Goodbye Twenties, Hello Uncertainty
Today is a significant day for me. I know age is just a number and all that, but it's hard to ignore the significant numbers. Like 30. Which is how old I'll be tomorrow. Today is the last that I'll be a twenty something and now's as good a time as any to reflect on my future.
On Saturday I was round at a friend's house and I was complaining about becoming a thirty something. Said friend pointed out that I hadn't done that bad for myself and I suppose he's right. Fun and games aside I've managed to build myself a decent career. Not many people have the luxury of working from home, doing the job they love. Not many can claim to be known (maybe even respected) the world over by their peers. Having codestore means I more or less sit and let the work come to me. I'm in a great position, which I try never to take for granted, and I'm happy that I made it here. Happy looking back that is. Looking forward is a slightly different matter.
This morning I had a chat with Brendon "Puakma" Upson. Probably not the best person to talk to if you're in any doubt that Domino is your best bet for a secure future. Early on in the conversation he asked if I had plans for 2005, to which I replied that I didn't. Probably plod along like every other year, letting fate take its course. At the end of the chat I'd come up with something more like a plan.
Professionally I feel it's time for a change in direction. I still feel uncertain of my future. I'm happy with where I've gotten to since I left university with no idea what where I was heading. What I'm not sure of is if I can rest on my laurels and be assured the financial security I need now I am a home owner who's hearing lots of talk of babies. Throughout my twenties I had the luxury of parents who would welcome me home at any time and had hardly any financial burdens. Now I can't afford to not be working and so can't take too many risks. My future needs to be planned, rather than continually being left to fate.
My plan is to forget about PHP/MySQL as anything other than a hobby. Instead I plan to be Java certified by the end of the year and to get "up to speed" with web design using servlets. I know it probably doesn't take much to feel comfortable creating a "Hello world" example. What I want though is to feel comfortable enough to take on a paying job. Maybe then 2006 will be the year I start making the transition away from Domino.
Obviously Domino is still my future to a certain degree. Don't go thinking this is me giving up on it. Hopefully, it will continue being my bread and butter for at least a couple of years. Maybe even the next three or four! I'll still be working with it and writing about it for as long as it's feasible. If you were thinking of offering me some Domino work, please do. It's just that I'll be trying to learn other skills when I get the chance. What I don't want is to end up with one skill when that skill is no longer in demand.
The scary part to this is feeling like I'm going back to square one. Back to a point where I'm just another resumé on another manager's desk, instead of being able get a job without really needing to submit one. Not only that, but I'd be a candidate with no specifid experience to speak of. Then there's the idea that I'd probably have to go back to being mobile and living in B&Bs or shared accommodation during the week. Something I hoped I'd never have to go back to. As scary as this is I know it's inevitable. To ease the pain I'll try and do it in parallel with my Domino career. There's an obvious amount of cross-over and hopefully you'll all still be interested in learning the same things as me. After all, I'm not doing this for the sake of it. As much as I'd love to continue as is it's hard to ignore the noises being made. Is Domino a secure bet for the future. Who knows!? Maybe it is, but I'm not about to take that gamble.
Whatever happens this year you can rest assured that Codestore will stick around. There might be a re-design if I can find the time. Articles will be once a month - again, this is if I can find the time, which I'll try my best to do. Blog frequency will probably be the same as normal. I'll try and keep the same mix of content. Not as much about me and more about what you guys are interested in.
Skip to the 
You can subscribe to an individual
Jake,
Codestore continues to be an excellent Domino reference site and simoultaneously entertaining, all your hard work is genuinely much appreciated.
Good look with the Java transistion stuff - I'll be sure to contine to visit codestore on a daily basis in 2005.
Happy Birthday for tomorrow. I beat you by 5 days, I was 30 on the 6th. It does seem like a big thing, I know what you mean. But after a few days I've realised that I don't feel any different so why worry about it!
As for technology I think you're on the right path. If you go down the open source route there'll be less opportunity for work and what there is will be lower paid. Transitioning into Java is probably the best route for Domino developers. If you can write servlets in Domino you can do it on another platform too.
It's just a shame that we're all in this position, the way Notes/Domino has been handled in the last few years has not done us any favours. IBM saying it's going to be replaced, but not having anything to replace it with was not good business sense.
Happy birthday tomorrow. And to me too :-) I passed 30 just about 7 years ago - don't worry, it still feels like I'm 25, it will be the same for you.
I agree on the Java choice, I'm signing up for a Java course that begins by the end of the month. I certainly don't expect to be leaving Domino - Java is just a very obvious area to expand into.
Jake,
First time I've posted a comment to your blog. Reading todays blog I thought of a way you could combine your two goals. Learning Java and continuing with Domino.
I sat the course "Using Java in Domino R5 Applications" a few years ago and found it very useful. I had already done some Java at uni so had an advantage, but the course does state no previous experience. So if budget can stretch to it, give it a go.
Keep us informed how the cross training goes, as a 28 year old I will no doubt be asking myself similar questions about my future as I approach 30.
Jake
Happy birthday for tomorrow, as to being thirty that passed me some time ago, but the one I really felt was 35, all market research seems to list ages in 18 to 25, 25 to 35, then its 35 to senility.
Good luck with the skills transition, you need to keep expanding your personal knowledge space, and I look forward to hearing of your experiences.
From mulling these exact things over in the last few months - I think you have it right Jake - the PHP level is not going to pay for babies (sorry to mention the word if it is scaring you at all) and mortgages - Java is more enterprise level and can be applied in many many more situations.
I feel this year is a definate cross roads year for many people like ourselves and will probably go on to sculpt the next 5/10 of our careers.
I'm thinking that workplace etc is not yet mature enough and so does not have the installation base to pursue if you are an indie - I've noticed domino work is mostly permie/contract based only (ie bum on office seat stuff)- home based consultancy is hard to come by.
Trouble with the domino contract stuff - like you mention - you have to travel/stay away from friends/family etc in the week - as you get older - that gets less exciting!! My current contract is a close 42 miles each way across Engligh Countryside - but at least I get home everyday. When the project finishes I really do not want to start staying away all week again!
Knowing Nottingham - I bet you could get java work in that area - I also know nottinghamshire county council use Domino - you might want to cv into there.
Happy birthday Dorian. I know that being 30 won't *feel* different. I just think it's a good point at which to re-evaluate where you are and where you're going.
Chris. Good idea. Make a transition as easy as possible by using as much cross-over as possible. Java is actually on my CV as is. Not that I'd consider it at a level I was happy to use on clients. I've written Java agents and know the syntax and rules. It needs scrubbing up a little, but the basics are then. Most of what I want/need to learn are the how-tos of servlet development. Not only that but, most importantly, the best practices. Using PHP/MySQL has given me experience of RDBMS web dev. The principles are are the same. I just need to learn the practical part. What I *won't* be doing is paying for any courses. I'll be using books and downloads. Much cheaper ;-)
Steve. NCC? Hmm, already got my foot in that door and added them to the CV last month. Domino's a small world.
Happy 30th!
I'd be very, very interested in knowing how you plan and are currently learning Java. It's something I'd like to get in to. I see a whole load of job openings for such skills, and it's a market I'd like to delve in to.
Keep up the fantastic work. Even though I have nothing to do with Domino/Notes anymore (not for about two years now!) I still visit your site almost daily.
Happy B'Day Jake.
Good decision on moving towards J2EE rather than PHP/MySQL. I felt that as an independent consultant probably you are more likely to find PHP/MySQL kind of clients more and hence you were moving towards that direction rather than a J2EE users where applications take longer to build and are more standards based.
However for non-consultants like me, I figured that J2EE is the next step. I still work on domino but use servlets a lot on my apps. But then, its difficult to learn much of the best practices and transition into a pure J2EE programming model unless the backend is an RDBMS.
I'm looking forward to your Java / J2EE articles, tips/tricks, etc. Maybe someday codestore would be a No.1 blog for Java resources as well.
Good luck!!
Happy Birthday! 30 isn't so bad, I'll be hitting 35 on the 19th Jan, now that frightens me!
This entry rings many bells with me. I'm in some ways in the same boat as yourself (I guess many of us Domino dudes and dudettes are).
I've been developing in Notes since version 2.1, after "falling into" Lotus Notes when the project I was recruited for ran out of budget before I even got involved! That was back when I was an As/400 Senior Analyst programmer in 1993. My manager at the time came along and said "We're looking at starting to use this software, it's called Lotus Notes. Fancy learning it?", "I'll give it a go.." Says I! And it's kept me employed for almost 12 years now.
In recent years I've done plenty of web development, a little Java (did the programmers course at Sun a couple of years ago) and I've also done some VB and ASP. Like a lot of consultants I know lots of bits about a lot of stuff but know a lot of stuff about a few bits! But what do I do next?
When I look back on my career It's obvious that there have been "critical decision points" which have taken me along the journey I have made so far. What if I had said no to learning Lotus Notes? What if I hadn't gone to college? Where would I be now?
Now I have another "critical decision point" looming again. This is a more complex decision as I have to look short and long term. I'm not getting any younger (which is a shame) and IT has always been a young, single persons career. I had kids young, 3 of them by the time I was 23! In my last company I was only 1 of 2 people in the whole company who had kids! It didn't stop me with my career, I still worked silly hours and had to travel as needed. My family didn't hold back my career but my career did make me miss my kids growing up, something I can't get back. When your kids "arrive" make sure your around to appreciate them growing up!
So, can I see myself sitting in front of a PC hacking code when I'm old and wrinkly? (or older and more wrinkly) Probably not! So I have 2 issues to tackle...
1. What route do I take for my short term career, say next 5 years?
2. what plans do I make for 5+ years?
In the short term, I'll probably carry on with Domino, look at Java, Eclipse, J2EE, JSP, websphere and relational databases (DB2 being the obvious choice) although I've done some Oracle and SQL Server in the past.
Longer term what do I do? Become a plumber? Open a bar on a beach somewhere? Become a landlord in a nice country pub out in Devon? Who knows, but I have to start thinking about it soon! Apologies, this was only going to be a short response...
Happy 30 Jake, may the Good Lord give you thrice that again and all of it happy.
Something you said a long time ago reminds me of just how flexible a career really can be. "We can do anything." It's good to have so many skills, as you do. I'm sure whatever work comes your way you'll be up to task. Persuing Java certainly offers you a more focussed approach and I wish you all the luck with it.
We had a conversation over whether to do a very simple document tracking and workflow app in Domino or J2EE / Websphere last Friday. Guess which one we chose. J2EE Websphere. It didn't win on cost, it didn't win on ease of maintenance or time to implement. It won on being the standard direction the company is going and it won on being a good experience for me as a developer. It's funny how Domino is the right choice for so many small projects, but people arn't as concerned with the right choice as they are with the popular one anymore. Odd, sad, progress. ;-)
My only advice would be to look more at java architecture than just spiffing up your coding skills. Java is a language, but there are so many dialects out there... servlets, jsp, ejb's, j2ee, websphere, struts, etc. It's looking to me like the nimble money is in knowing about all of these things and when to use them more so than being a code-master in one of them. If you specialize in just servlets, you might find yourself less well equipped to discuss the pros and cons of J2ee ejb architecture with a client. Just have well rounded knowledge I guess is my 2 cents. I'm sure you'll be tops no matter how you go.
Re: Babies... watch out, they're habit forming. :-) (and we didn't start till I was 30 either)
Happy birhtday ! don't worry about the number and keep young in your head.
One question, why do you forget about PHP/MySQL ?
Bye
First of all, happy 30th birthday. I've been there and it's not that bad crossing that 30 mark.
I've also been a freelancer for a while. I decided to move on a more secire job as I have 2 kids and a wife that stays home to take care of the kids. The job I had was ok but they didn't realise the potential Notes had for them and they were not even interested in exploring. Notes at that company has a terrible reputation and without support from upper management, it's a tough job being a Notes advocate.
I then started being nostalgic about those freelancer years: no bosses, plan your own schedule ... That was great. The Notes market here is not what it used to so just like you, I wanted to learn Java, as IBM was putting a lot of effort on promoting the Workplace and all that. I took some Java classes but never really used Java in real life.
I have a great interest for the Workplace, but I just don'thave enough time and energy do learn all that on my own. i also have failry large needs as far as money is concerned so I can still pay the house, the car, my youngest kid's violons and all that.
I am a bit scared of what the future holds for me. I'd really like a new job where I can use Java, Workplace, servlets and all but I can't really absorb a big salary decrease for now.
So, my advise to you would be if you want to learn new things, do it fast before having kids. Kids are great to bring to back to forgotten marvels (Dad, how come we see stars in the sky?) but if you want to be there with your kids, there isn't as much free time for technology in your life.
Ben (35 and getting closer to 40 every day!)
Happy birthday, Jake. Ben's right, but there *is* life after children . . . Hey, 30? Spring chickens the lot of you LOL! I'm 50+ (an ex Commodore Pet, Intertec Superbrain, ICL1900, System36, i-Series programmer) and still get the buzz from application programming. Of course, people say 'Why aren't you a manager by now?' There are two reasons, firstly I don't enjoy being a manager and secondly I'm not very good at it anyway. I recently went permie after a long spell freelancing and won the job over a lot of younger competition. For me, Notes/Domino has been a constant source of delight/irritation/interest; like many others I see a logical and gradula extension through to Eclipse, J2EE and DB2. There's more than enough to keep me going till I'm old and wrinkly. Hang on a minute! I AM old and wrinkly . . .
I wonder why you all talk of PHP or J2EE as an alternative. I really do not like M$ so much but .NET really is a good alternative to J2EE at least if you want to make a living from it. And C# with SQL server is much easier to use than Java with DB2.
One thing about babies: Jake, don't wait too long, with thirty you are in a much better physical condition as you are with 35 so no time to waste :-) The earlier the babies are there the earlier you sleep the whole night again...And it IS a lot of fun having a baby...
Happy Birthday, Jake! :-)
I hear ya, I hear ya, I'll be 29 next month and facing the same sort of issues... Just be careful that when something comes along, you don't see it because you are too busy planning for the future to notice the stuff that's really happen NOW.
happy almost birthday jake! i am about to round on 40 (next year). i really do not feel that old. i guess you are as old as you feel... just keep riding your bike, (important as you get older, trust me) the rest will work itself out.
:-)
Hi, Jake!
Happy birthday, Jake!
I'm 35 years old and like jonvon, i don't feel old. You're so young as you feel it ... ( Sorry, my english is bad but i think all of you understand me ... :-/ ). And yes, like Jonvon says, ride, ride, ride to the wind ....;-) and learn J2EE, because here in Spain there are a lot of work in Java too.
Happy Birthday Jake!
I'm a youngin, but even at 23, but I'm asking myself the same thing. What's the next step after Domino (or at least the next thing to add to the tool belt)? WebSphere? DB2? Java? C/C++? God help me, Management? More than anything, how I do ensure that I'm keeping myself competitive?
Is there a logical progression, or do I wait until I become bored with it, and move on to something more interesting?
I started the Domino Administration gig about a year ago, but really prefer the development aspect, making things happen, instead of waiting for them to happen.
Happy Birthday!! I left (or was pushed out of) Domino development 2 years ago. I had a gig doing VB6 for a year and was learning ASP.NET until I got fed up with the rendering in Firefox. Also being tied to MS OS's and tools did not make me feel comfortable (I know they have non-MS .NET languages and Mono on Linux but I think MS can shut them down if they wanted to). I'm torn between going back to COBOL on a mainframe or trying Java. I could handle servlets since I did some PERL CGI sites but the J2EE, struts, etc. might be too much for this old goat. I loved the good old days when we did not battle bugs in the OS, bugs in the database, bugs in the compiler, constant new unneeded, untested technologies sold to management, 1 bit color (black or green)... just had to battle our own bugs. Oh well, someday this might be considered the good old days?? Yikes!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE
Its still "HALF A DECADE" for me turning 30.
When I was out of my teens, I got into Domino App. Development. Codestore was always the place where I found useful tips/widgets right from earlier days in Domino Dev.
My thoughts are the Domino will live for long time to come, even in the present architecture of @Formulae and Domino Designer. But from career prespective, its better to be multi-skills, as business applications in present age are very heterogenous and a mix max of different technologies.
My near term plans are to give certification in DB2 (Test 700) and then a paper on Business Intelligence. Not any particular liking to this subjects; its jst dat i found this as an easy route to a new area.
Happy birthday from me too. I know how you feel, even though I'm quite a bit over 30 (turning 38 next month). I have done Notes for 12+ years and in the last years branched out into other areas (Java development (not the "Exxon Valdez style" J2EE but smaller, nimbler things [1]. (We built POP3, IMAP, SMTP, DNS Servers and a P2P Email system in < 600k of JAR's).
Right now I'm in a project doing Sun Solaris Integration work for a huge mobile project. In the spare time I have learnt Ruby and Ruby on Rails [2] (the PHP / MySQL you are dropping) and started to develop a large application.
In my opinion, it doesn't really matter, what exactly you are doing technology wise. As long as you have the skills to pick up new things quickly, and turn those skills into value-propositions for your customers, you are all set.
As for turning 30 - don't worry, it's going on 40 that makes you think (I can feel my midlife crisis looming in front of me ;-) ). I am seriously considering a major career change in the next couple of years - getting out of IT seems to be a more interesting alternative every day that passes...
Ahh - Rambling too much. Back to building Sun Packages ...
[1]: {Link}
[2]: {Link}
Happy Birthday Jake. 30 wasn't so much of a big deal, but I was in a good place in my life then. 35 means that when I get up in the morning and look in the mirror, I realise that I'm no spring chicken any more!
Not so sure about your choice of tools. That would seem to consign you to a life of working as part of teams, but its what rings your bell that is the best choice. I prefer independence, and would always sacrifice money for enjoyment and flexibility in what I do. Perhaps thats just me not being all that money driven. I'll keep following your travels though, so have fun ;-)
Hi Jake,
Happy birthday! I'm in a similar situation, having worked as a Notes developer for five years i've now reached a cross-roads too.
The work was easy to come by in London, but since moving to the north-east without a job I was stunned how difficult it was to get back into work, and I was quite disheartened by what a career in IT development actually means.
Skills are not seen as remotely transferrable, and if you don't have 2 years experience of EXACTLY the right skill for the job your unemployable. It's really depressing and makes you wonder why you do it.
Personally, i've had enough. I'm contracting as a web developer at the moment, but it seems that on the whole the only way I can get a decent salary is if I go back to London during the week, and leave my girlfriend and our new house up here! So i'm changing career entirely, and training to become a physiotherapist of all things. I've really enjoyed working in IT, but I don't want to find myself having to jump through new hoops every five years, and effectively "starting all over again".
I'm sure you'll do well, as you have a real talent for development, but for those mere mortals like me, its just too hard work with too little pay and respect at the end of it....
Happy Birthday for tomorrow Jake.
I too am learning Java as it seemed the obvious choice from an enterprise perspective. I'll look forward to keeping up with how you get on and hopefully we can all make this transition together in one piece!
All the best for 2005
Hi,
Happy Birthday. I am 36. The rest of your posting was quite sad to here.
Hey. This is one of the few Domino blogging site I've visited in last 3 years to learn some decently presented technical content.
With your Java strategy. It might be a bit to humble. And you freakin' better than "to make Java Certi at the end of the year and start some servlet coding".
And I've managed that those ever-annoying customers book me in IBM-J2EE and Notes projects.
Servlet coding jobs does not exist.
People are using frameworks. You'll have to be Portlet, Struts, Tapestry or JSF developer. You'll have to know Design Patterns (buy the excelent Head First Design Pattern book).
And you are going to have to master that business logic, backend integration stuff also. At least parts of it. Like EJB or Spring/Hibernate. And J2EE architecture. (you might buy excelent Effective Enterprise Java by Ted Neward).
Don't know what that Puakma freak (my personal opinion) is telling you, but J2EE is not easy, but not all that difficult.
Visit Javaranch and clear new Java certification with new 1.5 beta program until your islands gets a bit wormer (april). After that you can do Websphere certi if you like or Sun Web Component Certification, if you don't want to work with ever-anoying IBM.
Axel
Happy Birthday, Jake!
This might make you feel better...I've found that people who have a hard time turning 30 DON'T have as hard a time turning 40...and it is MUCH harder turning 40 (as you may imagine).
It looks like my company will be attempting to replace Notes with .NET (ha!), so that's what I'm going to be learning. Hoping that it will make me marketable.
I'm also taking a stab at creating Domino web apps with a laser-sharp focus on small niches within our local business community.
If that doesn't fly and I'm not enamored with .NET, then I may be looking for a new career, like Lee.
Enjoy your day!
I think it's a little sad that the times come to start looking at the world outside Domino. The time has come, there's no doubt about that and I've been doing a lot of soul searching recently, trying to decide which direction to go.
I'm an admin so have been looking at Exchange but am far more tempted by Workplace - I really like the look of it and I reckon in a couple of years it'll be a force to be reckoned with.
It's either that or branching out and building and selling Linux powered "everything in a box" type mail and app servers to SMB's - something I've often toyed with that looks interesting and could be fun.
Anyway, it's vaguely comforting to know that there are other people in the same boat though a little sad as we all seem to have grown up with Domino but know that we have to move on. It's a little scary to start over but quite exciting.
Anyway, happy birthday Jake and good luck to everyone, whatever path you choose.
Jake,
I think it's a customer thing. Understand who they are, who you'd like them to be, and where they want to go. Then figure out how you can beat your competition in getting them there, and why they should go with you. A useful skill may be hiring and managing development talent, rather than platform specialisation. Be a star in your customer base/niche, not on a platform.
Hi Jake, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I am in the same position for you, hitting 30 soon, but moving into Project Management / Consultancy so I dont have to rely on any specific technology.
Happy Birthday, Jake! I turned 41 on January 6. By the way, 40 is the new 30, and 30 is the new 20. All of you above are young (and male). Good luck to you, Jake! I've learned so much from this site. :)
40 may be the new 30, but you still have to deal with the prostate exams. Whatever your career decisions, Jake, resolve never to progress further in age -- this is the last birthday that doesn't come with a new mysterious pain in a place that never hurt before....
That's beautiful Stan, aren't you a ray of sunshine for my morning! I'm zipping through the comments and rading "Happy Birthday", "Happy Birthday", "Worried about Domino", "Happy Birthday" and then "bet you can't wait for prostate exams"! (this may not be an exact quote). Nice 8-)
Jake, I think it's perfectly normal to stress a bit at what feels like a passing a milestone in your life and the approach of fatherhood. But dude, you're a kick-arse developer and if your track record is anything to go by, you'll end up teaching the world about funky new java tricks in no time.
I'm now working almost exclusively in the Websphere/DB2 world with the good times in DominoLand becoming less and less frequent. I tell you, as much as it's sometimes frustrating the way Domino does it's own things sometimes, it can be equally frustrating when you find yourself building a bunch of classes to do something for you - the whole time trying to shake from your head the image of a checkbox in a Domino properties box which would solve all your problems.
True, java is a big place and there are ltos of things to learn about. But I wouldn't suggest trying to learn it all at once. I like your plan better, just take on one piece at a time. It'll come together for you in no time. And if you hit trouble, send me an email or post it up and I'm sure everyone will help out.
And of course a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Hey Jake,
I commented on your site a few years back when I was actively involved in Domino... it's as good now as it was back then, i'm glad to see you kept going and even more glad to see the rest of the Domino community still appreciates it. Don't worry about making the move to Java. I decided 4 years ago to move away from Domino and eventually settled on the Microsoft route, which has been very good to me. It was touvh in the beginning but is now much more rewarding. The work you have ahead is daunting to be sure, Java & EJB's are work aplenty, but I think you're making a good move. Good luck, chin up and happy birthday.
All I mentioned was a little friendly in-office procedure, then you let loose with the idea of passing milestones. Now THAT's painful. I remember the time that ... <aside, to colleague: Oh -- that's what "milestone" means? Are you sure?> Never mind....
Java's a piece of cake. There's hardly anything in it. It's all those classes people keep writing that get to be a pain.
Happy birthday, i am 40 and that's not a problem. Java is cool and i think there is a growing market for Domino/J2EE integration.
Jake - Happy Birthday. And thanks for the great work with Codestore. I, too, think about the future and the need to further diversify my skill set. Good luck in your endeavors.
John
Happy Birthday Jake!
I will be turning 33 this year and my wife will turn 35. No kids (yet) and one cat. I really enjoy reading your blog and I am sure you are on the correct path. I am pretty sure if you find the right company you will have no issues finding employment.
Maybe you remember me emailing you with some simular questions a few months back,
Have you seen this article ..
{Link}
It reviews an online Java course for Domino Developers..
Good luck!
Allen
*Only* 30 ? Sigh. I remember when I was 30.. :-(
Happy birthday, and keep up the good work!
---* Bill
Jake Happy Birthday. 30 is not over the hill, I am more than double that and still going strong. Stay in shape, physically and mentslly. Keep on learning new things and always have a positive attitude. I once counted 50 different languages that I had learned at one time or another. Anybody know 1401 Autocoder? As you learn, be open to new experiences and the opportunities will come. Yes Java and C++ are good things to know.
Well done, great, interesting comments here. I hit 30, a year ago and realised, that 10 years of working in Lotus Notes/Domino I needed a complete break. I bought a 1 year around the world ticket in London from travelfinders for 1000 Pounds. I don't regret one minute of taking a break. I am 3 months into a trip in Nepal and India and I think, career isn't everything all your life. One doesn't get any younger, live your future NOW and stop worrying, Lifes Great!
30 is a marker, but 2 to 3 months in...
self reflection turns to a relaxed sense of confidence, and the fact that your not as old as you thought 30 was when you were 20.
"30 is the new 20", which, I think, has always been true.
Your knowledge is really based on your attitude, which is apparent from codestore, it doesnt matter what the future platform/language is... knowledge adapts.
Happy 20th Jake.
Thanks for all your contributions to the community, keep going.
Thanks Jamille. You're right. For the first time in my life I feel like a *real* man. No longer a boy. I'm now in the second phase of my life.