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Ask HN: What is the best money you have spent on professional development?

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Re: Ask HN: What is the best money you have spent on professional development?

#391

Post by sgt »

IggleSniggle wrote: post #120
sgt wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you buy a cheap brand I don't think the matte / glossy holds up anymore. A good quality screen can have a degree of gloss and still offer superior quality to matte. Crystal clear rendering of fonts is a given. Having said the above, I think there's actually very little competition out there that beats MacBook Pro's etc.

I have a MBP, and often end up working in the dark or turning my screen brightness way up just to fight the glare. That said, the only thing matte gives you is diffusion of light, and often at the cost of actually being brighter (but again, more diffuse) than the glossy. Personally, I still prefer matte.

Is it possibly very bright where you sit? Blinds may make your life a lot more pleasant.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best money you have spent on professional development?

#392

Post by Impossible »

michjedi wrote: post #152
beagle3 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Early in your career, yes. As you dig deeper they become available only in university libraries and then not even there. Most material is available for free on the internet, but like most open source material, you have to compile it yourself and that takes time. Good books save you the time by including important dependencies, normalizing notation, etc.

Exactly this - most of the libraries in my area have little if no technical books. I know exactly why too - I've frequently come across libraries in the UK that are selling off their technical books, because they're not receiving much attention. I've had multiple occasions where I've managed to buy dozens of books for the value of just one of them. It's not easy to even ask for a book. I've asked librarians for books…

I gave away technical books at my local library as they had a "free books section". Some of them were older editions of industry standard text books (Real-time rendering and PBRT first edition), but the library refused to take donations because they were "technical books". Granted a lot of them were really outdated 90s technical game programming books like "Windows 95 Game SDK Strategy Guide" and "The Black Art of Windows Game Programming".

Re: Ask HN: What is the best money you have spent on professional development?

#393

Post by mkolodny »

dbancajas wrote: post #312
locochef wrote: post #204

The single best thing I did for professional development was see a therapist. In tech, our jobs are knowledge-based. You can't hammer a nail into a board while you're sitting on the couch with your child, but you can certainly think about software architecture. I've found that my job bleeds into my personal life, and vice versa, and I believe it is far more common than most people realize. Stress piles up and it affe…

how does one find a therapist? Like what search terms and what kinds do we need advise as someone who works on the tech field.

Depending on where you live, ZocDoc can be a great way to find a therapist: https://www.zocdoc.com/

I'd recommend searching "psychotherapist" or "psychologist". Psychiatrists seem to be more focused on prescribing medication than helping you work through your issues.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best money you have spent on professional development?

#394

Post by RankingMember »

schoolornot wrote: post #344
locochef wrote: post #204

The single best thing I did for professional development was see a therapist. In tech, our jobs are knowledge-based. You can't hammer a nail into a board while you're sitting on the couch with your child, but you can certainly think about software architecture. I've found that my job bleeds into my personal life, and vice versa, and I believe it is far more common than most people realize. Stress piles up and it affe…

Disagree. I know not everyone is lucky to have close friends but as someone who has always dealt with things alone, I feel guilty and vulnerable the few times I've spoken to therapists. Even years later I regret going. I don't want someone who is impartial or non-judgmental. If I'm going to pay someone I want actionable advice from someone who has been in my shoes. Having friends who know me, who come from different…

In my opinion, part of the value in a therapist is that they don't know you, so they can provide advice not clouded by a shared history or any loyalty to you.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best money you have spent on professional development?

#395

Post by kruuuder »

issa wrote: post #384

I would suggest spending any extra time and money you have on doing something fun and helpful. For example, learning to play poker, or chess. Both of those things will tangentially help you in your professional life, but are also enjoyable hobbies. I don't mean to limit it to strategy games. Almost anything that involves some learning will end up being beneficial at some level even if it is not technically profession…

OP isn't looking for general advice but for actual, personal stories.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best money you have spent on professional development?

#396

Post by gricardo99 »

Solvitieg wrote: post #368
locochef wrote: post #204

The single best thing I did for professional development was see a therapist. In tech, our jobs are knowledge-based. You can't hammer a nail into a board while you're sitting on the couch with your child, but you can certainly think about software architecture. I've found that my job bleeds into my personal life, and vice versa, and I believe it is far more common than most people realize. Stress piles up and it affe…

In Canada, therapy is very expensive. About $150/h in the major cities. Meanwhile all my American friends get free therapy. Weird how that breaks the narrative about US healthcare.

mental health is probably one of the worst aspects of a very dysfunctional US healthcare system. Somehow your friends ended up with an incredibly generous health plan (by the way, not "free", I'm guessing very expensive for their employers), but I assure you this is far from the norm.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best money you have spent on professional development?

#397

Post by kube-system »

parliament32 wrote: post #352
kube-system wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting a higher rate directly from the bank does not necessarily mean that the dealer is not making any money on your loan. It is likely that the bank just offers better rates through their dealer partners because: 1. it's less hassle than dealing with retail customers, and 2. the dealer market for loans is more competitive.

I mean yes, I'm sure they're getting something, but the margins are so thin I don't think it's even worth considering. Consider a $50k car, dealer offers you 1% via bank. At best the bank is only taking half of that (0.5% is already ridiculous for a not-really-secured loan, considering new car depreciation), so over a 5yr loan the dealership makes... $1250. That's, what, one week of salary for one of their salesmen?…

Usually people cite the financing incentives when people mistakenly use the "cash is king" strategy when trying to negotiate on a car, but it isn't the only way they're making money. Dealers make significant money from manufacturer kick-backs and service too.

Also 1% sounds too low for an independent bank loan, even with the now-cratered loan rates. I am guessing that is probably a subsidized loan through a manufacturer's bank. Manufacturers have long offered artificially low rates through their own banks to help move product.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best money you have spent on professional development?

#399

Post by screye »

zestyping wrote: post #330
locochef wrote: post #204

The single best thing I did for professional development was see a therapist. In tech, our jobs are knowledge-based. You can't hammer a nail into a board while you're sitting on the couch with your child, but you can certainly think about software architecture. I've found that my job bleeds into my personal life, and vice versa, and I believe it is far more common than most people realize. Stress piles up and it affe…

I've spent a lot of time with therapists but they've only had the effect of being a sort of guard rail to keep me from falling too deep when I fall; it doesn't seem like they have helped me make any lasting improvements. Based on what I've heard from friends and on this thread, it sounds like it's possible to get a lot more out of talk therapy? What's your range of experiences been like with better or worse therapist…

> being a sort of guard rail to keep me from falling too deep when I fall

This is a dead give away that you are functioning too close to your emotional limit. The therapist serves the purpose of the guard rail, because it is the most pressing requirement.

> lasting improvements

To make improvements , the first requirement is breathing room.

Once you feel like you have that space, you can leverage your therapist to start putting things into place. The general routines and thought processes needed for healthier lifestyles can be found on page 1 of a google search.

The real value of the therapist is two fold. As a man, it is opening up enough to truly identify the real problems as they exist. The second is helping you prioritize and shape those 'Google page 1' solutions into one that perfectly aligns with your current lifestyle.

You might just have a not-so-good therapist, but, making space for self-improvement is central to actually making any progress.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best money you have spent on professional development?

#400

Post by piva00 »

kamaal wrote: post #93
jkingsbery wrote: post #48

As many others have said, books are the best things I've spent money on, but let me say more: Do books sometimes say things that are obvious? Yes. For example, when I first read Martin Fowler's book Refactoring, I had been renaming variables and moving methods from one class to another for years. But he gave a new framework for thinking about something that obvious. I've found the idea of separating out my coding flo…

>>Do books sometimes say things that are obvious? There's a difference between things being obvious when a concept is exposed, and being proactively aware of a concept and having it as a practice/hobby. Unfortunately the difference between these two things is huge. Books are the cheapest and yet a high quality way of learning things, getting clarity and in general being exposed to rich quality of concepts. You could…

I completely agree. I've learned more through books than any other medium.

They take time and, for me, it took a while to realise how I best learnt. I don't like reading technical books cover to cover, not on the first read at least. I try to look through the index for concepts that catch my interest, either because I realise I know nothing except the term (so that makes me feel a bit ignorant and curious to check it out) or it's a concept I can visualise being applied more easily.

Usually from there I will read something I don't know what means and go look for that. When I've scanned through a bit to catch my interest then I start reading from the first chapter.

It took me years to realise I didn't have to force myself to sit down and open a book from page 1. It's a bit obvious and stupid but I believe I'm not alone in having to learn myself how do I like to learn.

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