Is it a good idea to get exposure to both Java & .NET in the industry?

[cat_dog_ass]

I'm interested in both Java and .NET. Do you think its a good idea to
seek exposure to both these technologies in the IT industry? Wouldn't
it defeat my being able to gain expertise in a specific technology? How
important is it to be generic viz-a-viz specific?

Would it be of any use at all for me in the long run (for eg. when I'm
a Project Manager) if I get exposure to both the competing technologies
during my initial days in the software services industry?

 

[Timo Stamm]

I'm interested in both Java and .NET. Do you think its a good idea to
seek exposure to both these technologies in the IT industry?
Yes.


Wouldn't it defeat my being able to gain expertise in a specific technology?
No.


How important is it to be generic viz-a-viz specific?

Every experience you make is specific because you use a specific
language to solve a specific problem.

The generic knowledge will come by itself if you use different languages
on different problems.

But I think C# and Java are too similar. Have a look at functional
languages to broaden your horizon.

Would it be of any use at all for me in the long run (for eg. when I'm
a Project Manager) if I get exposure to both the competing technologies
during my initial days in the software services industry?

Useful in finding a job? Probably not.

Useful in doing a good job? Probably yes.


Timo

 

[Monique Y. Mudama]

Useful in finding a job? Probably not.

Useful in doing a good job? Probably yes.

Odd to think of someone seeing software development as just a stepping
stone on the way to project management.

 

[James McGill]

Odd to think of someone seeing software development as just a stepping
stone on the way to project management.

In my organization, Project Managers get paid P&L based on the product's
performance in the market, whereas Developers are salaried. Career
development is often not possible beyond the cap of the "technical
ladder" in many shops, whereas, Marketing and Management careers can
lead to different places for people who can survive in the atmosphere.

It would literally kill me, though.

 

[Mike Schilling]

Odd to think of someone seeing software development as just a stepping
stone on the way to project management.

It's an economic issue. While some companies are enlightened enough to have
technical ladders that parallel the management ones, in others you reach a
point where continuing to get raises and promotions means becoming a
manager. It's stupid (imagine a hospital where the top surgeons "advance"
by becoming administrators) but it's not uncommon.

 

[Roedy Green]

It's an economic issue.

My dad rose very high in management even though he detested being a
manager. I asked him why he did it. He said that he was promoted at
first because he was a good engineer, and then later because he was
the person people hated least. He became the compromise candidate for
promotions. He said you pretty well have to take the promotions
offered, and of course he had a family of 5 kids to support.

I resolved not to do what he did though I did end up managing my own
small company of 8 people for a number of years.

 

[Scott Ellsworth]

I'm interested in both Java and .NET. Do you think its a good idea to
seek exposure to both these technologies in the IT industry? Wouldn't
it defeat my being able to gain expertise in a specific technology? How
important is it to be generic viz-a-viz specific?

When possible, work on whatever you find most interesting. If nobody is
willing to pay for that something, then see if there is something nearly
as interesting that they will pay for. By working on the things you
care about and love, you will have a higher level of interest and job
satisfaction.

So, in this case, if you have roughly equal interest, find a job that
will let you learn one of them thoroughly. If, on the other hand, it is
the _comparison_ between them that is interesting, then seek a job that
integrates the two, or that uses both for different projects.

We, for example, had a Java robot controller that talked to a C#-driven
scientific instrument. We had matlab code, an oracle database, and
several web applications. There were matlab-only people, DBAs, an
integration guy keeping everything in sync, etc. On a project like
that, you might have a java guy, a C# guy, and a Web Services guy who
spoke both.

It is never a bad idea to learn new skills in IT, as long as you do not
harm your current projects with the time you spend.

Scott

 

[richardsosborn]

i have a great analogy for this. i also was a semi professional
musician.
if you are trained in guitar, or piano, it's always advantageous to
learn some of another instrument. whether you "master" it or not.
exposure to chord changes on the guitar will
make you a spectacular drummer. familiarity with holding rhythm on
guitar will make you an instinctive keyboardist. you learn music and
not your instrument.

it's good to be exposed to perl, java, ajax, .net, javascript, anything
you can get your hands on, because you'll see how its design will have
some insight to how to solve technical issues. plus you'll get a
broader personal "toolbox".