It is as if I am just starting my career in technology all over again, endlessly poring through manuals and soaking up every last bit of available information on any given subject. This is exactly how AI today has captured my imagination. It has brought me back to my first years as a developer, as a starry eyed kid. Am I overreaching here? Quite possibly, but that is not the point. What is truly important is how my enthusiasm has exploded and suddenly nothing seems impossible, with technological boundaries nowhere in sight. Hopefully my exuberance is contagious. Hopefully my peers will be fascinated by their own favorite technology with equal fervor. If my years in this industry have taught me anything, it is that people who are at the top of their game have not only great technical knowledge, but excitement and passion as well.
It is a fact that as technologists, we need to have our eyes fixed on the horizon, eagerly awaiting the next new technology – the coming development that allows us to drive advancement. Unfortunately, the truth is that often this is not always the case. In fact, I have seen cases where some are not even interested in learning about new technologies and are content with continuing to do the same old thing they have always done.
This puts many into a quagmire where they have stopped learning and developing their skills. Given this, they are not anywhere near reaching their full potential. Worse yet, the negative effects of this are far reaching. With discontinued growth, your career will become boring and stay stagnant.
Businesses are equally affected when employees are not fully engaged. For the business, they are committing time and money for an underutilized resource, one that would otherwise bring tremendous net new value but is not.
Companies will notice when you are passionless about your career. If you are not keeping up with the latest trends, you will be left behind and there will always be someone behind you with a target on your back. They want people on their teams who bring enthusiasm into the workplace. They recognize that these people raise morale. That they bring in a great potential for improved processes and increased profits. In short, they want employees who have a growth mindset, and simply do not settle for the status quo.
My message to you, then, is keep looking for advancements to get excited about. Prioritize your learning and growth. Fuel that desire to learn. That growth mindset needs to come from you, from the very core of you as a person. Simply put, search online for “The hottest technologies to learn this year.” And learn how businesses are exploiting these technologies to improve processes and increase profitability. Figure out what gets inside you, what makes you feel as if you are right back at the beginning of your career. Without limits.