Just like software, your professional development will go better with a solid plan. In this episode, we look at how to create a career roadmap and advance along the path. Every individual has their likes, desires, and needs for their professional development. We start with general technologies and platforms then proceed to look at some specifics and keeping your roadmap in mind.
Creating the Career Roadmap
The key to a good career roadmap is to cover areas of development in both general and specific ways. You need to have precise enough goals to plan and measure our progress. On the other hand, we need to be able to adjust our plan as technology advances. We might even have to add new areas as we move through our career. For example, mobile development did not exist when I started my career. It is now a common area of expertise that is in demand.
Recalculating
A successful developer will find ways to assess and adjust throughout their career. There will be new “hot” technologies that may require a detour from the roadmap. Likewise, some technologies will suggest a whole new approach to your plan. Similar and derivative topics can be used to speed your journey. However, as things change and evolve you may find better paths to your goals.
Just a GPS occasionally has to recalculate your directions to a destination; things will happen that may require a career recalculation. The good news is that a flexible plan will also allow for changes in likes and frustrations. You may start your path thinking that a specific area of focus will be enjoyable and then find out later it is not. This is a great time to review and alter your career roadmap. There is no sense in working hard to reach goals that are not enjoyable.
The Details
The specific technologies and buckets of skills to pursue wraps up the episode. Suggestions are provided for how to fill your “buckets” of goals. However, it is more focused on how to make real progress on your career roadmap and become a better developer year over year.
