I'm following DZone on Twitter after getting an email today from a grad student at Delaware I worked with as an undergrad the summer I did research. He's contributed a few articles, and even though I don't code in Java on a daily basis, I did come across a different article that raised some good questions about what it means to be a software developer, and specifically, what responsibility comes along with the "developer" part of that, Staying Current: A Software Developer's Responbility. Two questions that he asks (and looks for in potential teammates) really stuck out to me:
* What language(s) that are gaining popularity, but not yet mainstream, have you written Hello World in?
* Do you read books or blogs looking for new ideas at least (on average) once every two weeks?
I've discovered for myself that the idea behind the first question is an essential part of the job, and that discovery on a daily basis is key to learning "Hello World" knowledge about new stuff. Although I haven't actually written Hello World in a new language, there are definitely basic things I've learned everyday about new technologies I didn't/don't know anything about, but which help to nudge the door open and keep it open for them. But I've definitely realized the benefit of examining a problem thoroughly, perhaps even excessively, if there's something in it for me, especially if it concerns something in particular that's in my blind spot as a gap in my knowledge; its crucial that I'm assertive about honing any missing fundamental knowledge, and even more crucial about gaining new knowledge.
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