How Developers Stop Learning: Rise of the Expert Beginner (2012)
I’m not sure the “10,000 hours&#x2F;5 years” rule is a particularly relevant one, these days. Tech mutates so quickly, it&#x27;s near impossible to become an &quot;expert.&quot; Also, many developers are...how can I put this...<i>a wee bit obsessive</i>. It’s quite possible to hit 10K hours well before 5 years.<p>I liked the analogy about the quirky bowling style.<p>That has happened to me -several times.<p>I’m primarily self-taught in most of my tech. It has tended to result in very highly-developed, but narrow, skillsets. Not necessarily a bad thing, but “brittle.” It has happened so many times, that I no longer feel that I am an “expert.” I am now “experienced.” At least the first five letters match.<p>But it has been a long road to where I am now. Humility has been forced upon me, and I now have a <i>lot</i> of “narrow skillsets,” to the point that they inform each other. For example, a lot of the stuff I did in PHP has helped inform my work in Swift, and vice-versa.<p>I’m choosing to specialize in a specific discipline and tech stack, which, just by itself, gives me a lot to learn. I am working to develop a “broad base” in a small-ish venue, with a lot of “sharp peaks.”<p>It’s really humbling. The more I know, the more I know I don’t know. Also, since I am constantly trying out stuff I don’t already know, I’m a perennial “n00b.” Usually, this manifests by not always being aware of the jargon (I know the tech, but not the name). This may result, I suspect, in my being treated rather shabbily by folks in the field (It may also have to do with my age. I have found that the way people treat me changes radically, as soon as they find out that I&#x27;m &quot;long in the tooth,&quot; so I now make it obvious to avoid that). This has helped me to just keep my damn mouth shut, and open it only to eat my humble pie.<p>I write about that here: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;medium.com&#x2F;chrismarshallny&#x2F;thats-not-what-ships-are-built-for-595f4ae2c284" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;medium.com&#x2F;chrismarshallny&#x2F;thats-not-what-ships-are-...</a>