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

[Ryan Hoegg]

Thank you for the link Forrest, and thank YOU for this email Jason.

If you're interested in something, just sign up for a presentation!  Give
yourself about 3 months but start researching and planning now.

(Winter, 2006)
I was reading a lot about Domain Specific Languages, and I was fascinated
with the topic.  I played around on my own a little, but never really got
the hang of it.  Then, I volunteered to present the topic at the February
2007 meeting.  I spent nights and weekends on it forever, really learning
all about the technique and how others use it.  I created one of my own to
demonstrate the technique at the JUG. Along the way, I learned all kinds of
things about my craft I didn't expect.

(Summer, 2007)
I started investigating REST, for work and for me.  Again, I played around
with some sample code but never really got my feet wet.  So, I volunteered
to present the topic at the October meeting.  I burned nights and weekends
learning about it, and came out with a pretty deep understanding of the
architectural style of the WWW.

--
Ryan Hoegg

PS. If you're still reading, and you like my presentations, and you're the
first to email me personally, you win!  I will co-prepare a JUG presentation
on whatever topic you want to present. As long as the steering committee
accepts it.

PPS. I doubt we'll accept one on plate tectonics, but you can try.

On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 11:21 AM, Jason Lee <jason at steeplesoft.com> wrote:

> 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
>
>
>
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>
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