[OKC JUG] "You are Responsible for Your Own Career"

[Jason Lee]

Forrest Humphrey just tweeted this link (many thanks! :), but I  
thought I'd share it here:

http://passionatesoftware.com/index.php/2009/04/15/you-are-responsible-for-your-own-career/

I think this is a *great* post.  It is possible to kind of float  
through your entire career, but, as the author and those he to whom  
refers note, that's no way to *grow* your career. If you want to  
become better, you have to work at it, whether you're a programmer, a  
manager, a tree trimmer, a hair dresser, or whatever.

I was glad he hit on user groups.  The reason the OKC JUG exists is to  
help the Java developers in the Oklahoma City are grow as developers  
-- to move from being mere code monkeys to real, self-sufficient  
"computer scientists."  That's why we not only encourage attendance,  
but repeatedly encourage people to present on something.  The best way  
to learn something is to try to teach it.  Doing so sharpens other  
skills as well:  learning, researching, speaking, planning,  
preparation, etc.  I'd wager that the intangibles like that are of  
more value than the actual content of the presentation.  And the  
really neat thing about presenting at the JUG is that you don't have  
to be an expert on the subject.  Les, for example, did a great job  
yesterday presenting on something he readily admitted he was no expert  
on.  I did the same with JavaFX a couple of years ago (and will do  
again later in the year on Maven).  Others have done the same on other  
topics.

So what's the take away?  In the context of the JUG, we would LOVE to  
have someone new present.  If you don't want to try for the full time,  
we can schedule a couple of mini-sessions for 2 or 3 presenters on one  
day, or maybe have one meeting be purely lightning talks.  Several  
members of the JUG have also offered to help you prepare a  
presentation if you want the help.  The JUG is here to serve, but as  
the author above noted, it's *your* responsibility to manage your  
career, and giving a presentation is a great way to grow.  And I  
promise, it's not as scary as it sounds. :)

If you're interested in a mini-session or a lightning talk, let us  
know, and we'll work on the schedule. :)

Jason Lee, SCJP
Senior Java Developer, Sun Microsystems
Mojarra and Mojarra Scales Dev Team
https://mojarra.dev.java.net
https://scales.dev.java.net
http://blogs.steeplesoft.com