I think one immediate thing that is on my mind for all sorts of reasons and that might be of help to people just starting out is that you don't have to follow the standard career arc (junior, senior, principal engineer, management grades etc). There is the increasing wages imperative, of course: we all mostly need to put a roof over our heads and bread on the table and all that isn't likely to get any cheaper. But you can, with a bit of luck, follow a slightly different path.
I've never really had a career that you could draw an upwards curve through. But I have had a load of really interesting jobs. And these days with the OU, Coursera, and the traditional universities and colleges catering for various flavours of part-time learning it has never been easier to keep moving and learning, I think.
I think one immediate thing that is on my mind for all sorts of reasons and that might be of help to people just starting out is that you don't have to follow the standard career arc (junior, senior, principal engineer, management grades etc). There is the increasing wages imperative, of course: we all mostly need to put a roof over our heads and bread on the table and all that isn't likely to get any cheaper. But you can, with a bit of luck, follow a slightly different path.
I've never really had a career that you could draw an upwards curve through. But I have had a load of really interesting jobs. And these days with the OU, Coursera, and the traditional universities and colleges catering for various flavours of part-time learning it has never been easier to keep moving and learning, I think.
