A fascinating 30-year-old from the talent triangle of professional skills, industry knowledge and so

-------- I am 30 years old this year, I am very confused, I don't know what direction to choose in the future.

• First, the background

　　This is what a young developer I accidentally saw in the community WeChat group. He used to throw some deep and content-related questions in the technology group and be able to think positively and optimistically. Exploring technical solutions, sometimes it may be wrong to think that he is such a developer who loves learning, and he must be a technology leader in the company and have a clear understanding of his career planning.

　　So it is a bit of a surprise to throw such a question, but after careful consideration, it may be true. For developers around the age of 30, the young guy from the early 20s has gradually grown into the pillar of the family and the company. If you have been engaged in the technical field, it is easy to reach the bottleneck period. As shown below, the learning ability of one person grows. The curve, about three or five years or so, will gradually slow down.

(hand drawn)

　　At this stage, it will be very painful. If you are in a good company, you have a complete system to ensure that you continue to grow. Otherwise, you will have to fall into the old age. You may have been so mediocre until you are forced to withdraw from the industry.

　　Those who are not willing to do so are eager to change the status quo. They are often under tremendous pressure, especially the rapid development of Internet technology, new technologies and new methods, and how to choose the direction of technology development. Personal career planning, this problem naturally appears in front of them.

　　The following is the "talent triangle" structure of Internet developers, consisting of professional skills, industry knowledge and soft power. Each ring represents a knowledge boundary.

• First, professional skills

　　Professional skills are valuable skills that developers rely on to survive, and developing languages is one of the most important aspects. The rapid development of the Internet industry in recent years seems to have a huge impact on .NET developers. In many cities, there is even an amazing 10 to 1 ratio of recruitment information between Java and .NET, while in domestic Internet companies, it seems In addition to companies such as Tongyi Yilong and Weilai Automobile, there are not many large companies that can be named to insist on using the .NET technology stack.

　　But even so, this does not mean that .NET technology has gradually become obsolete, especially in the field of technology, it seems that the hot market is never dominated by a language. Really good developers are never bound by language. In fact, although it is very important to master a core language, secondly, other professional skills beyond the language, such as design patterns and design principles, and understanding of algorithms, are developed. The very important ability has a very profound impact on his value assessment.

　　Among the many professional skills, the more controversial is probably the database, various components and other professional skills, as well as DevOps and microservices. The first is that these new concepts are overwhelming, making it hard to resist the desire to learn, or even learning, and often being said to be blocked by the knowledge system. But after learning, if you don't get practice, you don't necessarily have the benefit of short-term or long-term benefits. In addition to being able to get the right database and various third-party components (such as Redis, Consul), etc., although developers can get a lot of opportunities, but not every developer has time or energy to understand so many things. . After all, only 24 hours a day, taking the time to learn the A component, often have to ignore other components. And if you just want to understand some of the components, it is better to delve into one of the many similar components.

　　Micro-services are easy to get into the ocean of knowledge. In the column of "The Beauty of Software Engineering", the column of "The Beauty of Software Engineering" also mentions that the micro-service architecture is not a natural evolution of software systems, and it must be done by organizational strength. In the micro-service book "Micro-Service Design Pattern", it is also suggested that micro-services should actually be an embodiment of organizational structure, not just a software architecture. Microservices for microservices do not necessarily lead to an increase in the cost of team communication, nor do they facilitate efficient iteration of software systems. Similarly, it is not a worthy strategy to put containers on for DevOps.

　　I put DDD and TDD into a very important part of my professional skills. Because DDD is a very important method for analyzing software problems, it is a bit like a team problem analysis method from a macro perspective. If time is limited, it is probably not necessary to study it alone. After all, if you want to practice it, you still need to rely more on the team. It is better to pull a few colleagues to explore together. If there is no way to carry out the perfect practice of DDD, it is not necessary to demand, and the use of layered ideas in the field can make the software system manage the knowledge in various fields as controllable as possible, and realize the precipitation of business knowledge.

　　TDD seems to enable software to reduce maintenance costs as much as possible, but to practice it depends on the environment and the individual's ongoing deliberate practice, and it takes a long period of time. It is obviously excellent to be able to practice deliberately. I believe he will definitely bring you great benefits.

• Second, industry knowledge

　　The industry, and industry knowledge is the key to determining the developer, not the professional skills themselves. For example, the red-and-purple e-commerce industry, Alibaba or the multi-e-commerce platform, which is the most profitable industry for developers, is also the most competitive industry. For example, the emerging business format of community group buying in Changsha is also a new opportunity for practitioners in the Changsha technology circle.

　　But it seems that developers in many industries have little interest in their industry knowledge. Many developers are often obsessed with the study of professional skills, ignoring the knowledge of industry knowledge. In fact, the depth of cognition of industry knowledge can better reflect the level of products and the professionalism of the company. If everyone is determined to build the most professional products for the company, this will obviously bring endless benefits to the company and individuals.

• Third, soft power

　　Soft power is the core key to making you different from me. He is manifested in the external, is a person's attitude of talking and living. Through many forms, such as leadership, management, and expression, he can better express your strengths to the world.

　　Soft power is the key to the success of programmers. For example, can you communicate with team members, which can promote mutual recognition between you and team members, and whether you can show your products better in front of leaders or customers, which will benefit you and the company's product value. Show that you can summarize your work with words or PPT, which in turn reflects your organization's ability to express. And your good communication with the company and good communication with your customers is not only accumulating contacts, but also investing in the future.

　　I put luck in the scope of soft power because I think luck is a very important part, but if there is not enough soft power to accumulate, even if there are good opportunities, it is not necessarily capable of supporting.

• Fourth, summary

　　In the early days of my work, I always thought that technical ability is the biggest key to determining the difference between people. But in fact it is the opposite. The ones that are best mixed around us are often not the best in technology. They tend to be better at delving into an industry and discovering value from it. They tend to pay more attention to the cultivation of soft power, and through these soft powers, they have many opportunities that ordinary people cannot have.

　　Good developers are also good at capturing every challenge in the workplace. They regard each workplace as an opportunity to practice and learn, and they will improve themselves all the time. Even in small companies, they can create extraordinary achievements.

　　The short-term confusion is not terrible. I am afraid that I have not tried to change when I see the confusion. For example, I know that there is a lack of ability, but I still ignore the accumulation of ability. The accumulation of abilities is not just a simple text that stays on paper, but more confusion. It is better to practice and actively cultivate from the moment. For example, as a .NET developer, perhaps we all need a deeper understanding of the core knowledge of C#/.NET technology. A good book "C# 7.0 Core Technology Guide" will solve your problems.

　　No matter what technology we are doing now, the most important key is to recognize your shortcomings and then consciously improve. You don't have to be strict with your own self than today, and strive to make tomorrow's self better than today. Sticking to one direction will always give you more opportunities.

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