I am the first one in my family to have ever gone to university. I am blessed with hard working parents that lovingly put me through university years with patients and a great deal of expenses. I am the first one to become an IT engineer.
Soon after the graduation I joined the spoiled mouth of workers belittling the importance of higher studies such as university studies on the pretext of their uselessness in the work field.
Over the years I partially abandoned the thought that university studies are useless mostly for people like me working in the IT industry. You see, I see the IT industry like the construction industry in the 30s when NY was built. Not much health and safety and all decisions are taken in the name or productivity. Similar to being a “strungar” (metal lathe operator) in the communist Romania of 80s. Slowly I started to understand the importance of university studies from providing you with a set of tools to conquer the world to basically extending your social life and building your first professional network. I also found some of my first mentors during the uni times.
About half an hour ago, before starting to write this article I decided to open a book I downloaded on my kindle a couple of weeks ago. I heard about Seneca from people – that he is awesome and I should read it as it will help me go through difficult times more easily.
I made myself a barley cup and started to read Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic. After I turned a few pages I had an AHA moment. Seneca is right. He agrees with the definition of higher studies as “those which have no reference to mere utility”.
I started my computer journey photoshop-ing websites in the early 2000s then I graduated to writing C++ programs during my high school years. Naturally I went to Bucharest to study CS then emigrated to UK to conquer the world. I now realise how important my uni times were although I should have paid more attention to them and maybe dedicate a bigger slice of the time studying. I was a full time developer most of the week. In high school as well as in uni I was taught simple things such as how computers work, from theory to implementation details. I learned about networks, operating systems (how they work internally), how motherboards work, how information is transmitted and stored and processed, how internet works, I learn some maths and the theory behind some of the most important algorithms. I learned what I call “the basics”. The things I could not apply in my day to day work but they shaped the way I see the world, process information and filter the noise. The uni years made me to appreciate well written code, well before I became a decent developer. I learned how to think, how to analyse complexity and how to study, or for a better word how to not run away when things get hard. I persevered during my uni being afraid I will not pass the exams if I don’t study. Now I study for pleasure. The uni planted the seeds and I am enjoying the fruits now. One thing I need to mention though. Uni did not help me get any job during my entire career so far. Nobody cared where or what I studied. I think software development is a industry where practically wins so make sure you know how to do things before you show off your diplomas or you will spend this summer without a job.
Peace,
Tino
