There is one big problem with a day job. The potential growth (if any at all) is linear, whereas the risk that comes with it is exponential.
We live in an ever-changing world where the pace of things keeps increasing. Hundreds of years ago one perhaps felt confident that the trade they picked will be in demand their whole lifetime, even their children’s lifetime. Today the likelihood of disruptive innovation is higher than ever.
Stories of robots taking away jobs from the middle class keep appearing in the news headlines. Let’s say this is true, and soon we will have robots doing everything from stacking shelves at grocery stores to complicated heart surgeries. My theory has always been that programming will be the last profession to disappear (we are a fairly sturdy bunch), because we know the robots have to be told what to do and how to do it, or basically they have to be programmed. It is a wishful theory, but there we go.
From the moment we set foot in this world we are being taught how to be successful. When I was a kid somebody told me that programmers earn a lot of money. They didn’t tell me how that might change.
It is mostly known for its applications in the investment world. There are low-risk investments that have low returns, and there are high-risk and speculative investments that have the potential for high returns. The most common advice is to find an acceptable balance between risk and reward, but is it the most rewarding one? The Barbell Strategy teaches the opposite - stay as far from the middle as possible.
It is also based on an idea that the riskless guaranteed income might not be riskless nor guaranteed after all, because of disruptive innovation and potential errors in those original predictions. The solution for this is to position yourself to gain tremendously if the risks do happen.
In software engineering, this strategy can be adapted to the thought process in a number of ways.
New programming tools are being created so frequently that one can get quite confused. You learn a language or a framework, and the next thing you know is that somebody has created a new or updated version of it, so one is then forced to learn that. In the end, no work is being done because we’re busy discovering new tools. The other extreme is that one doesn’t want to change. Neither approach is optimal, nor is the middle path between the two. That leads us to The Barbell. Work on the product that generates income today. Do it the most old-fashioned, foolproof way you know that simply works, however in parallel, research and learn new things that have the potential to be groundbreaking. See how Machine Learning or Blockchain Technology can benefit your business.
The same goes for individual growth. How do I make sure my skills will be future-proof? Being a diligent 9-to-5 programmer might not be enough. There are simply too many risks associated with it. On top of learning new technologies, there are multiple other ways to invest your spare time. Work on your own programming ideas that have the potential to take off one day. Create a strong SO profile or contribute to open source to put your skills to the test on a worldwide scale. Start teaching others to solidify and structurize your own knowledge.
We want to make our investments as wise as possible. Time investment has arguably the biggest impact on our future well-being. Lastly, just the thrill of the tremendous upside.
