Code can be a end itself, and not just the means to build some grand master plan. Nobody minds that linguists study our spoken languages (or even dead ones - Latin). But we have to act like code is something banal and shallow.
Then again, what do I know. I'm 24 and have just started working. Maybe I'm completely stupid. Maybe I won't be as idealist at 40. Maybe the majority of people in my class were right to tell recruiters "I'm not really interested in technical jobs, I'm more into management"? Maybe I should follow the money and apply to these consulting firms that are happy to hire engineers from prestigious schools?
Keep your skills sharp. Every product that has software has a purpose. Google is a search engine. Android is a phone and an app market. A good app has a clear purpose and is easy to use.
But, work on your social skills. An idea that is coded with someone else as a sounding board is generally stronger than an idea coded by someone sitting alone at a desk.
Good luck!
I'm starting to bristle at this attitude because I'm encountering it more and more often. The implication that others (the young) "make you" obsolete is just BS. Most professions require one to keep up with new trends, and programming is no exception.
The other implication is that management is some sort of Golden Acres for people to end up in when they can't keep up with their younger and sharper coworker, ostensibly because it is easier, slower, or doesn't have new trends? This should be similarly annoying to managers.
A team is a group of people that are greater than the sum of parts alone. A manager coordinates the team, keeps them on target, and brings out the magic that only good teams have. Can you have an orchestra without a conductor?...same goes for a team.
And I would rather keep up with new trends by hiring someone with those new skills than having to learn them myself. Call me lazy, but I call this entrepreneurial.
Studies have shown that the older you get, the more strategic your thinking becomes, but the less sharp your raw calculation power. Same reason the fields medal in mathematics is only awarded to those under 40.
But good luck.
Entrepreneurship is awesome. I have self generating, passive income from my personal Android apps and I respond to most customers emails personally.
As far as my skills on SoundTracking:
I already had 2 years of solid Android experience under my belt, and over the course of the project, I learned a shitload more about Android.
I made use of my teammates extensively.
I released early and often.
I managed to generate positive relationships with over 20 api partners to make this project happen.
I discovered new ways to make objected oriented abstractions work in Android.
The list goes on.
- You became an entrepeneur because you want. - You don't believe that your programming skills are obsolete.
And thus your article doesn't really talk about your actual experience.
