Yesterday I turned 43 and realized I've been in #tech for 24 years (I got paid to create my first "professional" website in 1997). Here's 24 things I've learned over the past 24 years. Perhaps you'll find them useful on your journey. 🧵
24. Plan work around your life, not life around your work - I worked 70+ hr weeks in my 20s & early 30s. While I'm sure there's a correlation between that & my "successes", there's also a lot of regret for missed time with family & friends.
23. Be a T-shaped human - There are 3 types of knowledge: the shit you know, the shit you know you don't know, and the shit you don't know you don't know. Specialize in a few things, and gain wisdom by learning the basics of many others.
22. Don't explain it to me like I'm a 5 year old - Most people in business/tech are smart, educated professionals that could talk circles around you on their topics of expertise. Find ways to communicate complexity without patronizing them.
21. Non-technical knowledge is more important than you think - Some of the most amazing technologists I've worked with started off as lawyers, accountants, & teachers. Use the domain expertise you (and others) have, & bring it to the table.
20. Diversity is crucial - Challenge your worldviews, your perceptions, and, most importantly, the status quo. Race, geography, gender, age, and socioeconomic status affect how we interact with technology. Ignore them at everyone's peril.
19. Take the first step, even if you don't know everything yet - Learn by doing, make mistakes, learn from them, and continue to grow. I've spent lifetimes watching courses & reading documentation, but nothing sticks until you apply it.
18. Code is a liability, not an asset - Code needs to be tested, documented, and maintained - all at a significant cost. Build the things that differentiate you from your competitors and buy the rest.
17. Everything that's old is new again - Chances are whatever you're doing has already been done before. Study and learn the lessons from those that have been there, synthesize the knowledge, and apply it to your current technology.
16. There's nothing more important than your data - Interfaces and infrastructures come and go, but your data is the historical record and the ultimate source of truth. Backup often and protect its integrity at all costs.
15. Understand your value - It took me awhile to figure out that trading time for money is a fool's errand (time is finite). This is likely unavoidable early in your career, but as you build expertise, decouple time from the value provided.
14. KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. Every time you add complexity to a process or system it becomes harder to manage, harder to find the right people to maintain it, and harder to get users to participate. Lose the cruft, and seek simplicity.
13. Microservices aren't always the answer - I've built 100s of monolithic apps, SOAs, microservices, and #serverless apps. There's a time and place for microservices, but if you're starting something new, this is likely not it.
12. Security should always be top of mind - I still have nightmares about a SQL injection attack from 2007. A dev didn't escape one input and a hacker bot injected scripts on every product page. The OWASP Top 10 are my new commandments.
11. Fail fast, often, and with grace - I've failed more than I've succeeded, but every failure is an opportunity to learn & grow. The faster we fail, the faster we learn. Accept failure as part of the process, own it, & do it with humility.
10. The best laid plans of mice and tech teams - Projects will go awry, interruptions will happen, strategy changes will come down from management or the client. The only constant is change. Accept it, and do the best with what you've got.
9. Learn how to manage stress - Tech is frustrating and developer burnout is real. Take time off, exercise, find a non-tech related hobby. Too many times stress has pushed me to almost stop pursuing my passion. Don't let it happen to you.
8. Multi-tasking is a myth - Context switching has cost me thousands of hours of productivity. Block your calendar and defend it with every ounce of your being. For me, anything less than a 3 hour block of "maker" time is almost pointless.
7. Those that matter don't mind, and those that mind don't matter - Haters gonna hate. You will face criticism, some justified, most probably not. Find your tribe, be a good human, treat others with respect, and do your best work.
6. Everything takes time - A while back I switched to a "progress" mindset to tackle my impossibly long TODO list. Success won't happen overnight, but consistency of effort, continuous investment, and long term commitments will up the odds.
5. Learn by communicating - There's no better way to clarify your thinking than by trying to articulate it. Write blogs and documentation, speak at conferences or company meetings, and have conversations with others in your field.
4. There's a good chance you're wrong - Start with the assumption that your perception is limited by your experiences and that there's a good chance you're missing something. Others are likely wrong too. Disagree, commit, and test ideas.
3. Always ask questions - You should NEVER be afraid to ask questions! Whether it's a clarifying question, asking to decode an unfamiliar acronym, or simply asking "why?", you'll increase the odds of project success by removing confusion.
2. There's no shortcut for experience - Be humble, take advice from mentors, recognize the limits of your own abilities, and realize that taking a course or reading a book does not make you an expert. Expertise comes with (lots of) time.
1. People are people, treat them like it - Whether they're app users, colleagues, or Twitter critics, they're all unique individuals having a human experience. Be kind, be empathetic, embrace diversity of thought, and be a force for good.
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