dangerous move ("here's how you take the shoulder out of the socket..."), he'd look around for one of the wrestlers who were good enough to not be kicked out of the room... good enough to be used for demonstrations, but definitely not first string. That was Jared. He was a crash test dummy for the coach.
So when Jared started lifting weights again, the trainer asked how long it had been he'd been in the weight room. As he did the math in his head, Jared realized it had been 13 years since he'd had a serious workout. But it's like riding a bike... how bad could it be?
He realized how bad it could be as he staggered back to his house an hour later. His first clue was trying to walk down the stairs to leave the community center. His legs weren't working quite right. After crossing the road, the five steps leading into the house posed another unexpected challenge. Sadly, the shower was on the second floor.
How do we know that Jared got a good workout? He hurt. He hurt in so many new and unhappy ways. Muscles that hadn't been used for years were called back into service with no warning. There were muscles hurting that Jared didn't even remember having. It was a productive day, but not a happy one.
When you're picking a new technology to learn, try to learn something that "hurts". Find something that actually stretches your mind. If you pick up a new language or technology and it's easy, then it wasn't a real workout. It's still good for you and great practice, but if you're a Java developer, then C# isn't really a stretch for you. Try Erlang or Lisp. The goal is to find a way to exercise those muscles in your head. The ones you forgot you had.
A great way to experiment with this is switching your mouse hand. If you're right-handed, use your mouse left handed, and vice versa. You can do the same thing with your fork at your next meal. That feeling of frustration in your head after ten minutes is what we want. Take any action you've done often enough to do without thinking about it anymore, then switch it up. Right handed to left handed. Procedural programming to functional. Windows to Linux.
Like working out with weights, you'll do best if you have a workout plan. Maybe even a trainer to help guide you. But also, just like working out, it's better to get started today instead of waiting until next week when you have a plan.
Here are some ideas to jump start your efforts.
LOTY- The "Language of the Year" idea put forth by the Pragmatic Programmers years ago still bears following. Pick one language a year to learn. Be sure it's a different enough language to hurt though.
TOTY- "Technology of the Year" is a variation on the LOTY idea. If you're a server-side guru, learn a GUI toolkit or JavaScript. There so many different areas from IOC containers to JavaScript toolkits to new application servers that you have no excuse for not being able to learn something radically new this year.
Virtual Box- VB is an open-source virtualization solution that's free for non-commercial use. You can use it to run Linux (or any other operating system) on top of your Windows installation. It runs on Windows, Linux, or Macs and can host operating systems from BSD to MS-DOS to Vista. It's a great way to start learning a new operating without reformatting your hard drive.
So what can you do today?
-Jared
A few years ago Jared started lifting weights again. An important bit of background is that Jared was on the North Carolina State University wrestling team once upon a time. He wasn't a starter, or second string. Or third string. But when the coach needed someone to use to demonstrate a dangerous move ("here's how you take the shoulder out of the socket..."), he'd look around for one of the wrestlers who were good enough to not be kicked out of the room... good enough to be used for demonstrations, but definitely not first string. That was Jared. He was a crash test dummy for the coach.
So when Jared started lifting weights again, the trainer asked how long it had been he'd been in the weight room. As he did the math in his head, Jared realized it had been 13 years since he'd had a serious workout. But it's like riding a bike... how bad could it be?
He realized how bad it could be as he staggered back to his house an hour later. His first clue was trying to walk down the stairs to leave the community center. His legs weren't working quite right. After crossing the road, the five steps leading into the house posed another unexpected challenge. Sadly, the shower was on the second floor.
How do we know that Jared got a good workout? He hurt. He hurt in so many new and unhappy ways. Muscles that hadn't been used for years were called back into service with no warning. There were muscles hurting that Jared didn't even remember having. It was a productive day, but not a happy one.
When you're picking a new technology to learn, try to learn something that "hurts". Find something that actually stretches your mind. If you pick up a new language or technology and it's easy, then it wasn't a real workout. It's still good for you and great practice, but if you're a Java developer, then C# isn't really a stretch for you. Try Erlang or Lisp. The goal is to find a way to exercise those muscles in your head. The ones you forgot you had.
A great way to experiment with this is switching your mouse hand. If you're right-handed, use your mouse left handed, and vice versa. You can do the same thing with your fork at your next meal. That feeling of frustration in your head after ten minutes is what we want. Take any action you've done often enough to do without thinking about it anymore, then switch it up. Right handed to left handed. Procedural programming to functional. Windows to Linux.
Like working out with weights, you'll do best if you have a workout plan. Maybe even a trainer to help guide you. But also, just like working out, it's better to get started today instead of waiting until next week when you have a plan.
Here are some ideas to jump start your efforts.
LOTY- The "Language of the Year" idea put forth by the Pragmatic Programmers years ago still bears following. Pick one language a year to learn. Be sure it's a different enough language to hurt though.
TOTY- "Technology of the Year" is a variation on the LOTY idea. If you're a server-side guru, learn a GUI toolkit or JavaScript. There so many different areas from IOC containers to JavaScript toolkits to new application servers that you have no excuse for not being able to learn something radically new this year.
Virtual Box- VB is an open-source virtualization solution that's free for non-commercial use. You can use it to run Linux (or any other operating system) on top of your Windows installation. It runs on Windows, Linux, or Macs and can host operating systems from BSD to MS-DOS to Vista. It's a great way to start learning a new operating without reformatting your hard drive.
So what can you do today?
Monday, September 8, 2008
Keynote Feedback
I've been giving a Career 2.0 keynote talk in various venues and thought I'd share some of the feedback I've been getting.
Jack Frosch heard me at the Rich Web Experience in DC last week. He writes:
The most frustrating situations I encounter teaching in the JUG and the community college are those of the legacy COBOL / RPG developers desperate to upgrade their skills. Of course, they want to do it fast and easy. Unfortunately, like the 60 year old who never saved for retirement, they haven't been investing in their Knowledge Portfolio and have only their initial, 30-year-old "one-time" investment to work with. Now they face the prospect of downsizing or their job being outsourced. Some have been told their legacy programming jobs are scheduled to be eliminated - as soon as they finish training their outsourced replacements! (This is perhaps the ultimate slap in the face from companies who only wanted them to be "good enough, but not so good they could leave.")
Many got into COBOL 20 or 30 years ago straight from college. They mistakenly believe just taking a course or two will prepare them to compete against experienced Java and web developers. They're overwhelmed by the prospect of learning object-oriented programming, a modern programming language, and development methodologies.
Nearly everyone in our field knows someone like this. They got out of college, then coasted through their careers. They worked hard everyday, but they never looked around to see what was going on outside their team. Eventually, it always catches up with you.
Ken Sipe, a fellow NFJS speaker, sent me this:
Here are two points you might want to know.
1st: Getting know (Visibility) I specifically got an extra $20 / hr bill rate based on visibility. The client did not normally pay high dollar rates... they did a google search on my name which resulted in a number of hits. Their jaws dropped and they said we need you.
To your point... I didn't write a book... this were articles, blogs and speaking engagements
2nd: The other point is you just don't know what will be popular... here is a link with a comment which just makes your day.
http://kensipe.blogspot.com/2008/08/fixing-java-memory-tools-on-mac-os-x.html
Let it be know that I was "Internet Hero for a Week" :)
Nice!
From Jason Rudolph, Groovy and Grails guru:
Definitely continue to encourage people to write about everything they do. "Write about everything you do." Or, "Don't do anything without publicizing it / writing about it."
and
You mentioned several times that people can't know what's gonna be popular on their blog. So true!
* I recommend talking even more about the "no pain, no gain" stuff you discussed. When something's hard, you're learning. Otherwise, you're coasting.
* You explained that if you really want to know a topic, write about it. Right on! I couldn't agree more. You might *think* you know a topic, but when you start writing about it, I'll bet you learn more about it than you've ever known. You don't even know what you *don't know* until you start to write about it. :-)
Finally, from Phillip Rhodes,
Hey Jared, I was just thinking about your "Career 2.0"
talk and a thought crossed my mind that I thought I'd
run by you. How about "Creating / Editing Wikipedia Entries" as
an "action item" for becoming a recognized expert on a topic?
Absolutely! That's a great way to get your name out there.
I realize this is a long post, but I've meaning to share some of these for a while. Keep the feedback coming.
Jack Frosch heard me at the Rich Web Experience in DC last week. He writes:
The most frustrating situations I encounter teaching in the JUG and the community college are those of the legacy COBOL / RPG developers desperate to upgrade their skills. Of course, they want to do it fast and easy. Unfortunately, like the 60 year old who never saved for retirement, they haven't been investing in their Knowledge Portfolio and have only their initial, 30-year-old "one-time" investment to work with. Now they face the prospect of downsizing or their job being outsourced. Some have been told their legacy programming jobs are scheduled to be eliminated - as soon as they finish training their outsourced replacements! (This is perhaps the ultimate slap in the face from companies who only wanted them to be "good enough, but not so good they could leave.")
Many got into COBOL 20 or 30 years ago straight from college. They mistakenly believe just taking a course or two will prepare them to compete against experienced Java and web developers. They're overwhelmed by the prospect of learning object-oriented programming, a modern programming language, and development methodologies.
Nearly everyone in our field knows someone like this. They got out of college, then coasted through their careers. They worked hard everyday, but they never looked around to see what was going on outside their team. Eventually, it always catches up with you.
Ken Sipe, a fellow NFJS speaker, sent me this:
Here are two points you might want to know.
1st: Getting know (Visibility) I specifically got an extra $20 / hr bill rate based on visibility. The client did not normally pay high dollar rates... they did a google search on my name which resulted in a number of hits. Their jaws dropped and they said we need you.
To your point... I didn't write a book... this were articles, blogs and speaking engagements
2nd: The other point is you just don't know what will be popular... here is a link with a comment which just makes your day.
http://kensipe.blogspot.com/2008/08/fixing-java-memory-tools-on-mac-os-x.html
Let it be know that I was "Internet Hero for a Week" :)
Nice!
From Jason Rudolph, Groovy and Grails guru:
Definitely continue to encourage people to write about everything they do. "Write about everything you do." Or, "Don't do anything without publicizing it / writing about it."
and
You mentioned several times that people can't know what's gonna be popular on their blog. So true!
* I recommend talking even more about the "no pain, no gain" stuff you discussed. When something's hard, you're learning. Otherwise, you're coasting.
* You explained that if you really want to know a topic, write about it. Right on! I couldn't agree more. You might *think* you know a topic, but when you start writing about it, I'll bet you learn more about it than you've ever known. You don't even know what you *don't know* until you start to write about it. :-)
Finally, from Phillip Rhodes,
Hey Jared, I was just thinking about your "Career 2.0"
talk and a thought crossed my mind that I thought I'd
run by you. How about "Creating / Editing Wikipedia Entries" as
an "action item" for becoming a recognized expert on a topic?
Absolutely! That's a great way to get your name out there.
I realize this is a long post, but I've meaning to share some of these for a while. Keep the feedback coming.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The Best Programming Tool You've Got
I was watching The Dog Whipserer... Cesar is amazing! And during one of his shows he made a comment that really applies to our field. He asked a dog groomer what the best equipment was that he had. The groomer named some brand of expensive scissors. Most of us would name our favorite IDE or language. I know a few people who would say their Mac is their favorite development tool.
But Cesar got it right when he corrected the groomer. He said the tools were irrelevant. The best tool you have is yourself. Simple really, but when's the last time you took time to improve yourself. To invest in yourself?
Follow the advice of the financial analysts. Pay yourself first. You can only do your best job for your company if you're the best you can be. It's better for you and it's better for your boss.
Take some time this week and learn something new. Grails 1.0.3 just came out. Rails just released a new version. Erlang is on the rise. Or start small. Follow some of Matt's InfoQ tutorials
But learn something new. You're the best tool you've got. Act like it.
But Cesar got it right when he corrected the groomer. He said the tools were irrelevant. The best tool you have is yourself. Simple really, but when's the last time you took time to improve yourself. To invest in yourself?
Follow the advice of the financial analysts. Pay yourself first. You can only do your best job for your company if you're the best you can be. It's better for you and it's better for your boss.
Take some time this week and learn something new. Grails 1.0.3 just came out. Rails just released a new version. Erlang is on the rise. Or start small. Follow some of Matt's InfoQ tutorials
But learn something new. You're the best tool you've got. Act like it.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Nomadic programming
What is nomadic programming and why should you do it? Get the full scoop over on my blog.
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