I used to worry a lot about not keeping up with those who spend most of their free time outside of work coding and reading about development.
However, I've come to realize that my many other interests, from reading fiction to meditating to listening to podcasts and Great Courses that delve into the humanities, economics, history, and politics, constantly provide me with useful insights for my day job as a software engineer.
At the end of the day, we develop software for humans, and understanding how humans think and live within the socio-economic-historical context of our world helps me be a better engineer.
I'll never be a specialist because I get bored focusing on just one thing too deeply, but the world needs generalists who can connect the dots and see the bigger picture, too :)
Currently writing open source code and helping partner developers as an Integration Engineer at Login.gov. Author of Foot in the Door: My Self Taught Journey Becoming a Software Engineer
Agreed, I wish this perspective was more prevalent among developers. I might not be savvy with every single front end framework but I also can see things from the perspective of clients more readily because I'm not stuck in techlandia 24/7
My story is exactly the same. I’m studying arts and humanities, which gives me insights I wouldn’t be able to come up with if I studied computer science or something. I put everything into broader context.
I studied computer science for one semester, but i felt unfulfilled and quickly gave up and switched to humanities. I wasn’t interested in becoming overspecialized in single field but otherwise undereducated. I still study and work as developer — and I think it’s the perfect match. In fact, it is only because i’m developer I have enough free time and resources to do so (greek scholé, after all, means free time)
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I used to worry a lot about not keeping up with those who spend most of their free time outside of work coding and reading about development.
However, I've come to realize that my many other interests, from reading fiction to meditating to listening to podcasts and Great Courses that delve into the humanities, economics, history, and politics, constantly provide me with useful insights for my day job as a software engineer.
At the end of the day, we develop software for humans, and understanding how humans think and live within the socio-economic-historical context of our world helps me be a better engineer.
I'll never be a specialist because I get bored focusing on just one thing too deeply, but the world needs generalists who can connect the dots and see the bigger picture, too :)
Agreed, I wish this perspective was more prevalent among developers. I might not be savvy with every single front end framework but I also can see things from the perspective of clients more readily because I'm not stuck in techlandia 24/7
My story is exactly the same. I’m studying arts and humanities, which gives me insights I wouldn’t be able to come up with if I studied computer science or something. I put everything into broader context.
I studied computer science for one semester, but i felt unfulfilled and quickly gave up and switched to humanities. I wasn’t interested in becoming overspecialized in single field but otherwise undereducated. I still study and work as developer — and I think it’s the perfect match. In fact, it is only because i’m developer I have enough free time and resources to do so (greek scholé, after all, means free time)