Learn Tech - FAST

I’ve worked in technology for the last 11 years, 8 of them seriously. I started writing bash scripts to automate small-scale atomistic simulations, moved to Python to build a data science software suite, and helped international insurance companies turn their models into APIs. Now, I’m working in Go, Rust, Terraform, Ansible, AWS, etc. (full stack) on the cutting edge of the Telecoms industry, and with a health startup on their WordPress site and eventual move to Flutter.

In every job I’ve ever had, I’ve had to learn a lot by myself, and I always follow the same pattern. This crystallised in my mind whilst I was learning about the Stripe API. I’ve set up an account in test mode and tried reading their documentation. Buuuutt… it sucks. In my tech experience, this is True 90% of the time. There are incredible standouts, like some of the elite Python libraries (Numpy, Pandas). However, for the most part, everyone’s documentation blows.

So here’s what I end up doing every time:

1. I give up on Google.
2. I download the technology I’m interested in using.
3. I load it into a sandboxed environment in an IDE.
4. I start poking it to see what it does.
5. When it doesn’t do what I expect, I search the ERROR messages in Google. I learn, and I try again.
6. If I can’t find anything, I cross-post a question on all the relevant forums: Reddit, Stack Exchange, GitHub, and domain-specific.

Searching specific error messages gets you way closer to what you want, and posting a question pretty much gets you there! It’s a much, MUCH faster way to learn.

What About LLMs?

Good point, post **November 30th 2022**, I’ve amended steps 4 and 5 to be the following:

1. I ask ChatGPT, Groq, Claude (whatever) for an example of how to use the technology for XYZ thing.

1. When the example fails (it usually does), I ask it about the error message, AND I search for the error message in Google. I join both knowledge stacks and try again.

Why It Works

You can only learn so much by reading and thinking. The art of learning tech (and probably anything) is getting messy. Build an environment where you KNOW nothing matters and smash away with an LLM or the internet as your tutor.

That’s it! Happy learning 🤓

Bonus Round

Download Obsidian and keep notes of everything you do as you go. In the future, refer to it as your personal learning library, diary, and blog! Also, get Quizlet: flashcards are awesome!

I maintain several flashcard sets for Software Engineering, Web Development, and Computer Science. They’re rough and ready, but a good example of how they can help you learn!