IT Professional Principles
For more than 10 years, I have been doing a mixture of mathematics, programming and project management - all that is included in the modern understanding of Information Technologies - I have formulated simple rules that I consider suitable for any IT-related professional.
No professional field changes as fast as information technology. Every 2-3 years there is something real meaningful that can seriously change the landscape of development and the requirements of employers. When I received my higher education diploma in 2003, the .Net platform was just born, Scala was preparing for the first release, XHTML was seen as the future of the Internet, and such things as Node.js, CUDA, RoR, WPF, <add your own> and did not exist at all.
Technology is now dying as fast as it appears. When in 2012 I finally got together to formalize my knowledge of .Net in the form of an official certificate from MS, it turned out that WPF and Silverlight are already irrelevant. And before that Delphi got lost somewhere along the way. Only C and Fortran are eternal, amen.
')
Be sure to learn English. All modern IT technologies are invented in the West. It is simply a fact that has nothing to do with patriotism or national feelings. Any new technology, above all, overgrown with English-speaking community. And only a small percentage of the vast array of high-class English technical literature is translated into Russian. In addition, with knowledge of the language, you can always find yourself in international freelancing, if such a need arises, or get a prestigious place in a large American corporation (Evil, hehe).
You develop programs for specific glands. Before you sit down to program, study their physical structure. If you are not able to explain how to organize data in memory to minimize the number of cache misses, or tell what vectorization is, or argue how you can (and can) use multi-core processor in your program, then you are still Govnocoder Vulgaris and must evolve further until the tail falls off.
Find out what the complexity of the algorithm. You should be able to feel with your gut if the algorithm will be efficient or better to be immediately thrown off a cliff, as you did in ancient Sparta with not very beautiful children. And do not think that someday “later” you can rewrite everything correctly. "Then" never comes.
Read the whip. He has invented everything for a long time.
I said Cnut, not “about patterns”!
Do not allow yourself to go with the flow, like a known substance. Try to understand what you want from life at the moment and for the future. If you do not do this, then you will be doomed to become a tool for achieving goals for more advanced human individuals.
Reflection is not a curse word. To set goals correctly, learn to listen to yourself and understand your inner motives. Sometimes this can lead to unexpected discoveries that will make you give up programming altogether and find another occupation for yourself. In this case, do it as quickly as possible and do not torment those around you.
Set the right goals. They must be a challenge and at the same time motivate you. Imagine that the goal is reached. Do you get a buzz from this picture inside? If the answer is no, think of another goal. If you can not think of anything, then you probably already in paradise.
Set goals correctly. They must be concrete, achievable (but not too light), limited in time and measurable. For example, you cannot formulate a goal as
This way of setting goals is called SMART, learn more about it.
Man is designed so that every 2-3 years he needs a change in environment. It is with such periodicity that it is recommended to change the place of work or at least its profile. If you do not do this, then you will be overtaken by cognitive dissonance, as a result of which you will feel an unbearable disgust for the surrounding reality and for yourself. In order not to take oneself by surprise, set new career goals before you.
It is believed that the IT career can be continued in two directions: to develop as a specialist to the unimaginable level of the Architect Matrix, or to go to the managers. My opinion is that every IT professional should try himself as a project manager. Even if only to understand that this is not his topic. The skills acquired as a result of this experience will be useful in life in any case.
If you are lucky enough to feel managerial drive in yourself, then it is better to continue to move in this direction (to be honest, in this case it’s not possible to do it anyway: it’s like a drug). In this case, it makes sense to get an additional education in the field of management, the shortage of which you will feel very quickly. For example, I have never regretted my MBA education, although it is not IT-oriented. I recommend paying special attention to the development of soft skills, i.e. ability to work with people and build a team. As a bonus to business education, you will be able to take a sober look at inadequate (for the most part) domestic start-up projects and professionally develop your own.
Career planning is important to start as early as possible. For students who have not yet chosen to specialize in IT, I recommend a simple method. Find your dream job. When searching, you can be guided by such criteria as: salary, employer brand, innovativeness of the company and the presence of cookies. Study the list of requirements for the candidate. This list is your professional goals for the near future.
Remember that any plan is a clearly defined set of actions, the fulfillment of which leads to the achievement of a specific goal. Record these actions in writing and consistently follow the points. The plan can be changed, but not canceled.
There is an easy way to classify current affairs. Draw on the plane 2 perpendicular axes. Break both in half. Half of one axis call “urgent” and “non-urgent”, half of the other - “important” and “unimportant”. With proper planning, most of your business should be located in the “important” - “non-urgent” quadrant. If this is not the case, you need to change something immediately.
It is impossible to work well in stress. This is permissible only in a short period of time and under extraordinary circumstances that could not have been foreseen in advance.
Avraly is always a sign of poor planning. If they have become the norm, then the project will either fail, or its participants will “burn” at work. If you are the culprit of this mess, shoot yourself and never again lead anyone and nothing. If you are an ordinary performer, immediately change your place of work.
Professional burnout is a scary thing. Depression is not the phantom mental pains of tender girls, but a serious breakdown of the nervous system. The first sign of depression may be causeless irritability on trifles. For example, the squeak of a chair of a neighbor-neighbor suddenly begins to enrage you (if you have been crazy since childhood, then you can ignore this symptom). This behavior is due to the fact that your nervous system, due to constant stress, has become unable to respond to large stimuli. But all the small she perceives as a signal to action. In order not to expose the life of a neighbor and your own unnecessary risk, control your routine and learn how to relax.
I have already noted the inadmissibility of regular rummaging. But even in their absence, your favorite work can be very annoying with its excessive consumption. The best rest from mental labor is sport (no, bespectacled, not chess!). Take care of jogging, boxing, swing gravity - move!
But sometimes even active rest does not help to free the head from serious thoughts about non-traditional object orientation of some parts of the code. In addition to physical. culture do 2 more things. First, communicate regularly with close people - this will help restore psychological balance and peace of mind. Secondly, however exotic it may sound, learn to meditate. This is such an effective way to maintain mental balance that a number of leading business schools are going to introduce it into a compulsory education program.
Remember that advanced depression can be cured only with medication. Do not ignore your condition and carefully monitor your health.
The best way to learn something is to teach others. If your company has internal training seminars, choose the appropriate topic and tell your colleagues about it. If at your work it is customary to assign newbies to experienced employees, take yourself a couple of interns. Wonderful experience will be teaching in the university. Personally, besides having perfectly studied a taught subject, I received a super-perk as a bonus in the form of the ability to chat on a given topic for several hours in a row before a very demanding audience, practically not including my brain.
If you are all shy, you are bogus, you stutter and you are afraid to speak in public, then do the following. First,get off the windowsill and close the window sign up for a speech therapist and acting classes. Secondly, before stuttering and social phobia are eliminated, use your advice on professional Internet forums (I hope you have something to say on the matter).
Help colleagues (even this neighbor with a creaking chair). But only if such assistance does not make it difficult for you. So you will earn credibility in the team, which will help in further career growth.
In the IT industry there is a real shortage of classroom professionals. Closer to the regional center of all Russia, they, therefore, can count on a good salary and universal honor. If you lack one or the other, and at the same time you consider yourself to be a great specialist, then it’s time to plan your own PR campaign.
Get certificates for all the technologies you use. I do not share the opinions of those who consider "all these papers" useless. Eychary girls who do not distinguish Java from JavaScript are an inevitable “good” of our industry. But even they are able to make the right choice between "a person who knows Java" and "an Oracle-certified Java specialist." In addition, preparation for certification will help you to systematize existing knowledge and get new ones.
I have a negative attitude to strain my brain for free. A professional should always work for money, and a big professional should work for big money. But there are exceptions to everything, and this is exactly the case. So start participating in open source projects. Or create a couple of your own.
Start a blog, and better make your own website (I am developing my own right now). This is a great way to always be in sight. At the same time, try to observe the professional style of your blog, and not post cats in it.
Attend industry conferences, preferably as a speaker. The whole party is there, and there are plenty of ways to make useful contacts.
Write and publish a book. She will not bring money, but there will be something to give to friends and show to her grandchildren. If the book does not work right away, start with the articles.
Correctly apply for a resume and start looking for a better job.
Business and professional reputation is your invaluable capital, which can be squandered very easily, and it can be extremely difficult to save. Follow a number of simple rules that distinguish serious professionals from rogues of various kinds.
Always keep your word. If you promised something, be sure to do it. Either do not promise.
Be punctual. Do what you promised on time. Try never to be late. If force majeure happens, be sure to warn those waiting for you in advance with an explanation of the reasons for the delay.
Look neat. If you have not yet decided on your own style and are pondering whether it would be better to have your hair cut and to have a nose piercing, or to become a blonde and wear hipster pants, then here's some practical advice. Look at the pictures and choose something between Harvey and JD styles. With age, try to be closer to Harvey.
Harvey thinks of cats (“Suits”)
JD thinks about cats (“Scrubs”)
Never tr * be with your colleagues. Even with the cutest. There will always be more problems than pleasure.
A person who does not have an internal vector, his unpredictability is like a monkey with a grenade. In the same circumstances, he will take different decisions. In addition, such a person is easy to manipulate (unfortunately, only in the short term).
Remember that it is better to have bad principles than not to have them at all. If necessary, you can work together even with a cynical scoundrel, but predictable and having their own original code of honor, than with an amorphous gouging who does not follow any rules at all.
1. Constantly study
No professional field changes as fast as information technology. Every 2-3 years there is something real meaningful that can seriously change the landscape of development and the requirements of employers. When I received my higher education diploma in 2003, the .Net platform was just born, Scala was preparing for the first release, XHTML was seen as the future of the Internet, and such things as Node.js, CUDA, RoR, WPF, <add your own> and did not exist at all.
Technology is now dying as fast as it appears. When in 2012 I finally got together to formalize my knowledge of .Net in the form of an official certificate from MS, it turned out that WPF and Silverlight are already irrelevant. And before that Delphi got lost somewhere along the way. Only C and Fortran are eternal, amen.
')
Be sure to learn English. All modern IT technologies are invented in the West. It is simply a fact that has nothing to do with patriotism or national feelings. Any new technology, above all, overgrown with English-speaking community. And only a small percentage of the vast array of high-class English technical literature is translated into Russian. In addition, with knowledge of the language, you can always find yourself in international freelancing, if such a need arises, or get a prestigious place in a large American corporation (Evil, hehe).
2. Know the fundamentals.
You develop programs for specific glands. Before you sit down to program, study their physical structure. If you are not able to explain how to organize data in memory to minimize the number of cache misses, or tell what vectorization is, or argue how you can (and can) use multi-core processor in your program, then you are still Govnocoder Vulgaris and must evolve further until the tail falls off.
Find out what the complexity of the algorithm. You should be able to feel with your gut if the algorithm will be efficient or better to be immediately thrown off a cliff, as you did in ancient Sparta with not very beautiful children. And do not think that someday “later” you can rewrite everything correctly. "Then" never comes.
Read the whip. He has invented everything for a long time.
I said Cnut, not “about patterns”!
3. Set goals and achieve them
Do not allow yourself to go with the flow, like a known substance. Try to understand what you want from life at the moment and for the future. If you do not do this, then you will be doomed to become a tool for achieving goals for more advanced human individuals.
Reflection is not a curse word. To set goals correctly, learn to listen to yourself and understand your inner motives. Sometimes this can lead to unexpected discoveries that will make you give up programming altogether and find another occupation for yourself. In this case, do it as quickly as possible and do not torment those around you.
Set the right goals. They must be a challenge and at the same time motivate you. Imagine that the goal is reached. Do you get a buzz from this picture inside? If the answer is no, think of another goal. If you can not think of anything, then you probably already in paradise.
Set goals correctly. They must be concrete, achievable (but not too light), limited in time and measurable. For example, you cannot formulate a goal as
learn php language before new yearBut
until 10.12.2013 successfully pass the Zend Certified PHP Developer Certification- this is the correct wording.
This way of setting goals is called SMART, learn more about it.
4. Plan your career
Man is designed so that every 2-3 years he needs a change in environment. It is with such periodicity that it is recommended to change the place of work or at least its profile. If you do not do this, then you will be overtaken by cognitive dissonance, as a result of which you will feel an unbearable disgust for the surrounding reality and for yourself. In order not to take oneself by surprise, set new career goals before you.
It is believed that the IT career can be continued in two directions: to develop as a specialist to the unimaginable level of the Architect Matrix, or to go to the managers. My opinion is that every IT professional should try himself as a project manager. Even if only to understand that this is not his topic. The skills acquired as a result of this experience will be useful in life in any case.
If you are lucky enough to feel managerial drive in yourself, then it is better to continue to move in this direction (to be honest, in this case it’s not possible to do it anyway: it’s like a drug). In this case, it makes sense to get an additional education in the field of management, the shortage of which you will feel very quickly. For example, I have never regretted my MBA education, although it is not IT-oriented. I recommend paying special attention to the development of soft skills, i.e. ability to work with people and build a team. As a bonus to business education, you will be able to take a sober look at inadequate (for the most part) domestic start-up projects and professionally develop your own.
Career planning is important to start as early as possible. For students who have not yet chosen to specialize in IT, I recommend a simple method. Find your dream job. When searching, you can be guided by such criteria as: salary, employer brand, innovativeness of the company and the presence of cookies. Study the list of requirements for the candidate. This list is your professional goals for the near future.
Remember that any plan is a clearly defined set of actions, the fulfillment of which leads to the achievement of a specific goal. Record these actions in writing and consistently follow the points. The plan can be changed, but not canceled.
5. Do not let rumors in work
There is an easy way to classify current affairs. Draw on the plane 2 perpendicular axes. Break both in half. Half of one axis call “urgent” and “non-urgent”, half of the other - “important” and “unimportant”. With proper planning, most of your business should be located in the “important” - “non-urgent” quadrant. If this is not the case, you need to change something immediately.
It is impossible to work well in stress. This is permissible only in a short period of time and under extraordinary circumstances that could not have been foreseen in advance.
Avraly is always a sign of poor planning. If they have become the norm, then the project will either fail, or its participants will “burn” at work. If you are the culprit of this mess, shoot yourself and never again lead anyone and nothing. If you are an ordinary performer, immediately change your place of work.
6. Rest
Professional burnout is a scary thing. Depression is not the phantom mental pains of tender girls, but a serious breakdown of the nervous system. The first sign of depression may be causeless irritability on trifles. For example, the squeak of a chair of a neighbor-neighbor suddenly begins to enrage you (if you have been crazy since childhood, then you can ignore this symptom). This behavior is due to the fact that your nervous system, due to constant stress, has become unable to respond to large stimuli. But all the small she perceives as a signal to action. In order not to expose the life of a neighbor and your own unnecessary risk, control your routine and learn how to relax.
I have already noted the inadmissibility of regular rummaging. But even in their absence, your favorite work can be very annoying with its excessive consumption. The best rest from mental labor is sport (no, bespectacled, not chess!). Take care of jogging, boxing, swing gravity - move!
But sometimes even active rest does not help to free the head from serious thoughts about non-traditional object orientation of some parts of the code. In addition to physical. culture do 2 more things. First, communicate regularly with close people - this will help restore psychological balance and peace of mind. Secondly, however exotic it may sound, learn to meditate. This is such an effective way to maintain mental balance that a number of leading business schools are going to introduce it into a compulsory education program.
Remember that advanced depression can be cured only with medication. Do not ignore your condition and carefully monitor your health.
7. Help others
The best way to learn something is to teach others. If your company has internal training seminars, choose the appropriate topic and tell your colleagues about it. If at your work it is customary to assign newbies to experienced employees, take yourself a couple of interns. Wonderful experience will be teaching in the university. Personally, besides having perfectly studied a taught subject, I received a super-perk as a bonus in the form of the ability to chat on a given topic for several hours in a row before a very demanding audience, practically not including my brain.
If you are all shy, you are bogus, you stutter and you are afraid to speak in public, then do the following. First,
Help colleagues (even this neighbor with a creaking chair). But only if such assistance does not make it difficult for you. So you will earn credibility in the team, which will help in further career growth.
8. PR
In the IT industry there is a real shortage of classroom professionals. Closer to the regional center of all Russia, they, therefore, can count on a good salary and universal honor. If you lack one or the other, and at the same time you consider yourself to be a great specialist, then it’s time to plan your own PR campaign.
Get certificates for all the technologies you use. I do not share the opinions of those who consider "all these papers" useless. Eychary girls who do not distinguish Java from JavaScript are an inevitable “good” of our industry. But even they are able to make the right choice between "a person who knows Java" and "an Oracle-certified Java specialist." In addition, preparation for certification will help you to systematize existing knowledge and get new ones.
I have a negative attitude to strain my brain for free. A professional should always work for money, and a big professional should work for big money. But there are exceptions to everything, and this is exactly the case. So start participating in open source projects. Or create a couple of your own.
Start a blog, and better make your own website (I am developing my own right now). This is a great way to always be in sight. At the same time, try to observe the professional style of your blog, and not post cats in it.
Attend industry conferences, preferably as a speaker. The whole party is there, and there are plenty of ways to make useful contacts.
Write and publish a book. She will not bring money, but there will be something to give to friends and show to her grandchildren. If the book does not work right away, start with the articles.
Correctly apply for a resume and start looking for a better job.
9. Expensive reputation
Business and professional reputation is your invaluable capital, which can be squandered very easily, and it can be extremely difficult to save. Follow a number of simple rules that distinguish serious professionals from rogues of various kinds.
Always keep your word. If you promised something, be sure to do it. Either do not promise.
Be punctual. Do what you promised on time. Try never to be late. If force majeure happens, be sure to warn those waiting for you in advance with an explanation of the reasons for the delay.
Look neat. If you have not yet decided on your own style and are pondering whether it would be better to have your hair cut and to have a nose piercing, or to become a blonde and wear hipster pants, then here's some practical advice. Look at the pictures and choose something between Harvey and JD styles. With age, try to be closer to Harvey.
Harvey thinks of cats (“Suits”)
JD thinks about cats (“Scrubs”)
Never tr * be with your colleagues. Even with the cutest. There will always be more problems than pleasure.
10. Always stick to your principles.
A person who does not have an internal vector, his unpredictability is like a monkey with a grenade. In the same circumstances, he will take different decisions. In addition, such a person is easy to manipulate (unfortunately, only in the short term).
Remember that it is better to have bad principles than not to have them at all. If necessary, you can work together even with a cynical scoundrel, but predictable and having their own original code of honor, than with an amorphous gouging who does not follow any rules at all.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/197428/
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