Truth be told, spending 50+ hours a week hunched in front of a computer may sound like a lot of fun for an ambitious coder coming out of college, but the appeal falls off quickly in my experience. Good, young engineers are talented, creative, committed people with active interests and a talent for self-directed learning. As such, they have a LOT of options. I'm 29 years old and have been coding ofr a decade. I KNOW that I'm not going to get rich off of stock options. I KNOW that there are a million opportunities to make a difference in this world. And I KNOW that coding 50+ hours a week is doing nothing for my waistline, or to reduce my chiropractor's bill. It's an unhealthy, unsustainable profession being chained to the keyboard. After a while, the talented and creative figure out that there's more to life. My advice, hire the best new grads and get as much out of them as you can before they move on.
Slashdot Mirror
Conincidental article on MSN today. Alternative routes to teaching for professionals that reward industry experience and past education:
D epartments_CareerTraining_default_article_CareerCh angersChoose.html?GT1=9984
http://spotlight.encarta.msn.com/Features/encnet_
Truth be told, spending 50+ hours a week hunched in front of a computer may sound like a lot of fun for an ambitious coder coming out of college, but the appeal falls off quickly in my experience. Good, young engineers are talented, creative, committed people with active interests and a talent for self-directed learning. As such, they have a LOT of options. I'm 29 years old and have been coding ofr a decade. I KNOW that I'm not going to get rich off of stock options. I KNOW that there are a million opportunities to make a difference in this world. And I KNOW that coding 50+ hours a week is doing nothing for my waistline, or to reduce my chiropractor's bill. It's an unhealthy, unsustainable profession being chained to the keyboard. After a while, the talented and creative figure out that there's more to life. My advice, hire the best new grads and get as much out of them as you can before they move on.