Do you only code 9 to 5, but wonder if that’s good enough? Do you see other programmers working on personal projects or open source projects, going to hackathons, and spending all their spare time writing software? You might think that as someone who only writes software at their job, who only works 9-5, you will never be as good. You might believe that only someone who eats, sleeps and breathes code can excel. But actually, it’s possible to stick to a 40-hour week and still be a valuable, skilled programmer.
Spending time on side projects do have some value, but the most useful result is not so much practice as knowledge. Established software projects tend to use older technology and techniques, simply because they’ve been in existence for a while. The main value you get from working on other software projects and interacting with developers outside of work is knowledge of:
You get the most value just from having some sense of what tools and techniques are out there, what they do and when they’re useful. If a new tool you discover is immediately relevant to your job you can just learn it during working hours, and if it’s not you can just file it away in your brain for later.
Learning about new tools can also help you find a new job, even when you don’t actually use them. I was once asked at an interview about the difference between NoSQL and traditional databases. At the time I’d never used MongoDB or any other NoSQL database, but I knew enough to answer satisfactorily. Being able to answer that question told the interviewer I’d be able to use that tool, if necessary, even if I hadn’t done it before.
Each week you should allocate one hour of your time at work to learning about new tools and techniques. Choosing a particular time will help you do this on a regular basis. Personally, I’d choose Friday afternoons, since by that point in the week I’m not achieving much anyway. Don’t skip this hour just because of deadlines or tiredness. You’ll do better at deadlines, and be less tired if you know of the right tools and techniques to efficiently solve the problems you encounter at your job.
Source: Learning new technologies as a 9-to-5 programmer
What you get from learning outside of work
Working on personal or open source software projects don’t automatically make you a better programmer. Hackathons might even be a net negative if they give you the impression that building software to arbitrary deadlines while exhausted is a reasonable way to produce anything of value. There are inherent limits to your productive working hours. If you don’t feel like spending more time coding when you get home, then don’t: you’ll be too tired or unfocused to gain anything.Spending time on side projects do have some value, but the most useful result is not so much practice as knowledge. Established software projects tend to use older technology and techniques, simply because they’ve been in existence for a while. The main value you get from working on other software projects and interacting with developers outside of work is knowledge of:
- A broader range of technologies and tools.
- New techniques and processes. Perhaps your company doesn’t do much testing, but you can learn about test-driven development elsewhere.
The value of breadth of knowledge
Having a broad range of tools and techniques to reach for is a valuable skill both at your job and when looking for a new job. But actual coding is not an efficient way to gain this knowledge. You don’t actually need to use new tools and techniques, and you’ll never really have time to learn all tools and all techniques in detail anyway.You get the most value just from having some sense of what tools and techniques are out there, what they do and when they’re useful. If a new tool you discover is immediately relevant to your job you can just learn it during working hours, and if it’s not you can just file it away in your brain for later.
Learning about new tools can also help you find a new job, even when you don’t actually use them. I was once asked at an interview about the difference between NoSQL and traditional databases. At the time I’d never used MongoDB or any other NoSQL database, but I knew enough to answer satisfactorily. Being able to answer that question told the interviewer I’d be able to use that tool, if necessary, even if I hadn’t done it before.
Efficiently learning about new technologies
Instead of coding in your spare time, you can get similar benefits, and more efficiently, by directly focusing on acquiring knowledge of new tools and techniques. And since this knowledge will benefit your employer and you don’t need to spend significant time on it, you can acquire it during working hours. You’re never actually working every single minute of your day, you always have some time when you’re slacking off on the Internet. Perhaps you’re doing so right now! You can use that time to expand your knowledge.Each week you should allocate one hour of your time at work to learning about new tools and techniques. Choosing a particular time will help you do this on a regular basis. Personally, I’d choose Friday afternoons, since by that point in the week I’m not achieving much anyway. Don’t skip this hour just because of deadlines or tiredness. You’ll do better at deadlines, and be less tired if you know of the right tools and techniques to efficiently solve the problems you encounter at your job.
Source: Learning new technologies as a 9-to-5 programmer
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