I'm getting older, and some days I feel it more than others. There are times that I feel worn out, the body is sore, and I feel I'm on the decline. I've learned to deal with that in many areas, especially with my body, resetting the expectations I have for myself in my athletic endeavors.
In the IT world, you'd think that ones skills should continue to grow. We are constantly learning new things, there is value to experience, it's not a physical effort (in general), and so you would think the wise old DBA or programmer would be able to perform better than the young turks. And do so in less time.
However that's not always the case. Many of us resist changing as we get older, wanting to rely on expertise in areas that we are comfortable with. Whole new sections of IT materialize and require skills that the younger generation might learn quicker or grasp sooner, or just work harder to learn.
So with this being Friday, and a day that my body is aching a bit more than normal, I had a Friday poll for you:
Are your best days as a technologist behind you?
I think that mine are for the most part. Over the years as I've run this site, I've become more involved with marketing, journalism, and business. It's rare that I have to touch a server to do actual work, though I regularly test small slices of code for articles and the questions of the day.
I don't think my technical skills are diminished, but they are rusty, and without a compelling reason to work hard at them, I'm becoming skilled in a much different career, or maybe a few careers. On one hand I wish that I spent more time digging into the new T-SQL enhancements, and learning to write them at an expert level, but I also realize that it's not necessarily where my interests lie anymore.
I'll continue to learn new skills in technology, but I somewhat feel my best days in that area are behind me. Let us know what you think about your career as a technologist with your answer to this poll.
Steve Jones
The Voice of the DBA Podcasts
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