gistfile1.txt

	
seclorum 1 hour ago | link

I'm 42 and have managed to survive 25 years professionally in the computer world, primarily as a software developer.
There is one, hard, fast rule for survival as a developer, and it has worked very well for me for years. I will share it with you:
Follow the platform. Programming is all about the hardware.
How does it work? Its simple - programming on Windows for x86? Get yourself a Mac and learn to hack on it in your spare time (by the way: no television or other sedentary 'entertainment' activities - entertain yourself by learning new things). Already a Mac code - get an iPhone, or learn Android. An iOS developer already? Android master already? Alright then, time to get a Beagleboard and do some Linux hacking. Already hacked on Linux? Get into CUDA. CUDA genius already - okay, how about some of that Cloud tech ..
There is no safety in platform mastery, because those platforms are like slippery barrels, spinning around and around, slowly sinking into redundancy. If you are employed for one platform, entertain yourself with learning to master another, newer or more interesting one.
This works, over and over.