What aspects of software development will you still be excited about ten years from now?

Comments

[Nihar Raote]

No matter what changes we see in the software development field, I think the one thing that will never change is change itself. Even though I would have to spend time learning those new changes and be sufficiently knowledgeable about them, it still feels good to learn new things.

I think even after ten years, I will still be excited about what new changes and improvements would come to the tools I use.

Oh and not to mention what new and amazing tools (frameworks, libraries, etc) will be created for us to learn. I'm not talking about the shiny-tech syndrome, but about having fun learning new tools and still continuously expanding your toolbelt ten years down the road.

[Practicing Developer]

Good point! This is indeed very much a discipline of life-long learning.

My only hope is that over time, software companies as learnimg organizations become the norm. Although some do make deep investments in professional development of their employees as well as collaborative knowledge sharing, many still expect this kind of learning to happen on nights and weekends, unpaid.

This seems to be getting better slowly over time, but is my #1 concern for the future as it impacts who can realistically enter and stay within the industry.

[Nihar Raote]

I agree. The more a developer learns and improves himself/herself, the better work they'll do for the organization. Sharing their knowledge in groups not only helps developers connect more with their fellow devs, but also helps to realize the gaps in their knowledge (if any).

More companies need to implement this.

[Francisco Quintero 🇨🇴]

Difficult to answer 🤔. But after giving it a deep thought I think Remote Work will be even more possible than ever. However it won't be easy.

While trying to write an answer to the question I could only think about the complicated stuff I face daily in my work environment:

• Communication with clients
• Communication with teammates
• Defining and discussing priorities for the work to be done
• Finding right information in the web
• Trying to be as productive as possible

These stuff, nowadays, make Remote Work unthinkable for many people/companies but in ten years all these "issues" could be less a thing.

And I think so because there are many companies sharing their Remote Work knowledge, many companies being open to try WFH days, having remote workers, trying to adopt remote culture, and even companies that are born remote-first. We can learn from them on how to start, how to proceed, what not to do, and so on.

So, although it seems difficult and unthinkable these days, probably in ten years it might change and I hope it does.

Good question 👍🏽

[Practicing Developer]

Thanks for the very thoughtful reply!

I've only worked remotely throughout my career, with the exception of a handful very short term onsite consulting engagements.

I definitely think it's getting both easier and more acceptable to work remotely, relative to when I started in the early 2000s.

I also like the hybrid models some companies offer where people go into the office to collaborate as-needed, but can work from home, co-working spaces, coffee shops, libraries, etc. as often as they want.

[Practicing Developer]

One thing that I've always enjoyed which I don't expect to change over time is the ability to use software as a way to model the world.

I see software tools as a means of extending human ability and augmenting the way we think and work, and I expect us to get even better at that over time in ways that are difficult to predict.

I also will still be excited about removing barriers to entry to software development, because the more we get people with different world views and life experiences into tech, the better our ability to use software as a lever for human progress will be.