How to plan software engineer's growth
Balancing life is essential, but striving for balance can sometimes lead to mediocrity. This article explores the debate between maintaining a balanced life and pursuing intense focus in certain areas
Get the free AI Agent Building Blocks ebook when you subscribe.
This week it will be a short one. But long enough to trigger some thinking in you.
Some people advocate hard for living a balanced life. Pay attention to work but only a little. Take care of your health without big indulgences…
That’s a great message to ensure people don’t grow too imbalanced.
But this can also make everyone very average — a regular job, with regular health, and regular relationships.
There’s no right or wrong, I’ll make an argument for both sides and it’s up to you to find your sweet spot.
An argument to push with a laser focus.
If you quit the moment things get hard, you are going to amount to nothing.
If you play slow in all areas of your life, you won’t have the strength to push through the dip. Only those who push through the dip reap the results. (Recommended reading: The Dip)
Getting into the software engineering industry can be daunting for many people. Most readers will think it’s not “that hard”, but we are all biased because we are success stories. Just look at the abandonment rate of most universities.
I checked mine. The abandonment rate is 40% and for the people that stick to it, it takes 7.2 years to finish a 4-year program.
But pushing through the dip can bring you great results. Software engineering is a field that always needs people and you can earn a very good living.