Keep learning

How often don't we see people just suddenly ceasing to learn something new once they reach a certain stage? This is especially more applicable when one is involved in a knowledge based industry. The Indian technology industry has been spinning out more and more software engineers who are more concerned with the pay and less passionate about the work. Hence once the initial enthusiasm dies down within 4-5 years and other social and family responsibilities increase, we see ourselves less and less inclined to spend time on learning something new or putting that extra time and effort. The hunger is no more there. This I guess is one of the reasons why we have such a low percentage of involvement in the open source projects and entrepreneurial spirit.

Anyone who gets into the service industry is promoted to a managerial position within 5-6 years. When I mention about the service industry, I include the MNC centers in India as well and not just the local software companies. And this duration is not good enough for one to understand the length and breadth of the domain that they are currently working in. Leave alone the opportunity to grow laterally and understand other technology domains. I do understand that there are some people who go on to become really good managers. But they would have become so, no matter whether they were pushed into the role or not. That makes me envious of hackers, for they possess an unending and ever growing inclination to learn newer technologies and techniques.

On this note, here are couple of posts I found interesting related to this subject.

1. Mark Cooper recounts his journey at 40 years, when he had to make switch from COBOL to Java and OO. The link to original article is no longer working and hence this is from the google cache.
2. Sujai wonders why Bangalore has so many jobs and has tried to de-construct the functioning of the Indian service industry so far. One more of his interesting posts is related to the number of reportees a manager has.
   

That reminds me that I need to get back to learning. This post applies as much to me as anyone else.

As Steve Jobs puts it, "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish".