Beefy Boxes and Bandwidth Generously Provided by pair Networks
Keep It Simple, Stupid
 
PerlMonks  

Spend time wisely

by Anonymous Monk
on Jan 12, 2012 at 19:42 UTC ( [id://947616]=perlquestion: print w/replies, xml ) Need Help??

Anonymous Monk has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Dear Monks

I am an experienced software developer. I am currently in-between the jobs. I like use the time to study something useful in my career. I am looking for general advice. So, if you have around 3 to 6 months at hand what/how you would study? What would you do besides study, that would be useful in career in the free time?

Thanks.

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Spend time wisely
by Eliya (Vicar) on Jan 12, 2012 at 20:24 UTC

    What would be useful to you largely depends on your interests, talents, career plans, the location you live or want to live, and so on...

    I don't think there is any universally applicable advice, so all I can suggest is you contemplate about what you would really like to do (interests), which of those you realistically can do (talents/experience) that would likely allow you to make a living in the foreseeable future (your environment). Then pick what looks like the best compromise.

    If you want more specific advice, it would help if you let us in on any of the above.

      Thank you. And here is the question. It's is hard for me to decide, what I really like to do. I am attracted towards many things in software as they all look cool. I had been thrown upon the work and I tried to learn, whatever that was required and learn on my own many different things. But I cannot carefully decide what I will like to do in future. As the time grows for me, and changing job market situations doe s not help me. So free-time is sort of my meditation time, to decide for future.
        It's is hard for me to decide, what I really like to do.

        I'm not really sure what to say.  If you can't decide, who should?  Having total strangers run my life doesn't sound like an attractive option to me ;)

        Maybe you could use the free time to give each candidate technology a serious try (e.g. implement something non-trivial — but stop after an allotted time) and observe your gut feelings as you go...

        This way, you may not have become an expert in any one technology by the end of the free time period, but you may at least have arrived at a decision based on personal evaluation and judgement, instead of letting others decide for you.   Just my 2 cents.

Re: Spend time wisely
by luis.roca (Deacon) on Jan 13, 2012 at 21:41 UTC

    From your OP and replies it sounds like you may need to get away and clear your head. Don't bring anything work related (especially your laptop). It doesn't need to be an expensive get away but just somewhere you can be alone. If you can't figure out how to do that then take a long walk (1-2 hours) every day for a few weeks. Maybe make a list of the things in your career/skill set you really love and would be upset if you couldn't do anymore. Then move outward from there in a few brainstorm sessions (what the get-away/long walks are for).

    As Eliya said, asking a bunch of strangers on an internet forum what you should do with your life is not likely to get you very far.

    Best of luck to you whatever you decide. :-)


    "...the adversities born of well-placed thoughts should be considered mercies rather than misfortunes." — Don Quixote

      As Eliya said, asking a bunch of strangers on an internet forum what you should do with your life is not likely to get you very far.

      FWIW, OP isn't asking you to program him :)

      OP is asking you for your ideas, what you would study, then, being an experience software developer, OP would decide if your ideas are appealing enough to try

        I realize that but when someone asks a general guidance seeking question like the OP, who is out of work for the next several months, life and career are not all that distinct from one another. I'd love to suggest something better than a walk in the park but without some more specifics, that's the best I can do. :-)

        "...the adversities born of well-placed thoughts should be considered mercies rather than misfortunes." — Don Quixote
Re: Spend time wisely
by JavaFan (Canon) on Jan 15, 2012 at 03:00 UTC
    I'd study Chinese (Mandarin), and I'd practice cooking more.
      Grasshopper , yum :)
Re: Spend time wisely
by cavac (Parson) on Jan 15, 2012 at 09:47 UTC

    Do something thats not related to your work, something nobody thought you would do as a hobby. This will help you relax and give you inspiration for work-related matters.

    Personally, i play the harmonica. I'm terrible at it but i love it.

    And i spent my time mending, upgrading and riding my bicycles. This year i'm gonna ride my self-made E-Bike on a 800 kilometer round-trip to the Mediterranean Sea for vacation. I'm gonna ride slow and easy (and probably curse a lot about whoever put those mountains in my path).

    But it'll be a Zen like experience - as it always is - and will provide me with valuable insight into, well, everything. When you are slowly pedaling your way across a beautiful landscape, hour after hour, day after day, you gain valuable experience and learn more about yourself and the planet you live on.

    And it doesn't matter if it rains or shines. Being in the middle of a thunderstorm or experiencing a major hailstorm from a hastily erected shelter is just as beautiful as watching a double rainbow in moving rain sheets or seeing the setting evening sun turning a dark, dirty industrial complex into a magnificent fantasy world for a few minutes.

    And that experience can directly translate to your work. It helps you see the world with different eyes, be more sure of yourself. No matter how bad the job, you'll always have that magnificent sunset in your heart, that thundering rain will run through your veins and the plans for another vacation in wonderland are already on your calendar.

    "Believe me, Mike, I calculated the odds of this succeeding against the odds I was doing something incredibly stupid… and I went ahead anyway." (Crow in "MST3K The Movie")

Log In?
Username:
Password:

What's my password?
Create A New User
Domain Nodelet?
Node Status?
node history
Node Type: perlquestion [id://947616]
Approved by ww
help
Chatterbox?
and the web crawler heard nothing...

How do I use this?Last hourOther CB clients
Other Users?
Others surveying the Monastery: (3)
As of 2024-03-19 07:48 GMT
Sections?
Information?
Find Nodes?
Leftovers?
    Voting Booth?

    No recent polls found