Why I’m Learning Web Development at 36, as a Director in a Big 4 Company

Elon Musk divided the corporate world last week with his tweet:

“I strongly believe that all managers in a technical area must be technically excellent. “

When you become a middle manager, your focus shifts from programming to other tasks. From hiring to reviewing performance or reporting status to executives, people tend to leave aside the technical aspect of their job.

An IT Manager shouldn’t lose contact with technology

Although the focus of a manager shouldn’t be on programming anymore, she should still try to keep up with the trends.

Of course, you don’t have time to code for 5 hours every day but you can still keep up by reading the news at least. The best way is to learn something new by practicing in your free time or working on a side project.

That’s why I’m now learning Web development

I started my career as a networking engineer and move into management about 10 years ago. During this time, I’ve started going to a lot of management and soft skill courses.

I’ve lost the technical side.

Now, I started learning to program again. I first played a bit with Java and now I’m learning Web Development, started with HTML and CSS and now I’m fresh into JavaScript.

Why did I do this?

#1: It’s an advantage at work. I changed jobshalf a year ago and I need to build a team that will create web apps. This helps me better understand the skill level of the people I’m going to hire and the challenges in my team.

#2: It helps with my side business. I have a blog and even though you can do a lot of things with WordPress themes knowing to program gives you more flexibility.

#3: It keeps me engaged. I love learning new things and making projects. If I feel I had a long day at work I just sit and code for 30 mins and that is refreshing.

Even if you are a manager, don’t lose touch with technology.

Read this post and more on my Typeshare Social Blog