Re: Advancing oneself personally and professionally as a programmer (discussion)

[FoxtrotUniform]

Now, granted, I'm neither a seasoned programmer (especially by your definition :-) nor a scientist, but...

How about something completely different, like emergency medicine? Around here (AB, Canada), a basic EMS certification takes about two months of training, IIRC. If you like it, cool; if you don't, it's hardly a big waste of time, and you come out with plenty of useful knowledge.

And to bring this post back on topic, you might find that programming becomes more fun when it's not your Real Job.

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:wq

[pmas]

It's funny, I also thought about Emergency Medicine about third area (after programming and military) where you need to solve real problems quick for living. So try it, if you are inclined.
Another area is Daytrading or DayGambling, but now is obvious why to avoid it... ;-)

If money are not an issue, and you want to feel good what you are doing, you may want to help some non-profit organization. I can tell you, it's very rewarding...

pmas
To make errors is human. But to make million errors per second, you need a computer.