Tell HN: It's a Lot
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I need to know full-stack software engineering, preferably in full. That means going from hardware all the way up to whatever compiled language you choose. Web, app, desktop, all of it. Full-stack isn't just backend/front-end on web. I see a stack running way deeper and higher than that (this XKCD comes to mind [1]).
But when I know all that, I also need to know how to do it securely right? So I need to know about that too.
Then, I need to know about best practices such as CI/CD, hexagonal architecture, testing, whatever the developer culture came up with (e.g. the Smalltalk community and JS community do not agree on extending base classes). And many more things.
I need to know math, not necessarily in full, but definitely at the level of that I can read ML papers and at least try to come up with potential novel thoughts.
But there's also the topic of AI itself! It's nice to know the math behind it, but what about applying it behind messy data sources and data pipelines, that usually haven't been laid out.
And that's just professionally in my SWE role. I also have entrepreneurial ambitions.
Marketing, law, finance, HR, first aid (you never know!), humans themselves, economics. It's a dizzying list really. And of course I know that you can 80/20 this type of stuff, especially as an entrepreneur, but it's still dizzying.
But then I also am afflicted with being interesting about more or less everything there is to learn at all in this world. I have some specific interests, but even when it falls outside of it, I always love a good course on it, or someone who's passionate about it. I'd listen any day to it. Robert Sapolsky comes to mind a bit.
Physics, medicine, music, art, sports, science, contemplative traditions + interaction with science. And yes, even my anime side gets into this part because it's an amazing gateway towards Japanese culture. I don't care what you say, it works. I wish other cultures had such a strong hook to me but currently US culture (Hollywood) and Japanese culture (anime) is where it's at.
My mind, to quite some extent, demands I'm up to date and current with all of them.
It's a lot. It's also really fun (usually). But it's also a lot.
I know I'll never win this game, but it's fun trying. The older I get, the more technology gets on, the more I feel the difficulty increase. But I'd never stop, because I love this game.
Just putting it out there for if some can relate.
[1] https://xkcd.com/2347/