[Emigre_]

One really important detail to mention. An advice or a personal opinion I have. Courses, books and theory are great; but practical experience is much, much better. Only when you are actually immersed in a professional environment doing things related to a particular topic will you really understand what that kind of job is really like, what practices are standard, how to use the tools, etc. In my humble opinion, go for it as soon as you have the chance! Don’t get bogged down in theory. It’s also important, but try no to be intimidated or feel underprepared. Jump into the pool. Good luck.

[willnonya]

This theory and academic prep that you dismiss is actually pretty damned important. It lays the foundation upon which the experience becomes valuable. What you've suggested is taking the lazy way out on the premise that you don't really need to understand any of it as long as you can muddle through doing enough of it. It is not very good advice.

I do agree that experience is important but experience on top of knowledge is much more valuable.

[Emigre_]

Well, don’t take it in the wrong way… I do agree that it’s important, and I’ve personally always made sure to learn lots of theory and do academic and other types of research. I agree with you that preparation and knowledge are super important.

What I was trying to say is that you get a really valuable perspective from actually working on a field. You get that plus you see how others work, possibly more senior engineers. Mentorship in the workplace is really useful for example. You also see real code and different practices and ways of working.

I wasn’t trying to be dismissive… more like encouraging. Some people feel that they really aren’t prepared, even when they get to a point where they are. It was more about that than about laziness. I value theory a lot, myself.

[appplication]

I actually agree with your original point. I think more people are at risk for not reaching their goals due to analysis paralysis (too much studying, not enough doing) than they are due to too much doing not enough studying.

I see this all the time with people looking to transition into software development. Everyone wants to take some courses and show their completion certificates as a reason why they should be hired. But most companies care about actual experience. How familiar are you with it really?

Theory is important, but you can be a perfectly fine mid level/mid proficiency dev ops engineer with just about none of it.

[willnonya]

I can only take it the aybyou wrote it regardless of the intent.

The 3xperi3nce and mentorship are obviously important to your success but it's popular for people to try and rely solely on those because it is less effort than learning the mechanics of the subject and often allows people to place rhe blame for their failures on others.

If you want to master something you need both the academics and the experience. Either of them alone leaves you at a disadvantage.