The (adult) teenager in the garage
The past few days have been some pretty heavy thinking days for me. I can say with confidence that I'm at a point in my life where my opinions are not easily swayed and I have enough life experience to justify most of the conclusions I've come to. Writing (or typing) these thoughts down helps me reinforce them in my mind. Having said that, there is one uncertain and volatile thing that will probably always distract me; the future.
Why do I worry about the future? Will I be around for it? For quite a bit of it, yes. I'm only 24. (Hopefully I can convince you for a moment that I can be less naive than most my age.)
What is it about the future that keeps me worried? It's not because I feel the apocalypse is imminent or anything as catastrophic as that. What worries me most, by nature, is things that will have an affect on me personally (and my family). In this writing specifically, the industry I work in.
These things are the deterioration of the meritocratic ideals of opportunity I was so regularly fed as a youth. It's the overwhelming sense of entitlement that seems to pervade through my generation, only to strengthen its grip tighter on future generations. It's not .NET 2.0 or XAML development. I find holding onto the belief that if I educate myself and work hard I _will_ achieve something greater than mediocrity harder than ever to accept without skepticism. Sometimes I think that maybe at a subconscious level, I chose the career path of a developer because I perceived I could be part of a subculture free from the grasp of business aristocracy. In my heart, I am still one of the teenagers in the garage.
Yet, the further I venture out into this sea of 1's and 0's -- the easier it becomes to lose my ability to determine whether the meritocracy is mythical or not. More importantly, I am troubled by the feeling that we (developers) gave our chance to own the industry away in exchange for [take your pick] worthless stock options, broken promises, or bonuses never paid. Why do we work longer hours than almost anyone and allow the chances of winning the lottery turn us into coding slaves? Is meritocracy simply the carrot dangling in front of us, held by "the man" that we have so soon forgotten stole our ideas? And sure enough, the future generation of developers aren't able to see what's happening to our predecessors and prepare accordingly. They're too busy - dropping the soma that is the Ipod, the Xbox, and free, readily available internet porn - to notice.
This status quo of instant gratification has led to not only a false sense of entitlement but a lack of perspective, too. It's similar to believing we have the right not to be offended (political correctness) which also has grown wildly out of hand. Mahatma Gandhi once said, "If all Christians acted like Christ, the whole world would be Christian." Following that thought, I think if all developers had to rely on their own software, it would, eventually, be the most secure, high-performance, maintainable code they ever wrote.
Through these thoughts I've arrived at this one conclusion. The path you take and the results you achieve in your career (or your life depending on how widely you apply the principle) are not dependent upon the existence of meritocracy nor measured by the wealth or social status you attain. It's about being ready to take advantage of the window of opportunity opening for you. Maybe this is the Eagle Scout in me talking, but "Be Prepared" has never struck a chord with me like it does now. Increasing your knowledge and improving your skills is not your guarantee of success. It's your guarantee of being able to carpe diem when the time comes. While the means chosen to prepare will vary person to person, staying prepared should remain constant.
I find it unfortunate that many developers have come upon rough times in terms of employment. Very few were thinking of economic trouble during prosperous times, myself included. I think it says a lot about those still remaining, still wanting to create something, still wanting to get paid to be the teenager in the garage. For those of you that are still developing, unpaid -- may this writing be something you already knew.