Learning Addiction Keeps Programmers in Chains
Software Development Career Advice
Software engineers can cap their earning potential if they fall into common traps when learning is the absolute WRONG thing to do!
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The Dangers of Learning Addiction in Software Development
Big tech companies and the software training industry make billions of dollars every year by convincing programmers that if they don’t learn the latest technology, they’ll be left behind and won’t get a job. That’s the oldest marketing trick in the book.
Whether you went to a university, a boot camp, or taught yourself, programming can be a lot of fun to learn. It lets you indulge your curiosity and gives you a big sense of accomplishment. But halfway through my career, I realized that I was using learning as a form of procrastination. I wanted more money, more recognition, and more influence – but learning was the thing that was actually holding me back. After a while, I started to feel like I was drowning in learning just to keep up.
In this article, I’ll show you how learning can actually become really destructive for you as a programmer. And I’ll give you some practical strategies to know if learning is becoming a problem for you and when it might be the wrong time to do it.
Learning as Procrastination
How does learning technology become a problem? How can it actually destroy your career? The first sign that this is a problem—and you may see this in others or experience it yourself—is that it becomes a form of procrastination. You might try to learn a new technology to escape from something you’re already responsible for.
For example, I was preparing to launch a new course for my clients this year to help them with career direction. Instead of finishing the course, I got sidetracked by a problem with limiting API requests on my website. I convinced myself that I needed to learn a whole new programming language and framework to solve it, when in reality, I could have just spent a little more time working with the technology I was already using.
This kind of procrastination can be very damaging to your career because instead of getting things done, you end up putting unnecessary pressure on yourself to learn something new.
The Sunk Cost of Unused Learning
The second way that learning can destroy your career is when it becomes a sunk cost. You convince yourself that you need to learn a certain library, framework, or technology because you might need it in the future, but then you never actually use it. At that point, all the time and effort you spent learning it becomes a sunk cost—a wasted effort. This is one of the most damaging aspects of learning addiction. You spend so much time learning something that, in the end, doesn’t add any value to your career.
Declining Value Over Time
Another way that being addicted to learning can hurt your career is that everything you learn as a programmer declines in value over time. The first programming language you learned may not be as relevant today if you’re 7, 10, or more years into your career. The value of what you learned decreases as new technologies emerge.
I remember once driving to pick up my daughter and hearing an interview with an older photographer who was showcasing their work from decades ago. It struck me how frustrating it is in technology that everything we learn erodes in value. There’s no way something I learn today will have the same value 40 or 50 years later. If you learn something that you don’t really need, that knowledge will depreciate over time, making it a less valuable investment.
Social Avoidance Through Learning
Another problem with learning addiction is that it can become a form of social avoidance. After you’ve gone through the process of learning a few programming languages, frameworks, and technologies, it’s easier to keep learning more of the same than to learn how to persuade people better or communicate with non-technical stakeholders. If you refuse to learn those non-technical skills, you may cap your earning potential and limit your career growth. Learning another technology might give you a temporary sense of accomplishment, but it may not actually increase your market value as much as learning skills that are more challenging but ultimately more rewarding.
Work-Life Imbalance
Finally, learning addiction can hurt your personal life. If you don’t have time at work to learn a new technology that you’ve convinced yourself is necessary, you might end up sacrificing your personal time to learn it. This can lead to a work-life imbalance, weakening your relationships with family and friends. Over time, this can create personal problems that are difficult to fix.
Practical Strategies to Avoid Learning Addiction
So, how do you know when learning new technology is a trap? The first way is when you delude yourself into thinking that the only way to accomplish something is with a new technology. If you’re using a language or framework and encounter a problem, it’s tempting to think that switching to another technology will solve it. But more often than not, you’re just tricking yourself into learning something new when you don’t really need to.
Learning as an Excuse to Avoid the Job Search
Another sign that learning is becoming a trap is when you convince yourself that you need to learn something to get a new job. While there are times when learning new skills is necessary, especially if you’ve been using the same tech stack for too long, this can also be a form of avoidance. Instead of focusing on learning a new technology, you might need to focus on improving your job search skills, like networking or practicing coding challenges.
The Influence of Vanity Metrics
You also need to be wary of being influenced by vanity metrics—like a YouTube video with millions of views promoting a new technology. Just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s valuable to your career. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype, but you should always consider whether learning something new is truly necessary for your career goals.
The Fear of Missing Out
The tech industry is great at convincing us that we need to learn the latest technology or we’ll fall behind. This fear of missing out (FOMO) is a powerful marketing tool, but it can lead to wasted time and effort. Big tech companies and training providers have a vested interest in keeping us in a constant state of fear about falling behind, so it’s important to recognize when you’re being influenced by FOMO rather than making a rational decision.
The Temptation of Easier Technology
Another trap is thinking that another technology looks easier than the one you’re currently using. This can lead to a cycle of constantly switching technologies without ever mastering any of them. It’s important to be patient and dig deeper into the tools you’re already using before jumping to something new.
Conclusion
Are you facing temptations to learn new technology when you don’t really need to? Are you ready to stop putting off the things that you know in your heart are the real keys to moving ahead in your career?
About the THRIVING TECHNOLOGIST show
On YouTube and all major podcast networks, Jayme shares teamwork and leadership strategies, guidelines for healthy company culture, and stories about real projects so you can have a sustainable career in the software industry.
Jayme Edwards
A family man and veteran of nearly 40 software projects, Jayme experienced many wins and losses over his career as an architect and consultant.
Now he's coaching software developers, managers, and business owners to overcome challenges in the IT industry - so they keep growing.