Don't Be Depressed, Be The Worst

I just got this comment to my old post on 10 Steps to Become Better .NET Developer:

I just graduated, and i am willing to become a VB. Net developer, but after saw your posting, i found myself is nothing, depressed.

Ok, first of all: I'm sorry that my post made you feel this way. I'm just a guy that still learns software development (and feels really stupid for a number of reasons on a regular basis) and so please don't take my words for granted.

Second, technologies are pretty much irrelevant and replaceable (they never teach relevant technologies at universities, anyway).

Third, at the university you have gained the most important skill for you future career - ability to learn, reason and move forward. This will allow you to become whomever you want to, even when you find your life goals expanding in the upcoming years.

Fourth, please read this article Be the Worst, which was shared with me by Kerry Street last night. Feeling like you are the worst is a good position to move forward on your learning path (and definitely much better than feeling like you are the best).

Fifth, good luck. If you have any questions, please, don't hesitate to ask and reach out. I'll try to help. Besides, .NET has a marvellous development community that is always willing to help, if you are willing to move forward with this trade.

PS: BTW, I graduated from an economic department of a university in the middle of Russia. They taught us how to plan a cattle herd, theoretically command a military unit and manage a Soviet Republic. My first .NET classes were self-taught by reading a text-book while spending summer working on constructions sites of Baltimore in USA. I think, that was pretty low for a start of .NET career (not that I got that far from there since then). You can do much better.

Published: July 30, 2012.

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