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Trouble Keeping Up?

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  • J Offline
    J Offline
    JamminJimE
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    I hope that I'm not the only one otherwise I'm gonna start interviewing at the fast food chains. Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up? I work 9 hours a day with an hour for lunch, a 45 minute commute each way. This doesn't leave much time for trying to keep up with Microsoft changing everything every couple of months! If asked, I couldn't even tell you what all the new technologies' acronyms mean! I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it. "Would you like fries with that?"..."Would you like to large size for only 39 cents more?" Just practicing! :wtf:

    JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

    Q S M M L 14 Replies Last reply
    0
    • J JamminJimE

      I hope that I'm not the only one otherwise I'm gonna start interviewing at the fast food chains. Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up? I work 9 hours a day with an hour for lunch, a 45 minute commute each way. This doesn't leave much time for trying to keep up with Microsoft changing everything every couple of months! If asked, I couldn't even tell you what all the new technologies' acronyms mean! I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it. "Would you like fries with that?"..."Would you like to large size for only 39 cents more?" Just practicing! :wtf:

      JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

      Q Offline
      Q Offline
      QuiJohn
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      JamminJimE wrote:

      I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it.

      In what alternate universe was this ever the case?


      Faith is a fine invention For gentlemen who see; But microscopes are prudent In an emergency! -Emily Dickinson

      N realJSOPR R 3 Replies Last reply
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      • Q QuiJohn

        JamminJimE wrote:

        I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it.

        In what alternate universe was this ever the case?


        Faith is a fine invention For gentlemen who see; But microscopes are prudent In an emergency! -Emily Dickinson

        N Offline
        N Offline
        Nish Nishant
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        David Kentley wrote:

        In what alternate universe was this ever the case?

        During the early DOS days with GWBASIC, Turbo C (not C++), and MASM (or TASM) I guess.

        Regards, Nish


        Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
        Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. (*Sample chapter available online*)

        R C 2 Replies Last reply
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        • J JamminJimE

          I hope that I'm not the only one otherwise I'm gonna start interviewing at the fast food chains. Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up? I work 9 hours a day with an hour for lunch, a 45 minute commute each way. This doesn't leave much time for trying to keep up with Microsoft changing everything every couple of months! If asked, I couldn't even tell you what all the new technologies' acronyms mean! I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it. "Would you like fries with that?"..."Would you like to large size for only 39 cents more?" Just practicing! :wtf:

          JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

          S Offline
          S Offline
          Shog9 0
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          JamminJimE wrote:

          Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up?

          Naw. Oh, sure, if i wanted to be up-to-date on every new MS "technology", i'd never sleep... but that's just madness. I don't care how amazing Biztalk is, it'll either die out in a couple of years, or someone will find a way to explain it in 100 short words. WPF may be the most amazing new technology ever created, but i doubt it. A decade ago, I was writing GUIs in DOS that had better layout engines than WinForms - if i ever really need to use some new MS GUI thing, i'm sure i'll be able to get the hang of it in an afternoon. Here's a link for you: Fire and Motion[^]

          When I was an Israeli paratrooper a general stopped by to give us a little speech about strategy. In infantry battles, he told us, there is only one strategy: Fire and Motion. You move towards the enemy while firing your weapon. The firing forces him to keep his head down so he can't fire at you. [...] The companies who stumble are the ones who spend too much time reading tea leaves to figure out the future direction of Microsoft. People get worried about .NET and decide to rewrite their whole architecture for .NET because they think they have to. Microsoft is shooting at you, and it's just cover fire so that they can move forward and you can't, because this is how the game is played...

          ---- Do you see what i see? Why do we live like this? Is it because it's true... ...That ignorance is bliss?

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          • J JamminJimE

            I hope that I'm not the only one otherwise I'm gonna start interviewing at the fast food chains. Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up? I work 9 hours a day with an hour for lunch, a 45 minute commute each way. This doesn't leave much time for trying to keep up with Microsoft changing everything every couple of months! If asked, I couldn't even tell you what all the new technologies' acronyms mean! I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it. "Would you like fries with that?"..."Would you like to large size for only 39 cents more?" Just practicing! :wtf:

            JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

            M Offline
            M Offline
            Michael P Butler
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            JamminJimE wrote:

            I hope that I'm not the only one otherwise I'm gonna start interviewing at the fast food chains. Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up? I work 9 hours a day with an hour for lunch, a 45 minute commute each way. This doesn't leave much time for trying to keep up with Microsoft changing everything every couple of months! If asked, I couldn't even tell you what all the new technologies' acronyms mean! I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it.

            As most of the new stuff builds on what went before, I don't find the learning curve too hard. As long as you have good solid development practises, you'll find you can cope with almost anything Microsoft throw at you.

            Michael CP Blog [^] Development Blog [^]

            S 1 Reply Last reply
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            • J JamminJimE

              I hope that I'm not the only one otherwise I'm gonna start interviewing at the fast food chains. Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up? I work 9 hours a day with an hour for lunch, a 45 minute commute each way. This doesn't leave much time for trying to keep up with Microsoft changing everything every couple of months! If asked, I couldn't even tell you what all the new technologies' acronyms mean! I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it. "Would you like fries with that?"..."Would you like to large size for only 39 cents more?" Just practicing! :wtf:

              JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

              M Offline
              M Offline
              Marc Clifton
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              JamminJimE wrote:

              Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up?

              Indeed I do. If it weren't for CP and fellow CPians to wake me up to newfangled ways of doing things, I would be flipping burgers.

              JamminJimE wrote:

              I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it.

              Frankly, things were changing just as fast then too. But the good 'ol days did not include a couple ex-wives, a kid, a girlfriend, tuition, 2 cats, a mortgage, a car loan, and medical bills and (playable) online gaming. It did not include terrabytes of data store transmitted at gigabit rates viewed on megapixel monitors over kilometer-wide networks. ;P The problem today is not with the rate of change, but the bandwidth that change is consuming. We used to have time to read a chapter in a softback microprocessor manual when transferring a file at 9600 baud. Now we don't even have time to load the DVD-only, PDF version of the manual! Marc

              Thyme In The Country

              People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
              There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
              People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh Smith

              J L 2 Replies Last reply
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              • J JamminJimE

                I hope that I'm not the only one otherwise I'm gonna start interviewing at the fast food chains. Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up? I work 9 hours a day with an hour for lunch, a 45 minute commute each way. This doesn't leave much time for trying to keep up with Microsoft changing everything every couple of months! If asked, I couldn't even tell you what all the new technologies' acronyms mean! I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it. "Would you like fries with that?"..."Would you like to large size for only 39 cents more?" Just practicing! :wtf:

                JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

                L Offline
                L Offline
                Lost User
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                I just focus on C# and the CLR. I don't worry about every little API or language. I study hard on the basics and skim over other things so I can research later when I encounter a time when I need that technology.

                █▒▒▒▒▒██▒█▒██ █▒█████▒▒▒▒▒█ █▒██████▒█▒██ █▒█████▒▒▒▒▒█ █▒▒▒▒▒██▒█▒██

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                • J JamminJimE

                  I hope that I'm not the only one otherwise I'm gonna start interviewing at the fast food chains. Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up? I work 9 hours a day with an hour for lunch, a 45 minute commute each way. This doesn't leave much time for trying to keep up with Microsoft changing everything every couple of months! If asked, I couldn't even tell you what all the new technologies' acronyms mean! I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it. "Would you like fries with that?"..."Would you like to large size for only 39 cents more?" Just practicing! :wtf:

                  JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

                  M Offline
                  M Offline
                  Member 96
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  It's two things really, first is focusing only on what is relevant to you and what you do or want to do. Second is as it always has been: a professional developer *has* to spend time auditing new technology, there's just no way around that. The very nature of the job demands it. Time has to be put aside to do it. If I had a dime for every bit of technology I learned over the years that was at one time extremely important and is now utterly irrelvant I'd be rich.

                  J 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • M Marc Clifton

                    JamminJimE wrote:

                    Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up?

                    Indeed I do. If it weren't for CP and fellow CPians to wake me up to newfangled ways of doing things, I would be flipping burgers.

                    JamminJimE wrote:

                    I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it.

                    Frankly, things were changing just as fast then too. But the good 'ol days did not include a couple ex-wives, a kid, a girlfriend, tuition, 2 cats, a mortgage, a car loan, and medical bills and (playable) online gaming. It did not include terrabytes of data store transmitted at gigabit rates viewed on megapixel monitors over kilometer-wide networks. ;P The problem today is not with the rate of change, but the bandwidth that change is consuming. We used to have time to read a chapter in a softback microprocessor manual when transferring a file at 9600 baud. Now we don't even have time to load the DVD-only, PDF version of the manual! Marc

                    Thyme In The Country

                    People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
                    There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
                    People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh Smith

                    J Offline
                    J Offline
                    JamminJimE
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    Finally, someone who agrees with me. I remember 2400 baud modems. Heck, I remember connecting to my first BBS (Bulletin Board System for the younger readers) with a 300 baud modem in a Commodore 64. I don't remember VB6 changing this stinkin' fast. It was pretty much the same environment for about 3 years. Then, you could actually get up to speed without getting fired or divorced! :laugh: Writing applications used to be so simple (compared to now). It was fun! Now, I'm getting some "snow on the ol' roof" and can't absorb it as fast as people in their early 20's. :~

                    JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

                    L N 2 Replies Last reply
                    0
                    • M Member 96

                      It's two things really, first is focusing only on what is relevant to you and what you do or want to do. Second is as it always has been: a professional developer *has* to spend time auditing new technology, there's just no way around that. The very nature of the job demands it. Time has to be put aside to do it. If I had a dime for every bit of technology I learned over the years that was at one time extremely important and is now utterly irrelvant I'd be rich.

                      J Offline
                      J Offline
                      JamminJimE
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      John Cardinal wrote:

                      first is focusing only on what is relevant to you and what you do or want to do

                      Right now, I'd be happy finding a company that is looking for a good developer who can find the answer to pretty much anything he/she needs without having to regurgitate it in an interview. I've had 3 or 4 dozen phone interviews since December and the wide variety of information that they want you to know is becoming ridiculous!

                      John Cardinal wrote:

                      Second is as it always has been: a professional developer *has* to spend time auditing new technology

                      My boss, who pays me to work on HIS code and HIS application, would be quick to disagree. I can't spend any time at work learning the new stuff. with the 10.5 hours a day devoted to work, the 7 hours a night devoted to sleep, .5 hrs for dinner, 1 hr to "TRY" to unwind from the day and commute, I am RAPIDLY running out of hours in the day! That's all I'm saying.:->

                      JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

                      M E C 3 Replies Last reply
                      0
                      • J JamminJimE

                        John Cardinal wrote:

                        first is focusing only on what is relevant to you and what you do or want to do

                        Right now, I'd be happy finding a company that is looking for a good developer who can find the answer to pretty much anything he/she needs without having to regurgitate it in an interview. I've had 3 or 4 dozen phone interviews since December and the wide variety of information that they want you to know is becoming ridiculous!

                        John Cardinal wrote:

                        Second is as it always has been: a professional developer *has* to spend time auditing new technology

                        My boss, who pays me to work on HIS code and HIS application, would be quick to disagree. I can't spend any time at work learning the new stuff. with the 10.5 hours a day devoted to work, the 7 hours a night devoted to sleep, .5 hrs for dinner, 1 hr to "TRY" to unwind from the day and commute, I am RAPIDLY running out of hours in the day! That's all I'm saying.:->

                        JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

                        M Offline
                        M Offline
                        Member 96
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        JamminJimE wrote:

                        My boss, who pays me to work on HIS code and HIS application, would be quick to disagree.

                        I understand but your only harming yourself in the long run. A boss doesn't define your career, only you can do that. If you don't take the time on your own time to further your career you could end up working for that boss for many years, suddenly get laid off or the company could go under and your left with no relevant skills for the market. As a career programmer it's really important that you separate your career from whatever work that you happen to be doing at the moment. Consider that upgrading your skills could lead to a work environment where you have more time for yourself.

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • J JamminJimE

                          I hope that I'm not the only one otherwise I'm gonna start interviewing at the fast food chains. Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up? I work 9 hours a day with an hour for lunch, a 45 minute commute each way. This doesn't leave much time for trying to keep up with Microsoft changing everything every couple of months! If asked, I couldn't even tell you what all the new technologies' acronyms mean! I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it. "Would you like fries with that?"..."Would you like to large size for only 39 cents more?" Just practicing! :wtf:

                          JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

                          E Offline
                          E Offline
                          El Corazon
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          JamminJimE wrote:

                          I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it.

                          Back in the day.... always wanted to say that. ;) We used to make our own tools, every dev environment might be more stable, per se, but they were all very different. I might have some great doc tools and a Nice DOS based RAD GUI system I wrote myself before the VB days (see, we even had acronyms back then too). But you might have some great memory diagnostic tools I never had time to write. What has happened, and what seems like things are constantly in a state of flux is a lot of these custom tools, 3rd party tools, etc. are all coming into the main Development IDE and compilers as just "part of the system." This is good, per se, because more programmers get to use them, bad because it increases state of change and learning curves. Just remember, you still have your choices, and I am not talking about fries or no fries. :) Although encouraged to use these new tools, and I do strongly encourage their uses, in most cases there is a fair amount of backward compatibility. Writing a console app hasn't changed much from the DOS days, so you can be as archaic as you need to be. In fact console apps make for good unit testing environments in some cases. :) Just take a deep breath, grab a can of SOBE Adrenaline Rush (Sugar Free if you are like me), and keep plodding along. Every morning is a learning experience, you don't stop learning out of school, and you will learn your entire life. Think of it as opportunity.... well and money. Back in college you paid a school for the right to learn from them, now you are being paid to learn... hey, that is a much better perspective. :-D oh... and no thank you. I'll take a side-salad instead of fries. but give me the biggest diet coke you offer. ;P

                          _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)

                          J 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • J JamminJimE

                            John Cardinal wrote:

                            first is focusing only on what is relevant to you and what you do or want to do

                            Right now, I'd be happy finding a company that is looking for a good developer who can find the answer to pretty much anything he/she needs without having to regurgitate it in an interview. I've had 3 or 4 dozen phone interviews since December and the wide variety of information that they want you to know is becoming ridiculous!

                            John Cardinal wrote:

                            Second is as it always has been: a professional developer *has* to spend time auditing new technology

                            My boss, who pays me to work on HIS code and HIS application, would be quick to disagree. I can't spend any time at work learning the new stuff. with the 10.5 hours a day devoted to work, the 7 hours a night devoted to sleep, .5 hrs for dinner, 1 hr to "TRY" to unwind from the day and commute, I am RAPIDLY running out of hours in the day! That's all I'm saying.:->

                            JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

                            E Offline
                            E Offline
                            El Corazon
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            JamminJimE wrote:

                            My boss, who pays me to work on HIS code and HIS application, would be quick to disagree. I can't spend any time at work learning the new stuff. with the 10.5 hours a day devoted to work, the 7 hours a night devoted to sleep, .5 hrs for dinner, 1 hr to "TRY" to unwind from the day and commute, I am RAPIDLY running out of hours in the day!

                            As John said, this is very short sighted. One of the reasons I talk work into sending our team to conferences is to stay on the forfront of technology. There is the leading edge, where you are using the latest tested tools in technology, this is a constant state of flux.... then there is the bleeding edge, where you are using tools as they are developed, often before they are released and helping them reach the state of release -- or worse, back to writing your own tools again. Take your pick, but the farther back you go the less likely you are to keep up with the competition. If your boss doesn't like business, sales, or competing against others, by all means, keep the learning off-line. My ex-boss was like that. He ended up selling the business because he couldn't stay in business. His short-sightedness finally caught up with him, so he retired and sold out. If that is the goal, no problem, but if that is not the goal then some long-range plans need to be examined. :)

                            _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • J JamminJimE

                              I hope that I'm not the only one otherwise I'm gonna start interviewing at the fast food chains. Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up? I work 9 hours a day with an hour for lunch, a 45 minute commute each way. This doesn't leave much time for trying to keep up with Microsoft changing everything every couple of months! If asked, I couldn't even tell you what all the new technologies' acronyms mean! I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it. "Would you like fries with that?"..."Would you like to large size for only 39 cents more?" Just practicing! :wtf:

                              JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

                              P Offline
                              P Offline
                              Pete OHanlon
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              Not really. I don't bother trying any more. When I need to solve a problem that I've not dealt with before, I research it. A lot of the time I get information from CP. I now tend to steer clear of bleeding edge technologies. I will only touch them if I absolutely have to. Oh well - I guess I'm just an old f*rt. I'm one section away from being a COBOL programmer.

                              the last thing I want to see is some pasty-faced geek with skin so pale that it's almost translucent trying to bump parts with a partner - John Simmons / outlaw programmer
                              Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.

                              J 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • M Marc Clifton

                                JamminJimE wrote:

                                Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up?

                                Indeed I do. If it weren't for CP and fellow CPians to wake me up to newfangled ways of doing things, I would be flipping burgers.

                                JamminJimE wrote:

                                I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it.

                                Frankly, things were changing just as fast then too. But the good 'ol days did not include a couple ex-wives, a kid, a girlfriend, tuition, 2 cats, a mortgage, a car loan, and medical bills and (playable) online gaming. It did not include terrabytes of data store transmitted at gigabit rates viewed on megapixel monitors over kilometer-wide networks. ;P The problem today is not with the rate of change, but the bandwidth that change is consuming. We used to have time to read a chapter in a softback microprocessor manual when transferring a file at 9600 baud. Now we don't even have time to load the DVD-only, PDF version of the manual! Marc

                                Thyme In The Country

                                People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
                                There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
                                People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh Smith

                                L Offline
                                L Offline
                                Lost User
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                Marc Clifton wrote:

                                couple ex-wives, a kid, a girlfriend, tuition, 2 cats, a mortgage, a car loan, and medical bills and (playable) online gaming

                                And a partridge in a pear tree....

                                Why is common sense not common? Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level where they are an expert. Sometimes it takes a lot of work to be lazy

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • J JamminJimE

                                  Finally, someone who agrees with me. I remember 2400 baud modems. Heck, I remember connecting to my first BBS (Bulletin Board System for the younger readers) with a 300 baud modem in a Commodore 64. I don't remember VB6 changing this stinkin' fast. It was pretty much the same environment for about 3 years. Then, you could actually get up to speed without getting fired or divorced! :laugh: Writing applications used to be so simple (compared to now). It was fun! Now, I'm getting some "snow on the ol' roof" and can't absorb it as fast as people in their early 20's. :~

                                  JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

                                  L Offline
                                  L Offline
                                  Lost User
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  JamminJimE wrote:

                                  300 baud modem in a Commodore 64

                                  Hehehehe I remember those days.... I recall how astonishing it was to flip from 300 baud to 1200 baud and wonder about how blazingly fast it was.

                                  Why is common sense not common? Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level where they are an expert. Sometimes it takes a lot of work to be lazy

                                  R 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • E El Corazon

                                    JamminJimE wrote:

                                    I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it.

                                    Back in the day.... always wanted to say that. ;) We used to make our own tools, every dev environment might be more stable, per se, but they were all very different. I might have some great doc tools and a Nice DOS based RAD GUI system I wrote myself before the VB days (see, we even had acronyms back then too). But you might have some great memory diagnostic tools I never had time to write. What has happened, and what seems like things are constantly in a state of flux is a lot of these custom tools, 3rd party tools, etc. are all coming into the main Development IDE and compilers as just "part of the system." This is good, per se, because more programmers get to use them, bad because it increases state of change and learning curves. Just remember, you still have your choices, and I am not talking about fries or no fries. :) Although encouraged to use these new tools, and I do strongly encourage their uses, in most cases there is a fair amount of backward compatibility. Writing a console app hasn't changed much from the DOS days, so you can be as archaic as you need to be. In fact console apps make for good unit testing environments in some cases. :) Just take a deep breath, grab a can of SOBE Adrenaline Rush (Sugar Free if you are like me), and keep plodding along. Every morning is a learning experience, you don't stop learning out of school, and you will learn your entire life. Think of it as opportunity.... well and money. Back in college you paid a school for the right to learn from them, now you are being paid to learn... hey, that is a much better perspective. :-D oh... and no thank you. I'll take a side-salad instead of fries. but give me the biggest diet coke you offer. ;P

                                    _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)

                                    J Offline
                                    J Offline
                                    JamminJimE
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    I am hooked on the Dew. I am into the Code Red Mtn Dew right now. Can't drink the green anymore. Too many stomach problems. I completely understand the need to keep learning. However, recently it seems to me to be alot like trying to take a sip from a fire hose! I have 4 new .NET 2.0 books at the house (advanced and core topics) that I can't even get the cover open on yet. Don't get me wrong, my boss is great. However, the pace of business (telecomm) seems to dictate what gets done and at what pace. Right now, this shop is 3 developers (including myself). There are something like 9 or 10 applications (all web) that we are working on and patching. All of it is in .NET 1.1. I don't have any position to dictate what version of .NET we are writing in and the other developers are experienced with 1.1 and no experience with 2.0. We won't be changing anytime soon! BTW, I didn't go to college. I was Active Duty US Military, but that's a different topic! ;)

                                    JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

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                                    • P Pete OHanlon

                                      Not really. I don't bother trying any more. When I need to solve a problem that I've not dealt with before, I research it. A lot of the time I get information from CP. I now tend to steer clear of bleeding edge technologies. I will only touch them if I absolutely have to. Oh well - I guess I'm just an old f*rt. I'm one section away from being a COBOL programmer.

                                      the last thing I want to see is some pasty-faced geek with skin so pale that it's almost translucent trying to bump parts with a partner - John Simmons / outlaw programmer
                                      Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.

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                                      JamminJimE
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      Pete O`Hanlon wrote:

                                      I now tend to steer clear of bleeding edge technologies

                                      Pete, That's a good idea. However, like I said in one of the other replies, that's the kind of questions coming up in my recent interviews! They want a Programmer/DBA/Architect expert in C#, VB.NET, ASP.NET, Classic ASP, VBScript, Oracle, SQL Server, Underwater Basket Weaving, Astronomy, etc. If you can't answer the questions, they'll find some 20something who can. My debtors don't like to hear "I'm betwen contracts." ;)

                                      JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

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                                      • J JamminJimE

                                        I hope that I'm not the only one otherwise I'm gonna start interviewing at the fast food chains. Does anyone else feel that software development is changing so fast that you can't keep up? I work 9 hours a day with an hour for lunch, a 45 minute commute each way. This doesn't leave much time for trying to keep up with Microsoft changing everything every couple of months! If asked, I couldn't even tell you what all the new technologies' acronyms mean! I miss the good ol' days when a dev environment was around a couple of years before they started changing it. "Would you like fries with that?"..."Would you like to large size for only 39 cents more?" Just practicing! :wtf:

                                        JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

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                                        Paul Brower
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        I 'build in' learning time while I work. I'd say (on average) I spend 30 minutes to 1 hour each day reading/researching/practicing new techniques and technologies.

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                                        • J JamminJimE

                                          John Cardinal wrote:

                                          first is focusing only on what is relevant to you and what you do or want to do

                                          Right now, I'd be happy finding a company that is looking for a good developer who can find the answer to pretty much anything he/she needs without having to regurgitate it in an interview. I've had 3 or 4 dozen phone interviews since December and the wide variety of information that they want you to know is becoming ridiculous!

                                          John Cardinal wrote:

                                          Second is as it always has been: a professional developer *has* to spend time auditing new technology

                                          My boss, who pays me to work on HIS code and HIS application, would be quick to disagree. I can't spend any time at work learning the new stuff. with the 10.5 hours a day devoted to work, the 7 hours a night devoted to sleep, .5 hrs for dinner, 1 hr to "TRY" to unwind from the day and commute, I am RAPIDLY running out of hours in the day! That's all I'm saying.:->

                                          JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer.NET

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                                          Christian Graus
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #20

                                          10.5 + 7 + 1 + .5 == 19 You've got 5 hours of learning time !!!

                                          Christian Graus - C++ MVP 'Why don't we jump on a fad that hasn't already been widely discredited ?' - Dilbert

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