Vocation in the Valley

Java/J2EE is Boring

Wednesday, November 16th, 2005

Java, and more specifically J2EE, is boring. Yes, I make a living doing this stuff and it has become mind-numbing. If you’re in a domain you enjoy then it can be palatable, but the technology itself is a snooze. Struts/JSF, blah! So much code and configuration just to make a form. WebLogic, WebSphere, JBoss, JOnAS, etc. (gotta have more than 1 capital letter). Feels like DEC to me. Keep moving to the high-end while PHP, Python, and Ruby eat up the low-end. (Read Clayton Christianson’s “The Innovator’s Dilemma”) Web services, SOA, ebXML, can anyone say C.O.R.B.A.

I have 6 Java related RSS feeds and I haven’t been interested in a single posting in over a month. I cut that number to 6 after I finding most of the other feeds to be uninteresting. In a couple of weeks I’m going to kill
those 6 if I still haven’t seen anything interesting.

The thing is, I can do my job and do it well without keeping up with the latest J2EE fluff. At work, we’re still using 1.4.x and even need to support 1.3.x in some cases. It’s still a good tool to solve some problems, but the problems better be cool, because the tool isn’t.

Posted in Employee, Software Developer | No Comments »

I Need To Update My Resume

Tuesday, September 27th, 2005

After reading this post about intellectual honesty during job interviews, I think I need to make sure my resume is scrubbed of things I use to know, but wouldn’t dare to claim anymore. I used to do C, C++, and Mac development. I’d have a hard time answering any specific question on those topics anymore.

One thing that does bother me about this is that, depending on the interviewer and/or company, skill set can be the deciding factor in hiring. I may not be proficient in objective-C, but if someone hired my to do that work, I’m sure I would be a very productive member of the team. Where do I come up with the nerve to say this? Well, I have a track record of learning new technologies on the fly and ramping up quickly on new projects. My strength is not a deep understanding of a particular technology, but the ability to quickly understand a technology and apply it to the development of a product.

Posted in Employee, Software Developer | 1 Comment »

Career Ladders

Sunday, September 11th, 2005

A friend of my told me he just got his new title at Big Software Company. I was happy for him because he’s been want the new title for a while. He started talking about how he was at the point where he needed to decide if he wanted go up the technical career path or the engineering management path. My company recently rolled out the engineering career ladders which, while different in titles, was essential the same thing with a technical path and a more people/project management oriented path.
In my younger years, I would have said I’d take the technical path without a doubt. In the last couple years, I’ve considered the more management oriented path, but have still leaned toward the technical path. However, as I’ve looked at it closer, I really don’t care about a career ladder or even a career in the traditional sense.
I like building software. I like the challenges, learning, and problem-solving involved in all aspects of this endeavor. Sometimes it involves writing a specification. Sometimes it involves coordinating with other teams. What in the world does any of this have to do with a career ladder?
I guess career ladders might matter if I want raises and promotions. I like raises, who doesn’t, although I’m not sure how much raises and the career ladder are really tied. If a company wants to keep me and it’s only a matter of money, if they can’t get around the career ladder I’d bail anyway. Promotions don’t really concern me because titles don’t define my level of expertise or ability to get a development job. They would concern me if I had aspirations of being a Director or V.P. but I have no interest.
While I’m working in the world of big companies, I’ll think I’ll play outside the career ladder. When I finally get my microISV up and running, I won’t need a ladder.

Posted in Employee, Micropreneur | No Comments »