I liked this guide, even though it was brief - there were some useful career koans.
> Finally, don’t forget to be well rounded.
When I started my first real software development job at a fairly large company, I was surprised to see that practically everyone worked on their own life outside of work, with a few exceptions (like me, at the time). They were part-time geeks in that they spent time away from the computer - when they were not at work. That was the biggest difference for me - going from college to the work force.
Some had families - which were their focus - every year around Halloween time it was vividly evident how important their children were ("John has two kids!.. I had no idea") and their jobs were (to support their families).
Some invested time in hobbies - whether it involved fixing up motorcycles, renovating their house, and my favorite (volunteering to maintain old railroad steam engines and run them on occasional weekends). The weirdest hobby - was a guy who did rubbings - as in rubbings of gravestones - when he traveled.
The first years in software development can be intense because you (usually) can hyper-focus on it. Once you get some experience, you'll start to realize it's not about the technology - there are common patterns. And once you have a lot of experience, you might be on the transition path out of wanting to code with the latest out there - e.g. settle down, start a family.
> That point is worth repeating another way: an extra dollar in salary is not really a dollar, it is 60 cents.
In the crazy dot-com days, I invested a mere thousand and made $25k+ and lost it all on margin calls. And learned to realize how hard it is to actually make $25,000 while paying living expenses. Tracking is the first step to budgeting - and it can be painful.
I'd like to put a plug in for doing gravestone rubbings. If you've never tried it, grab a box of crayons and some paper and maybe a date and head over to your nearest cemetery. I've only done it once or twice but I've found some really cool patterns and textures both times.
> Finally, don’t forget to be well rounded.
When I started my first real software development job at a fairly large company, I was surprised to see that practically everyone worked on their own life outside of work, with a few exceptions (like me, at the time). They were part-time geeks in that they spent time away from the computer - when they were not at work. That was the biggest difference for me - going from college to the work force.
Some had families - which were their focus - every year around Halloween time it was vividly evident how important their children were ("John has two kids!.. I had no idea") and their jobs were (to support their families).
Some invested time in hobbies - whether it involved fixing up motorcycles, renovating their house, and my favorite (volunteering to maintain old railroad steam engines and run them on occasional weekends). The weirdest hobby - was a guy who did rubbings - as in rubbings of gravestones - when he traveled.
The first years in software development can be intense because you (usually) can hyper-focus on it. Once you get some experience, you'll start to realize it's not about the technology - there are common patterns. And once you have a lot of experience, you might be on the transition path out of wanting to code with the latest out there - e.g. settle down, start a family.
> That point is worth repeating another way: an extra dollar in salary is not really a dollar, it is 60 cents.
In the crazy dot-com days, I invested a mere thousand and made $25k+ and lost it all on margin calls. And learned to realize how hard it is to actually make $25,000 while paying living expenses. Tracking is the first step to budgeting - and it can be painful.