Since the last update, when I wrote about starting to take blogging more seriously and using WordPress for that, I did more thinking than actual learning or writing.
ChatGPT and Open AI
There were a few topics on my mind. One of them was how Open AI / ChatGPT will affect the programmer’s future and if it was even worth it to write my blog. Seeing how well can ChatGPT-4 program (and writing articles), I had the initial thought that it would soon be on a level where programming blogs would not make any sense. I started to doubt the entire idea of coding, and it even dampened my enthusiasm for learning. Only for a few days, fortunately.
I realized that AI is part of the future, just like electricity and industrialism, not talking about how the internet changed the world. Along with the advanced automation we have today. We have computers and airplanes and can 3D print entire houses. AI with Large Language Models (LLM for short) will not be different. It will cause a huge change, but we have to adapt to it. Also, with that adaptation, I will have more events to write about. How it affects my life, if at all, how much, and even in the worst case, if I would have to find a new career, I will be able to write about that. So, there is a lot to talk about, in any case.
In the past
In the past, I wanted to write on my blog, and I tried to force myself, but I had too much to deal with. I do not want to go into those details, but I was sleep deprived. I did not have the energy or mental capacity to write anything in my blog. I had no ideas, and coffee did not help. It only kept me up, so the next day, I was even more exhausted. I know it is not a happy, uplifting story, but that was my reality.
The comparison monster
I always see blog posts and YouTube videos about how well it goes for my programming peers in the US. How much they earn, and how soon compared to the opportunities available in the EU. It varies a lot here depending on which country you are in, but since it is not Silicon Valley, it is more difficult than it is advertised. I had to learn a lot, and I had to experience a lot to get to where I am now. I am still paying my mortgage; I still have a lot to renovate on the house I live in. It was built in 1960, and no one lived here for 20 years before we moved in. I am sure I did something wrong since I was not able to buy a huge new house with cash out of my pocket.
There is still a lot I have to deal with during my days, but at least I am not 20 hours of travel away from my family, but between 20 to 60 minutes of driving, depending on whom I want to visit. I do not have to deal with rent anymore; my place has started to align with my needs finally. Also, I had to learn a lot of programming-related topics to get to a point where I have no impostor syndrome anymore. Or at least not as much as I had before.
Programming and impostor syndrome
For ten years felt that I just knew enough to get my job done; now, I know that I barely know enough to get my job done. Programming is not much about knowing but understanding. Solving problems and having the ability to go through proper documentation, written (email, chat), and verbal information quickly. To be able to put the small pieces together and have enough brain capacity to keep all of them in one place in our mind while we figure out how the dots connect and how we need to change them in order to achieve our goals. I am not saying I have to stop learning. Quite the opposite. I have way more topics to learn about than what is within my ability to cover and try out.
Blogging scares me, but you’ll enjoy 😀
Blogging scares me a little bit because I have not done much of it, but I am hopeful that I can improve and write articles the way you will enjoy. I am not sure where life will take me, but one thing has been consistent so far. I was improving myself in my profession. Now, I plan to do the same thing as I did before, only that I want to write about my experiences as well on this blog.
I hope you will join my journey and get some value out of it. Maybe keep you entertained, if nothing else. If you feel you are up to it, we can have a conversation as well about the topics I’ll write about. If you would have any questions for me, I am happy to answer them and write about them.
The important thing is to enjoy what you are doing, as I will do as well.
Bye!
Bye!
