iamacp.com – I Am A Computer Programmer
All about the daily work issues of a Java/J2EE Computer Programmer

Learning a new technology can sometimes be the hardest thing to do. This can be both especially difficult for the newbie ad well as the experienced coder. I have learned a few key secrets to making this easier over the past few years. If you follow my advice you will have a much easier time adapting to new technologies.

Master The Basics – The most important step in learning any technology is that you should master the basics first. By fully understanding and comprehending the fundamentals of a technology you are easily able to expand your knowledge and learn other areas of the technology as needed.

Use Multiple Sources Of Information - This is a very important step in learning advanced technologies. If you’re trying to learn technologies don’t just use one source of information. Reading books, using the Internet are all excellent source of information. When in doubt you must use all the resources of information at your disposal.

Take Tutorials – Taking tutorials are a great way to learn technologies. This allows you to get actual hands on experience using the tech. It also allows you to better understand how exactly the technology is supposed to be used.

Use It Or Forget - If you want to learn any technology you must either use it or you’ll forget it. Practice, or keep learning. If you want to learn the technology just keep learning as much as you can. Even learning a little bit of information every day will help you from forgetting the technology.

Is getting an IT certification really worth it? Many people will agree and disagree about just what the value of certification is. I can think of my past experience and I have been asked several times if I’ve been certified in Java.

Here are some of the potential benefits of being certified in your niche:

• A Sense Of Accomplishment: There is nothing more valuable to a worker who feels pride in his knowledge. A worker who gains certification will have a new found confidence in his or her knowledge. I know from my past experience that the more confident a developer is the far more productive he is.

• Proven Value To Employer’s: When you show an employer that you have a certification you are already showing that you more qualified than other non certified applicants. This defiantly helps when there are many applications for a job. Certification may not be the total factor in job hiring but it is one of many factors. Wouldn’t you like to help narrow the odds for a job in your favor?

IT is a very fast changing career. Technologies are always being updated and replaced with the latest and greatest. The question that comes to mind to many people is how do I stay current with all this change? The truth of this is your really can’t learn everything. There is simply not enough time to learn all new technologies and work full time.

• Only update and learn skills which you can or will benefit from: This may seem obvious but what’s the point of learning a technology if you won’t see a result in the work place or your personal use from it.

• It doesn’t matter how you learn the information as long as you use: Reading books and taking classes are excellent ways of learning new skills. The same goes for taking tutorials you find on the Internet. Remember tech skills that you never use are worthless. You can learn a skill and forget it just as fast if you don’t use it on a regular basis. In a fast changing industry some technologies that you learned last year may not even be used today.