Career

JIT Learning

When I first entered the field of software development, in order to become a so-called expert, we needed to learn a handful of technologies. It was challenging, but it was doable. This is no longer possible. Today, we need to be able to apply JIT (just-in-time) learning techniques to keep up. It’s just not possible [...]

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Technical User Groups – The Tribe of Passionate Geeks

The bug got me in the mid-70s. My math teacher in junior high, Mr. Blumenfeld, introduced us to a fascinating contraption on a tall stool that appeared, at first glance, to be an adding machine of some sort. But the thing was programmable, and came with this very nifty manual showing all the instructions you [...]

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“Stuck” In Management, Cause #4: Misdirected Loyalty

This is the next bullet point in my continuing series on how you can find yourself “stuck” in management, and how to get yourself “unstuck.” In this post, we’ll talk about why the illusion of company loyalty somehow remains, and how you can recognize if it’s real or not. Even in the 50s, 60s and [...]

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“Stuck” In Management, Cause #3: The Temporary Commitment

This is the next bullet point in my continuing series on how you can find yourself “stuck” in management, and how to get yourself “unstuck.” In this post, we’ll talk about how you may find yourself filling a “temporary” management role that somehow became more permanent than you had planned. You’re dependable, reliable, and a natural [...]

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“Stuck” In Management, Cause #2: Time to Climb the Corporate Ladder?

This is the next bullet point in my continuing series on how you can find yourself “stuck” in management, and how to get yourself “unstuck.” In this post, we’ll talk about how you may start convincing yourself that management is where you should be at some point in your career. If, like me, you’ve been [...]

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“Stuck” in Management, Cause #1: Obligation

A few months ago, I wrote a post containing a bulleted list about how you can find yourself “stuck” in management, and how to get yourself “unstuck.” It was my most popular post, and it seems to have touched a nerve. In this post, I’ll start diving into these bullet points, and offer some potential [...]

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Taking the Leap

I’m writing a book.  A cautionary tale.  It won’t be finished until the final chapters play out.  Not sure of the format yet.  Not sure it’ll be a novel or a business book.  But in order for it to be effective, it needs to be engaging. It’s been said that publicly stating a goal will [...]

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Returning to Development from Management

I was interviewed today by Rob Conery for an upcoming episode of This Developer’s Life on this topic.  It was the first time in several years I was interviewed for a podcast, so my mind went a little blank at times.  I’m sure Rob will do a cool editing job to make it appear I [...]

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Re-Education Action Plan – Learning Process

In my last post, I continued my saga about the re-education of a software developer by introducing the technologies I’m looking to (re)introduce myself to.  In this post, I’ll talk a bit about how I learn.  Everyone learns differently, so “your mileage may vary.” I’m a visual learner.  That is, for an introduction on a [...]

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Re-Education Action Plan – The Lessons

In my last post, I wrote about my next life phase, which is mainly a return to my former self – software developer.  In order to get back in sync, I need to develop an action plan.  Thankfully, I’ve kept a very close eye on the stack I’m most familiar with (the Microsoft development tools), [...]

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The Re-Education of a Software Developer

I’m in the process of re-directing my career back to hands-on development. This is the start of not only one of the most exciting phases I’ve ever embarked upon, but it’s also one of the most gut-wrenching and sometimes paralyzing. I’ve been in software development professionally for over a quarter century, at least a third [...]

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