Enthusiasm & Passion for Programming

I am currently working in a large company as a Developer/Analyst.  I work primarily with Visual FoxPro (Mid-Senior Level), but am striving to learn .NET (Beginner).  

We are migrating our legacy software which is written in DOS FoxPro 2.5, VFP 3.0 and VFP 7.0 to .NET.  The new Windows application includes a WPF/C# front end and SQL Server back end.  We have a team that maintains the legacy applications (which is the one that I am on) and a team that is building the new application.  Sometimes, the lines cross and I do get to work on the new software. Because the lines do not cross as much as I would like, I find myself having to find ways to keep my enthusiasm at a decent level.

Every now and then I run across blogs and podcasts that help me with my enthusiasm and passion for development.  Last week’s Hanselminutes on the subject of Finding Passion for Software is a great example of the kind of content that really turns my thinking around - "maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel".

Below are some things that I do to keep myself enthusiastic:

• Attend User Group meetings and Code Camps/Tech Fests - I cannot afford to go to big conventions like TechEd and VSLive, so free local area events are the next best thing.
• Read development books and publications - There is so much content online, but I still feel that a hard copy every now and then is needed.  I subscribe to CoDe Magazine, MSDN Magazine and SQL Server Magazine as well as try to keep a book with me at all times.  That way even if I don’t have access to the internet, I can keep my learning in motion.
• Listen to Podcasts on Development and general technology - there is a plethora of podcasts out there and new ones starting up constantly.
• Watch online videos - Again, there is a ton of online tutorials. (Dime Casts, How Do I Videos, ASP.NET Tutorials, GridView Guy Video Tutorials)
• Subscribe to blogs (XML)
• Social Networking - There are a lot of Developers on Twitter and FriendFeed.  You really pick up a lot of information following other people in the Development Community.

In closing, my current work situation sometimes makes it difficult to stay interested in my chosen profession, but thanks to the abundant amount of resources, I seem to stay interested and enthused.

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Related Content

• Finding Passion for Software
• Be a Better Developer in Six Months
• Develop with Passion like Jean Paul Boodhoo
• John Bristowe on Advancing Your Career
• Creating Passionate Developers

Social Networks/Blogging and Self-Improvement

Social networks such as Twitter and blogging in general have many benefits to help with one’s self-improvement.  Some of these benefits include goal setting and overall learning.

One of the best things to do to set a goal is to tell people about it and what better place to do that than a blog or Social Network.  I am still thinking about my goals, but below are a few examples of  people who have posted their goals for the world to see.

• Using Outlook to Help Achieve Your Personal & Business Goals Part I - Misty Khan
• Using Outlook to Help Achieve Your Personal & Business Goals Part II - Misty Khan
• How I am becoming a better developer, part 1 of infinity - Justice Gray
• Being a Better Developer… in 6 months - Bil Simser
• What I’m doing to become a better programmer - IglooCoder

As I said above, I am still thinking about my goals, but I do use Twitter to post when I go to the gym…it a makes me feel accountable, so hopefully, I will do it more.
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Another benefit of blogs and Social Networks is the learning aspect.  I follow people on Twitter that I think I will learn from.  It is my main reason for using it.

 

The other day I posted an article showing how to transfer the column headings from a SQL Server query result to Excel.  Someone had just shown me how to do it that day, so I thought I would share what I had learned.  I had a comment on that blog entry that gave me a much easier way to do the same thing.  This is what I mean by learning.  I took that knowledge back to the person in which I learned the original way.  I also posted another article with the easier way and gave credit where credit was due.

In closing, Blogging and Social Networks allow normal everyday people to learn and achieve goals.  I truly believe you do not have to be a professional blogger to reap the benefits.

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Happy learning and goal setting!!!