Ask HN: How do you juggle time spent on learning vs. time building things? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How do you juggle time spent on learning vs. time building things?

#41

Post by ax0n » Wed, Jan 20, 2010, 3:51 AM UTC

davidw wrote: post #20

ax0n wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I play bass guitar and I love it. I don't have much cash on hand, but the misses and I can probably make it last to the beginning of march. Definitely not enough for me to fly off somewhere. It's also too cold in Kansas City for me to go one one of my bicycle camping adventures. I should probably get out and ride some more, though. Maybe that'll help.

If you like cycling, maybe moving someplace nicer for it would be a good idea and a good change of pace.

I ride to work (and for errands) year round despite the weather. It's not that big of a deal. Riding my bike 40 miles out of town then camping in this stuff, though, would be a tall order with the gear I have. Mostly, the camping part would suck.

Re: Ask HN: How do you juggle time spent on learning vs. time building things?

#42

Post by anon9182 » Wed, Jan 20, 2010, 2:44 PM UTC

I also work 9-5 at a big corporation. I take time to learn and keep up with the latest developments in the programming world while I'm on the clock. This usually amounts to an hour or so every morning reading through my RSS reader. I've found that supervisors tend to appreciate that kind of motivation and self improvement. I'm sure there are places that would not appreciate this activity. You may be able to conduct this kind of self-education on the clock anyway with no noticeable decrease in productivity. Some people will see this as unethical, but it's likely that it will ultimately be a net win for your employer because of your increased output as a result of the knowledge. Otherwise, you may want to look for a different job that is more friendly to your proactive view of education.

Re: Ask HN: How do you juggle time spent on learning vs. time building things?

#43

Post by Ixiaus » Thu, Jan 21, 2010, 2:16 AM UTC

access_denied wrote: post #22

Ixiaus wrote: post #8

I came to a similar conclusion as you have about seven months ago. My conclusion was that 9-to-5 takes far too much time and energy out of my own life; I'm essentially giving all of that time to someone just for the ability to pay bills and enjoy eating out on the weekends. I had very little time to do any of my personal self education or projects (not all of them are programming related either). I chose to resign fr…

The site you would use to market your part-time contracting could later be re-used as a sort of shop for related products, so you turn it into passive income and cash in on your marketing efforts twice.

I could, but only if I felt the products produced value - if anything it would be a great way of selling my own software if I ever did get around to it.

My primary interest is not in a web startup though - my true love is Aerospace; I'm refining my math and other skills/knowledge so that I can minimize the amount of time I might have to spend doing pre-requisites and get the heart of an engineering degree.

I'm still on the fence about school, but I would love to pursue aerospace engineering.