Review: Learning Java

This is a pretty decent book. I'm new to Java but have an extensive development background.

I appreciated the exercises and examples. The only thing I really struggled with was Eclipse. I haven't used Eclipse in the past and so there was a steep learning curve for me.

I think this is a great book to get a decent understanding of the basics of Java. I will need a different book as a guide as I dive deeper into Java.

* Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy of this book to review.

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Hire Me Facebook

I was watching the video in this post and at time index 3:03, Mark Zuckerberg says "Our policy is to literally hire as many talented engineers as we can find." Zuckerberg goes on to say their system limits are in part due to lack of resources to help the build what their products. Sounds like a good problem to have. He mentions lack of training as a reason they aren't able to find enough engineers. And I'll give him that, many of our schools aren't teaching the critical skills people need to build the technology of the future. I can attest to this first hand after a recent semester in college, the technology classes are outdated or not relevant.

I didn't want this to turn into a rant about education, but the bottom line is, Colleges and Universities need to be as forward thinking as companies need to be. It's not good enough to spend $100K on a degree and have to start with little or no knowledge of the tech field.

In this same video, Will.i.am talks about how our world runs on technology yet very few of us know how to code to make things work. I agree. Even a basic understanding of computer code can be valuable. And there are plenty of online learning tools.

http://www.codecademy.com/
http://girldevelopit.com/
https://www.udacity.com/

I'm not really looking for a job, and despite what personal feelings you may have about Facebook, I have my own, working for this company as an engineer would be very cool. So Facebook, let's talk! Here is my LinkedIn profile.

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No Development For Old Men

I started listening to a new podcast today, well new for me, called This Developers Life. And aparently I started listening at a great time. The podcast is hosted by Rob Conery and Scott Hanselman. The podcast is a discussion on things technical and not so technical. Great idea, been wanting to do something like this for a while.

Last weeks show Scott made a comment how developers who can't keep up with fast changing technologies, give up and go into management. At first I thought what big balls this guy has to make a statement like that. He was basically saying that if you can't keep up you're a loser, and the only thing left for you is management.

The rest of the day was spent reflecting on my career, the choices I've made, and the direction I am heading. I also wondered if I had made that choice; give up trying and default to management.

The movie title No Country for Old Men popped into my head at one point. I some times feel like that. What to do with old developers. I remembered back to my days during Y2K, and the number of Cobol programmers brought out of moth balls to help remediate code written 30 years ago. For a short while they felt useful again. It must have been exciting to be back in the game.

I digress. Back to Scotts comments, Rob's thoughts, and a follow up interview with a listener named Mark Freedman. I've read Marks blog off and on, and his story is about a technology Manager trying to get back into development, and the struggles he is facing. It's a great read, and I appreciate his openness.

Honestly, I've tried to spend more time in management, and less time coding. It wasn't that I couldn't, or wouldn't, keep up with the fast pace of changing development technologies. My choice, I thought, was for the need to share my experience, mentor other developers, and work on the big picture of projects. I have also used the "I can't keep up" excuse several times, as a way to express my displeasure of development. I think I was really just copping out.

So how do Old Developers get a Country? Well, just because I'm older, and not as fast, doesn't mean I need to shelve my development efforts. Scott and Mark both talk about going solo, forging ahead on your own, and filling multiple roles; developer, manager, entrepreneure. I've freelanced for some time, and I know the grass isn't greener on that side either. That path has it's own unique issues. But the trade off was I get to code, get to manage, and get to innovate. The best of all worlds. I think that could be a great Country for Old Developers, like me.

I'm amazed how much one podcast has affected me. Great job Rob and Scott (and Mark too). I love it when someone makes me think about my own situation, and causes true change. Working on my career plan, which I haven't updated or added to in a long time.

(Image from Firstshowing.net)

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