The Hunger Games for Aspiring IT Professionals
- by Dain C. Hansen
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It seems that no one can escape the buzz around Hunger Games.
And who could? Stephen King said it best in his review when he referred to the Collins’
novel as “a violent, jarring speed-rap of a novel that generates nearly
constant suspense and may also generate a fair amount of controversy”. So what’s
the tie in for IT? Let’s leave the dystopia of District 12 and come back to today’s
reality. This is the world of radical IT paradigm shifts that haven’t been seen
since Java
was introduced in 1995. Everything you learned in school is probably
outdated as of Friday. And everything you learned on Friday will probably change
when you get to work on Monday.
Nevertheless, we’re eager, we’re aspiring, we’re hungry to
learn. While the challenges upon us may not rival the venomous bees (or ‘tracker
jackers’) seen in this blockbuster, there are certainly obstacles to be found. In
preparation, I leave you two pieces of advice - aside from avoiding werewolves…
Learn the Cloud
If you had asked me what to learn in 1995, I would have
said, “Go learn Java”. But now my advice is “Go learn Java and then learn Cloud”.
Cloud computing and Java go hand in hand.
This is especially true for Oracle’s own Public Cloud which uses Java (via WebLogic 12c) as well as Oracle Database at its core foundation. Understanding
the connotations of elasticity, scale, virtualization, and multi-tenancy, (to
name just a few) requires a strong foundation in computer science and especially
Java to get it right. Without Java, the Cloud is nothing more than a brittle application
meagerly deployed on the internet.
Get Social and
Actively Participate
And at all levels. Socializing your ideas internally
is dreadfully important. And this means socializing and
communicating your good ideas to lines of business, to architects, business analysts,
developers, DBAs and Operations. But don’t forget to go external. Stay current
by being on the lookout for blogs, tweets, webcasts, papers, podcasts and videos
for your technology area. Be not just a subscriber but a participant in these
channels as well. Attend industry and vendor sponsored events to learn from the
experts – and seek out opportunities to stay connected with those that are
smarter than you. You’ll gain more understanding if you participate actively.
At the same time you’ll make friends (and allies) and you’ll be glad you did.
Tell help you get social and actively participate [while
learning the Cloud] here are a couple of pointers for you:
See our website on Cloud
and Fusion Middleware
Subscribe to our regular Fusion
Middleware Newsletter
Follow us on Twitter
and Facebook
Find us at one of our key events
Meanwhile, happy IT hunger games!
