There are
insider secrets in the software industry.
The few products that work like cold rolled steel are actually
constructed with barbed wire and duct tape under the hood. They are typically developed over a period of
many years and maintained by seasoned veterans that have developed skin so
thick they don’t even get scratched anymore and tools/skills akin to a high
power unbreakable industrial weed eater.
Yes, it’s
so sad to see the fresh college graduates get hired into the company and find
that no one told them the things they learned in school aren’t very
applicable. I hate it when after six
months to a year they start to see the dull terrible truth that college is only
the first step and they’ll need to spend five to fifteen years practicing and
learning to have the skills needed to get out of the sweat shop. Of course, to add insult to injury; all the
technology is going to change during that time.
If they’re smart, they’ll concentrate on things that don’t change; good
design, time proven technologies, human nature (people skills), and continuous
learning. The ability to absorb, to learn,
to understand, and to apply new information, techniques, and principals is the
master skill of most masters.
The thing
that limits most people in a corporate environment is not so much what to do,
or how to do it, but "why" it is being done.
The higher the level of “why” you can figure out, the more successful
you will be able to be. There are many
people in companies wondering around the building seemingly with no purpose or
value that end up being wildly successful.
At the same time, many smart hard working do great work and go nowhere
for decades and then get terminated and replaced with a fresh, young, cheap
college graduate.
Interestingly,
few self-help oriented materials/classes/seminars are helpful in the long
term. Most concentrate on “what”, “how”,
etc. when those things are seasonal. It’s
really the “why” that governs or controls everything else.
