Sometimes I just feel like I am out of touch with the rest of the world.
(ok, the truth is I am out of touch with common life, but that's not the focus of this post)
What I am really most confused with is, the near-guaranteed singular form of response whenever people see me reading a technical (computer) book.
Are you studying for exam?
This happens even with family and friends who have witnessed, for years, my habit of carrying some form of book or documents or even my laptop so that I can maximise my knowledge-suckling throughput.
Is it just me? Or is IT the only industry with its professionals perpetually pouring their heads into books year after year? Or do other fields have so little to learn it can all be done so during office hours? I seriously find that hard to believe, that other professions have it that easy. Yet, the concept of picking up a book related to work during night time or weekends is so utterly alien to them, they simply cannot understand that, perhaps, a person may possess the desire to acquire more knowledge. That has nothing to do with an exam.
I don't know how many times I have had to explain to them that I am just trying to learn new things. Or sometimes refreshing past memories. In fact, I hate taking exams; a poor reflection of what is the true attitude and mentality of developers you'd want to hire. Surely I can't be that big of a masochist to take on so many certifications annually. That also leaves me wondering, how exactly do professionals in other fields keep current in their jobs? Do they already possess all the knowledge necessary to carry out their work? Excellently? Are their practices and standards stagnated and never changing?
I really do not know. Perhaps I should be looking for a new profession, one where only exams will be the occassion when I am forced to read work-related books. And then I can go,
You studying for exam too?