On Sun, 2003-03-30 at 23:44, Rick Reumann wrote: > Does anyone else ever wake up going "Man, I feel overwhelmed. Too much > too learn, not enough time." I started this computer stuff rather late > in life and find it very difficult trying to pick out what to try > concentrate my learning in. Bottom line is I have to put food on the > table for the family so I have to concentrate in skill sets that are > valuable (and not just fun:). I started this computer stuff rather late > in life (4 years ago and I'm 33 now) and constantly wonder "What should > I concentrate on learning next?" When you spend too much time learning > one area you fall behind in another. That's what I find so amazing about > some of these job applications- is they put down tons of skill sets and, > sure there might be a few that truly 'know' all of the skill sets > listed, but rarely have I come across that many people that can honestly > say they are proficient in all of them. Then it's also the Catch-22 of > if you diverse too much you end up being "ok" at a lot of stuff but not > really "good" at any one skill. It seems like in this market it's best > to just concentrate on being very good at a few skill sets vs trying to > learn everything, but I could be totally wrong there. All and all it's > just very frustrating:) Ehhh I'm just venting... just ignore me. Wish I > could just start over and be a farmer in some little rural ho-dunk town > where my greatest concerns would be whether God was going to provide > enough rain for the crops.
Rick, I often feel the way you do. I didn't get into programming until I was 24. (28 now..). Although I don't have children of my own, I also greatly value my time with my nephew, family and friends, and won't give that up to cram more knowledge into my head. It's also important to me to spend time exercising and pursuing non-computer hobbies. I've accepted that I can't compete with the 16-year old hacker who lives for his/her computer. Heck, my little (23-yo) brother has started being the one I ask about many things, not the other way around. ;) You've got to keep your strengths in mind in order to stay positive. What were you doing those years before you started working with computers? I studied Biochemistry and worked a diverse range of jobs. What are your interests outside of computers? If you end up doing consulting, relating to clients is very important. A close friend of mine a year older than you works as a specialized O/S customer support professional. She started programming, etc. when she was 29. She took a position that allows her to use her technical degree yet emphasizes her "people" skills. Consistently, she receives very positive feedback from Fortune 500 companies, feedback that some of her more "techie" coworkers do not, because they don't share her ability to talk to individuals less technically savvy than themselves. I guess all I'm saying is that you're not alone, and don't get discouraged. I can speak only for myself, but I have a lot of those moments. =) -- Becky Norum Database Administrator Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems (CenSSIS) Northeastern University http://www.censsis.neu.edu --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
