Many years ago, I played around with HTML. I even built some webpages that I was pretty proud of. Sadly, those pages are long gone now. Once I got a job, I also stopped exploring HTML and have now forgotten most of what I learned.
Today, my job is changing. New responsibilities are actually requiring this past knowledge. Thanks to some co-workers and friends, I have found some good resources for re-learning some HTML. Although, I'm struck by how much has changed in 15 years.
I feel caught off-guard about how quickly my job went from not requiring this skillset to needing it. I feel a bit guilty that I didn't keep current on HTML. I'm unsettled because I went from feeling confident about my work day-after-day to feeling like I'm inefficient at what I do. I've heard it said that people get promoted to the level of their own incompetence. Have I reached mine?
I don't write that last paragraph for pity and I'm sorry for any readers that might take it that way. Honestly, it is more of an observation of age. I can remember training an older co-worker to upload photos to an FTP site or explaining Facebook to someone who is still leary of using a computer. In each of those cases, there was a bit of frustration from these people. Was it frustration of trying to learn something new or were the concepts so foreign they were frustrated by how much time has passed? Either case, I understand the frustration better than ever.
I acknowledge these feelings, but I can't stay focused on them. This is the world we live in and I need to update my skillsets. While it would be nice to have formal training, one of the greatest things about the Internet is the free knowledge it provides. So, I move on, I learn, I train, and one day I will feel confident again about walking into work.
FYI, I've written this post in an HTML editor instead of using Blogger's easy WYSIWYG editor. Sometimes you just have to jump right in.
Today, my job is changing. New responsibilities are actually requiring this past knowledge. Thanks to some co-workers and friends, I have found some good resources for re-learning some HTML. Although, I'm struck by how much has changed in 15 years.
I feel caught off-guard about how quickly my job went from not requiring this skillset to needing it. I feel a bit guilty that I didn't keep current on HTML. I'm unsettled because I went from feeling confident about my work day-after-day to feeling like I'm inefficient at what I do. I've heard it said that people get promoted to the level of their own incompetence. Have I reached mine?
I don't write that last paragraph for pity and I'm sorry for any readers that might take it that way. Honestly, it is more of an observation of age. I can remember training an older co-worker to upload photos to an FTP site or explaining Facebook to someone who is still leary of using a computer. In each of those cases, there was a bit of frustration from these people. Was it frustration of trying to learn something new or were the concepts so foreign they were frustrated by how much time has passed? Either case, I understand the frustration better than ever.
I acknowledge these feelings, but I can't stay focused on them. This is the world we live in and I need to update my skillsets. While it would be nice to have formal training, one of the greatest things about the Internet is the free knowledge it provides. So, I move on, I learn, I train, and one day I will feel confident again about walking into work.
FYI, I've written this post in an HTML editor instead of using Blogger's easy WYSIWYG editor. Sometimes you just have to jump right in.
4 comments:
I still think you're awesome!! Plus you are always willing to help others. It's just your turn to be the student.
Lemme know if you need any
Help that is, I was trying to get all cute with HTML and blogger stripped it lolol
You'll pick it up just fine. I did VB and ASP programming for 9 years. Not to brag, but I was damn good at them. Then my job responsibilities changed and I didn't use them for 7 years. I recently had to jump back into them again and I felt so stupid. How could something I was so good at now be something that I so struggled with? But the skills came back by the end of the project, along with some new tricks that I picked up while re-teaching myself via Google.
You will get your HTML skills back AND pick up some new tricks of the trade as you re-learn them. This is the frustration that comes along with anyone who prides themselves on their work and then is thrown into something that challenges them. I know you, and I know you haven't been promoted to any level of incompetence.
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