The Long Road is meant to temper expectations. It lays out the path to mastery of software development as one of lifelong learning, and not one of chasing wealth or position. It is about taking jobs and opportunities that will help you continue your journey to gain more experience and knowledge and to prioritize this over promotions and salary raises. It is about finding the knowledge at the heart of software development.
I think that not only is this pattern good advice to software developers but offers good life advice as well. I personally believe that life is about the journey and that new experiences and gaining more knowledge is far more important than gaining more monetary wealth. I don’t care too much about money in general and I think that having this mentality about moving forward in my career lays out a life that will leave me a lot happier and more content when it comes time for me to leave it all behind. I didn’t get into computers to take a middle management job, I came here so I could enjoy what I do and get really bloody good at it. I just found the part about growth over wealth to be such a good way of looking at software development, and I think is kind of the opposite of why a lot of people get into it. I feel like a lot of people get CS degrees because they want to make money, and not so much for the love of the craft, and I think that’s just a path to disaster. I hope I’m wrong, but if you can learn to love the journey I think you’ll have a lot more fun along the way.
However, I do disagree with the notion that this pattern (and this book, as they say) is not However, I do disagree with the notion that this pattern (and this book, as they say) is not for people that want to take different paths. I think it is entirely reasonable to believe that even those who don’t want to continue a software development career for their entire lives still want to master the craft and continue their development journey even if they choose not to continue down a career in it. There are many people who don’t pursue full-on careers in software development, but still love coding and want to continue to grow their skills. Hobbyist game designers or developers are out there, and I think that that choice is completely valid and that this pattern still applies to those that choose something else. I just don’t like the gatekeeping nature of that comment in this pattern. Mastery does not necessitate a career in development. Do what you want, and enjoy the journey.
From the blog CS@Worcester – Kurt Maiser's Coding Blog by kmaiser and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.