If you could go back in time and meet yourself on Day One of your IT career, what advice would you give?
This was harder to answer than I thought it would be. I guess the most important piece of advice would be the thoroughly un-original: don't 'go with the flow' in your job, accepting things the way they are; take a more active role in managing your career.
A few more bon mots from the present to the 1970-something version of me:
- Don't waste your time trying to be a programmer; you're not going to be very good at it.
- You're going to write an application using a product named 'dBase' on a 'Personal Computer' in a few years, and you're going to think it's pretty cool. Stay focused on that.
- There's going to be this company called 'Apple'. When their stock gets ridiculously low, buy it - lots of it. We'll both be glad you did.
Exellent advice. I'd go back before my IT career to college and tell myself to keep taking IT classes and make that my major and not waste time with what turned out to be my first career.
ReplyDeleteHi Dan,
ReplyDeleteI was going to post something profound like that, but every step (and mis-step) along the way has provided some experience that's been useful, so I'm not sure what I would have changed.
I wonder what percentage of people actually use their degree? I bet it's pretty low.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.