by Camille Fournier
Copyright (c) 2017
My path to software was not traditional. I always did well at mathematics in school, but I liked many things that weren’t technical – journalism, religion, poetry, and medicine all pulled my strings at some time. I have ended up producing software used in medical research. As such, I figured that I needed to study the traditional career path in software/technology to try to meld my diverse skill-set with more traditional steps.
Camille Fournier has provided a book that describes that path. She moves step-by-step through a typical career in technology – from first job to senior management with all the steps and choices in-between. This “bird’s eye view” lets someone see the path behind them, around them, and ahead of them. As such, it can be used as a framework to enhance one’s skills relevant for the longer term.
The main situation that Camille does not address at length is the non-traditional one. Those who switched from people-doctor to computer-doctor are not addressed. As technology continues to become increasingly ubiquitous around us, careers in technology will probably be wedded with other interests. It would be interesting to hear her thoughts and experiences on this matter.