Issue 33

August 13, 2024

Stay Curious, Keep Learning

Welcome to part two of my series on major mistakes in my career. Last week I wrote about why you should ask for what you want. This week I want to share the importance of learning new technologies.

I wish I could travel back to the early years of my career. I’d tell myself to stay curious and keep learning. I can’t do that, but I can do the next best thing – share what I’ve learned and help other software engineers avoid the same mistake.

What I did wrong

As a former teacher, you’d think I would’ve prioritized learning in my career. But even I wasn’t safe from my excuses.

I didn’t keep up with the tech I already knew

I made the mistake of not staying up to date with the technologies I used daily.

“I’ve mastered CSS.”

“I know enough JavaScript.”

These are the things I used to say to convince myself I didn’t need to learn more. But the only thing this did was stress me out when I finally paid attention.

I remember getting too comfortable with CSS. I learned it, got good with it, and continued using it the same way for years. Meanwhile, CSS continued to grow, and new methods were created and widely adopted. When I finally realized what happened, I was overwhelmed.

I was scared to learn new tech

Learning something new isn’t easy. It takes time and discipline. The hardest and scariest part is getting started. And I let that get in the way of learning new libraries and frameworks.

“It’s going to take me years to learn this.”

“I don’t have time at work or home to learn this.”

“I don’t even know where to start.”

I knew how long it took and how hard it was to learn other languages and libraries. I assumed it would take the same time to learn something new. I figured I would encounter the same obstacles.

Furthermore, I thought I’d have to learn everything about a new framework and become an expert. I had this all-or-nothing mindset, which made it even scarier to get started.

I didn’t think I needed to learn new tech

One of the most dangerous phrases you can ever say as a software engineer is, “I don’t need to learn that.” I’ve said this to myself countless times and I regret it.

It’s not whether the statement is true or not, it’s the mindset. Telling yourself you don’t need to do something is a convenient way to avoid doing it.

“I already know React. I don’t need to learn another JavaScript library.”

“I already know REST APIs. I don’t need to learn GraphQL.”

“I already know JavaScript. I don’t need to learn TypeScript.”

Sadly, I told myself these things for years. And it prevented me from learning new technologies.

Today I love working with TypeScript and GraphQL. I wish I would’ve started learning them sooner. But I didn’t because I was convinced I didn’t need to.

What you can do right

Learning requires time and mental energy. There’s no way around that. But if you treat education like any other positive habit, it’ll get easier.

Stay up to date with the tech you know

Being a software engineer is exhausting. It can be draining to follow the daily updates with technology. Here are a few ways to make this less daunting:

Subscribe to newsletters and YouTube channels

Thankfully, you don’t have to look far to find high-quality tech content. When you find someone who’s always writing blog posts about React updates or posting videos about TypeScript, follow them. This is an easy, zero-cost way to stay on top of tech updates.

Check out tech blogs and docs

Most frameworks and libraries have excellent websites and documentation. They are regularly updating their documents and posting new content. Add a calendar event every three months to revisit these sites and see what’s new.

Focus on the major versions

Let’s face it. Software is constantly being updated. Don’t sweat every single upgrade to a technology. But when the major version changes, i.e. React 15 to 16, pay attention. This means there are new features to explore and learn. Set a measurable goal. For example, watch 3 YouTube videos about the update. Or read 1 blog post about one specific feature in the update. Side note: I'll write more about goal setting next week.

Learn with tiny lessons

It’s scary to think you have to become an expert in a new programming language. The reality is that can take years. And focusing on this alone can block you from even starting.

Start learning with tiny lessons that only take 15-30 minutes. Put it on your work calendar if you can. Select one piece of a language or framework and create a plan to learn it. For example, you can do this with React hooks or Next.js routing.

Once you get started, you’ll see it’s not that bad. Learning one part of a technology will motivate you to learn more. And you might find that you enjoy working with it.

Pay your career forward

If I’ve learned anything working in the tech industry, it’s that things rarely go as planned. Technologies you think won’t last seem to hang on by a thread for years. And promising libraries that everyone is using can go dark in a matter of months.

You don’t need to be a pro at everything, but it’s good to stay curious. If you keep hearing other developers rave about a certain framework, check it out. Spend some time learning how it works. Watch a tutorial video and write some code. The worst-case scenario is you learn something new and can now talk with other developers about it. But at best, it could become an exciting new technology that you add to your developer tool belt.

Instead of saying, “I don’t need to learn technology X,” tell yourself, “I wonder why I keep hearing about technology X.” That little bit of mystery might encourage you to find out.

Software engineers with long careers all have one thing in common. They never stop learning. They stay updated with their favorite tech stack and learn new technologies when necessary. Make your future self proud. Embrace a sense of curiosity about technology and form a habit of learning that will last your entire career.

Thanks for reading this week. See you next week! 👋

David Weiss Founder • Made by DW ​Follow me on X, LinkedIn, & Instagram​

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