Re: techniques in use today and tomorrow

>>>As a relative newbie, how can I hope to learn, much less master all of
that without giving up the rest of all my waking hours devoted to learning
such an immense body of material?? I had thought getting a mastery of HTML
first followed by some scripting languages like Javascript & VBScript &
Perl, combined with some strong emphasis on DHTML -- especially
cross-browser compatibility was a tough enough row to hoe.<<<<

The following two posts are pasted in from another list I belong to...the
first is my comments on the second, original post.  It seems this issue has
popped up in different places....

D

===============
My Post:

Is anyone listening to Mike's rant?  It is an incredibly accurate assessment
of the situation.

For any non-development professional out there who might be at a loss to
accept this (it usually means higher costs and more organizational work):
perhaps you could try mastering a markup language (I know we need 2 or 3,
but just try one) and a programming or scripting languages (yes, programmers
usually are familiar with several, but just try one).

Please also show us some creative talent...a pencil drawing would be
fine...then translate them to GIFs using any popular graphics program you
choose (although we should know several, of course), then optimize that
drawing.  Then create a dozen more for use in the site you will build with
this new knowledge...and try to optimize some photographs as well..that
would be JPEG format, in case you missed that class.

While you're at it, please submit a creative essay...say, 3000 words, so we
can fill a small web site with it.  Please be sure that your spelling and
grammer ar first-class...we are dealing with a global audience, here!

If you have found the above basics fun, then perhaps you could master some
further scripting languages (popular resume requirements say things like
"ASP, PHP, Perl and Cold Fusion desired"), and try an additional markup.  At
the very least, you should have a working knowledge of HTML 3.2, 4.01 and
XHTML.

You will need to be an expert with Photoshop, Fireworks, Paint Shop Pro,
Freehand, Flash, Generator, Dreamweaver, Frontpage, MySQL, Oracle,
Framemaker, etc...and please be ready to demonstrate your ability to learn
new applications!!

Of course, as Mike pointed out, the reason a programmer is a good programmer
is because he or she can adopt a logical, methodical mindset...but be ready
to put that aside and discuss programming issues without actually involving
any of that nasty programming detail!

When you're all done, if you have made it through the course, you will be
qualified to take the blame for any bugs that pop up, any cost or timeline
overruns, or any mysterious error messages that may be generated by Apache
or the local Chairman of the Board.

If you make it through the course, you may now answer employment ads with 5
lines of technology requirements, or bid on jobs where the non-tech
managment will be happy to dictate your choice of tools and software just so
they can speak cool Internet phrases such as "Oracle-based" or "ASP-driven".

Your final hurdle will, of course, be the point at which you try to convince
the principle that being a certified genius with a working knowledge of 42
tools and 18 different programming/markup/graphics disciplines is worth more
than $XX/hour...:).

Folks: you simply can't cram that much technology into one human's head.
Like Mike, I have found myself increasingly pushed toward a narrower
discipline over the past year.  I have focused more and more on Perl and
Markups because I have not been able to master everything that has been put
before me.  I have a working knowledge of Perl, SQL, HTML 3.2, 4.01, XHTML,
PHP, JavaScript, XML, database design and a host of other fun stuff.  I can
even draw, and use Fireworks!  The thing is, though, there's been 2 major
releases of HTML in the last year, and one minor update.  Similar progress
is occuring on the programming front, and clients are clamoring for newer
applications and newer "effects".  Do I continue to study XML, and begin
learning WAP?  Should I spend a month or two learning the latest version of
photoshop, or update my database skills?

Endless choices...:).  All I know is that I bust my backside either working
or studying, and nothing irritates me more than someone who is *sure* their
idea will make a million wanting to get me to fit another 100 hours in my
already cramped week...usually for very little money ("$XXX!! For half a
day!"  Like it didn't take years to learn what is needed...).

Yeah, I get a good hourly rate...as much in one hour as I used to make in 20
ten years ago.  Do I earn it. Hell, yes.  Can I do everything?  Hell, no.
Believe it or not, you pay me that great rate *just for what I do*.  You
also pay someone else a great rate for *their* expertise if you want your
site to benefit from both.

To quote Mike: The "Jack-of-all-Trades" days are going away fast...

It ain't our fault.  It is our specialty, though, so maybe people should
listen when we say such things....

D

===========
Mike's Post:

I don't think programmers are any more or less qualified to write copy than
any other non-communications professional. Which is to say given the choice,
get a tech writer or communications specialist to write it.

Irregardless of grammatical or spelling errors, programmers are not a good
choice for writing general copy because we think differently. Programmers
tend to be very economical with words, and obviously tend to think in a very
technical and logical way. It's what makes them good programmers. This type
of writing, however, tends to confuse the general populace at worst, and
fails to really reach them at best. Use your geeks for fact-checking when
appropriate, but give the writing to a communications specialist. The
exception is if your primary market is IT professionals or engineers. Then
by all means, find a highly-literate geek to write the copy. (Geeks tend to
get turned off by overly worded, non-technical text, we think you're hiding
something or blowing things out of proportion.)

Your geeks will probably thank you for not making them write the copy, most
of us hate writing anything but code anyway.

Related rant:

Personally, I'm getting very tired of seeing job postings that require
"everything but the kitchen sink" in a web developer/programmer. Not only
are individuals with ten different skill sets fairly rare, if they're any
good at all at most of them, they're not likely to be excellent at any of
them. It's just too much information to keep up with anymore.

I gave up doing graphics/design work professionally two years ago because
keeping up with the programming and systems/network side was taking most of
my time. I had a choice, I could be good at one of them, or mediocre at all.
A year ago, I gave up the systems side for the same reason. In order to
advance my applications skills, I needed to focus more of my time on it. (I
still spend an unreal amount of money on books and periodicals in order to
keep up.)

BTW, web designers and web programmers are different species. It's rare to
find one person who truly excels at both. Web designers for the most part
would have done page-layout, graphic design and Illustration prior to the
WWW. They're the creative sorts who make web sites visually stunning. Web
programmers are programmers who specialize in web-based systems. The
techniques and skills are closely related where not identical to the skills
of non-web programmers. If you want your site to look great, hire a web
designer. If you want strong functionality and interactive applications
work, hire a web programmer. If you want both, hire both of them or
outsource it.

The "Jack-of-all-Trades" days are going away fast...

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