Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Path to AwesomeNess...

My path to "awesomeness" after about half a year of hacking...
1) Learn about real projects
Learning about real projects is something that I greatly need to improve on. Following a set schedule has always been a challenge for me. I think that while interning I have just touched the tip of the iceberg when to comes to meeting deadlines. I hope to be put up to more challenges of finishing "real" projects on time.
2) Learn about research
What is research in hacker terms? If it's what I think it is, I have learned a little bit on how to research. For example being new to java i had to look up javadocs for a lot of things that were unfamiliar to me. I think I need to learn more about researching.
3) Learn about software development processes
Wow this is a big one. When working in school I haven't dealt with projects that take more than a month. With these really big programs and multiple developers, I learned about how the repository keeps track of what everyone is doing. The software development thought process is coming to me to. I also learned the effectiveness of working on teams and having code reviews. A lot was uncovered in my code review which led to better functionality.
4) learn how to learn
Learning how to learn is just something i never did, and now i realize is very important. I was a young boy and I am slowly becoming a man because I am learning how to learn. Effectively using resources (researching) is an important aspect to learning and I still need improvement on. My first day of work I learned "how to ask a question," reading that article just pushed my over the top, pushed me to take on my problems and find a solution on my own.
5) Learn how to increase marketability
Increase marketability of what?
6) Learn about the industry
I have learned a little about the industry, not much. Looking at the big picture I learned that contracts need to be won by fulfilling a customer's needs. On a smaller scale I have seen how a small firm actually operates. Developer's build things that could possibly be a great idea, or start building things on great ideas. In both cases a contract needs to be won.

Gotta get to class... edit it soon

3 comments:

aaron said...

that is a pretty good start. here are some comments.

2) learn to research
the idea here is that you learn about researching about all sorts of things, including hacking. but, i intended it to be more general. like doing actual research. for example, an honors thesis is research. the important aspect of research is that you are able to form new ideas, communicate them, evaluate them, defend them, and utilize them. conducting research is an important part of what we do as a company, but it is also very important for your development.

perhaps the thing to do here is learn more about how we do research in our company. if you don't know what "research" we are doing, then ask.

5) learn how to increase your marketability
this one is really important. you have to learn and develop things that will separate yourself from your peers. figure out what the norm is and go way beyond it. when you think you went far enough, go further.

6) learn about the industry
this one is important too. you need to know about your options. what types of companies work in hawaii. i say this not so that you only groom yourself to work at company Foo. but, more so that you learn what possibilities out there in hawaii and on the mainland. learn about what other companies do. what technologies are they working with. what are they researching. what software development processes do they follow. are their projects meaningful, etc, etc?

you are on your way. if at the end you have learned a lot about these six areas, you will definitely be AWESOME!

good luck.

austen.ito said...

Good luck on the awesomness!

synthesis said...

great read! good stuff dude!