Re: The Top 10 Dead (or Dying) Computer Skills

The Top 10 Dead (or Dying) Computer Skills What this article should really be called is: "If You Don't Already Know This Stuff, Don't Bother Learning It"

I don't believe one's livelihood is in jeopardy who possesses [most of] these skills, quite the contrary. Due to the once severe popularity of some of the listed technologies and the potential decline of compatible software/hardware, there will be a multitude of clients requiring the conversion of legacy code.

There is a significant delay between the time a technology is deemed 'on the way out' and the time it actually exits the industry. I myself spent 3 days of last week enhancing and debugging a web page written in Perl with a Microsoft Access back-end database; it sucked.

The volatile nature of this industry simply requires that those who wish to remain necessary within it, never stop learning. My limited experience within this industry so far has led me to believe there's no sure-fire recipe for learning the most coveted technologies so that you can excel the fastest and earn the most. The key is learning as much as you can as often as you can; whether it's proprietary Microsoft technology, open-source free ware, architecture concepts, or best database practices, etc. You can never have too much knowledge. The more knowledge you have to draw on, the more tasks you'll be able to tackle and the more employers you'll be appealing to. And the odds are, you will draw upon all of it at some point.