(Master copy – in 610610 blog.)

It’s Inevitable on any long-term effort — we sometimes feel a tinge of self-doubt whether the investment is worthwhile, seeing no ROI on the horizon. Some moral support/conviction/faith needed, or the motivation might wear off.

– Spare capacity? There’s definitely some spare capacity in you (as I told Shuo). If you don’t’ bring it out, then you will see some of your peers use it to strengthen their competitiveness.
** Are there better uses of the spare capacity?
– Some peers will (with the spare capacity or otherwise) become versatile in java, dotnet and c++. How would you feel?
– This game I can strengthen and become more competitive. This is one of the few games I am sure. Many peers move up in leadership, but is leadership my game? On Wall St you may try leadership mostly in small dev teams and must remain hands-on.
– let’s get down to the real pains — stable income, security for family, staying relevant and marketable, multiple sources of jobs.
** Less of a pain — job title, high income
– Key question: At age 50 Which country offers that stability?

– specialist? There is a small number of guys in Wall St and the City of London, who specialize in hands-on coding across a wide range of technologies. (Somehow they may not become senior architects, but they have marketable skills.) That would be a good role for people like me.

– learning c# helps me understand java and swing from a unique angle. Makes me a stronger candidate, blogger and teacher.