It just occurred to me as I was sitting here drawing a picture: learning new a skill isn’t always a good thing. In fact, it can be a real waste of valuable time.
I was thinking to myself, “why am I drawing?” I’m not an artist nor do I want to be. It’s just because I’m bored. “So why not spend your time more constructively, like studying a new programming language?” That’s when it hit me: learning a new skill is a waste of time unless it’s something I will use on a consistent basis. It doesn’t have to be every day or even every week, but it needs to be consistent. Otherwise, I’ll just forget most of what I learned.
I took Java in college, about 4 classes if I remember correctly, were java programming classes where I made all sorts of little toy programs that did things like manage a store’s inventory or translating words into Pig Latin. It was fun and I learned a lot. However, that was about 6 years ago and I haven’t touched Java at work since I learned it in college.
On the other hand, I have become quite proficient with the Linux operating system command line and shell scripting, subjects that were never covered in school. I learned Linux on my own and I use it at work every day.
So therein lies the answer. If I could learn a new language every day, what good would it do me if I forget most of it a few days later? It only pays to learn what I will use. Otherwise, I’m just wasting time.
So were all those Java classes taken in vain? Just to get a degree? No, they did serve a useeful purpose. I can actually read error logs and understand most of what is happening when troubleshooting, and that has been immensly helpful. But sitting down todauy and re-learning all the ins-and-0uts of the syntax just to write a toy calculator program might be a fun exercise and good for the brain, but it’s not going to contribute anything to my life besides a way to pass time.