All our lives we were told that the school, University or vocational school is a necessary step in the career of every. There we have to give a sacred set of instructions on how to survive in a cruel world. The so-called Knowledge.
In fact, when the way it was. World, jumping on turns, sleepily trudged forward. The “revolution” took hundreds of years, and for one short human life of knowledge acquired in school, was more than enough. Generation after generation of peasants poured into the same earth that the seeds of the mowing sickle to harvest the crop. The dynasty workers of the factories stood by the same machine that has varied is that the paint. Here’s a set of weather and will take the user to the machine. More you never need anything else.
The modern world is moving with jet speed. Not everything is changing that across generations — even decades are separated by an abyss. Mobile phones, Internet, social networks, virtual reality, the autopilot of the car. Every few years, the world throws up from a discovery and those that are unable to resist, immediately is left behind.
However, for some reason, society still considered that the school with the University give some mythical “knowledge”, with which you can go immediately to work. Only here the employers are bastards constantly demand this of devil’s “experience”. Or not even that. The problem with universities, they say, is that they give knowledge, but “wrong.”
In fact, the only way to become better than includes just two simple steps.
- To do what you want to be the best;
- You can watch as it makes those who are already the best.
No more mysteries there.
Children who are preparing for a football career, just chase at the stadium all day. Still time to train for specific shots, knowing for certain when and under what circumstances they need them. And eyes stuck to the screen when replacing their idol. Hardly Zidane read a lot of books on the theory of football. Although, I suspect, says a lot.
Education: master vs books
Few understand that the book, in fact, is a surrogate. At all times the only effective way to really learn was practice to Master. You’re a sorcerer, carpenter, COP, you put in a few experienced and agile. You look how it works. Repeat after him. Profit.
In the information age, the Master became very close. Code is in public repositories, technical blog articles, his lectures on YouTube. If you are very, you can even write him a letter with a question and he will answer. Now don’t need ridiculous intermediaries spattered with chalk in old Soviet costumes and training programmers, already obsolete at the approval stage. Now don’t need his sacred message.
Textbooks on programming, that’s another story. Usually, they are already outdated at the time of exit. After the text you want to write, proofread, and then wait for printing to distribute. If you for some strange reason I decided to not read in the original, on any actuality can forget immediately. Because of the time spent on the purchase of the rights, their subsequent publication with the proliferation of technology has managed to move a few steps forward. Often giant steps. And part of the “good practices” have been transformed into signs of poor tone.
Nowadays technical books only look beautiful on the shelves. But in their place came documentation, technical blogs, all kinds of conferences, online courses and other resources, with a clear. Short, relevant references o’Reilly, preferably with a website which is constantly updated, allows you to quickly delve into a previously unknown region, but then you have only to dig yourself.
The ability to learn
And even then, most of the time you’ll be working with in what does not understand. This is the mystical experience that all they require in return of your sacred “knowledge”: to be able to quickly understand what they see first time in my life.
So every time people ask me “where can I learn to be a programmer” and “what books can I read to get”, I answer: “nowhere” and “no”. A programmer cannot “become”. They need to “stay” each day, reading another technical article on Kubernetes and rolling her eyes, at the same time, knowing that tomorrow the same will have to write a new project.
Because otherwise, and those who linger for a while, stuck in that familiar legacy code, have all the chances to rapidly fly out of the industry by the influx of young and hungry, which if necessary will do all of your system for a few days and a month will rewrite it. Or on the Go. The important thing is that you are in a New Strange place will be gone.