Do I Have Enough Time To Learn Or Should I Move On To Something Else

How much C/C++ is enough? Should I move to Java or Python or learn more C/C++?

Try out Java and Python. Go. Do it now.Part of being a good programmer is not being restricted to one or two languages; skilled programmers will be able to think about solutions to problems independently of language in an abstract manner, then choose the language best suited to the job.Python is horribly slow and arguably ill suited to large scale software, but is far more elegant and easy to read than C++ in almost every way, allowing for fast development time and ease of use in ‘scripting’. Java is bulky, verbose and not nearly as fast as C++, but is a perfect fit for large scale software and has an enormous ecosystem (similar to Python), as well as being much faster than Python.By knowing both Java and Python to a reasonable extent, you will not only gain more tools that are better suited to jobs C and C++ are poor choices for, but will augment your perspective on software engineering massively and give you insight as to why different languages exist and when to use them. At the end of the day, each programming language is a tool well-suited to a certain kind of problem; having more than one tool in your toolkit lets you choose the right one for the job, and lets you think about problems independently of whichever tool you happen to be holding.In conclusion, I highly recommend you try out these other languages for a while and see what you think. You can always return to C/C++ later if you want - even then, the experience will have been worth it.

How do you know when it's time to leave your current company and move on?

Six years ago I moved to San Francisco and started working for a small startup. I had accepted an offer of $50k and some stock.San Francisco is expensive. After four months, I found that I was barely making enough to save anything after taxes, rent, groceries, transportation, etc. I decided to have a talk with the CEO.We got a coffee and sat outside our building and instead of being too blunt I told him that I was glad to help the company out early on, but some time had passed, we had raised nearly $1m more in VC money, and I needed a raise because I was having to make changes to my lifestyle (I wasn’t living extravagantly, I just wanted to have something leftover at the end of the month to save…) To which he said to me:“I don’t give a shit if you have to change your lifestyle.”That is a good example of his leadership style and top down culture he impressed on the organization. This was not inline with my expectations for a leader.For the next few months, I watched employees encounter this crude leadership style and come and go from our small startup with an average tenure of 3–4 months.Professionally, I wanted to stay at least one year, and on the one year mark I quit. In hindsight I should have quit right away and moved on.

Do people ever feel a desire to learn many things at once but worry they won't have enough free time to learn everything they want to learn?

I'd call this fear a mixture of obsession, anxiety and perfectionism. Going further, I'd say it also relates to the fear of finding out about how short life can be. It really is that short. It surely leads to the feeling that we won't have time to accomplish everything we want to. We really won't. That's a fact. It's also the fear of finding out about our human limits, which are many. It all leads a bit to existential depression. There's also this link you might enjoy: Page on mindandlife.orgThe following excerpts were taken from this link: “Desire is a natural part of life that provides the motivating force for our achievements. Our highest aspirations are animated by desire. Yet, when desire becomes obsession or craving, we cross over into the territory of suffering. What before was an aid to accomplishment can devolve into a source of personal anguish…” “Human potential is boundless, yet we often falter, unintentionally causing suffering to ourselves and others, because of our uncontrolled or misguided desires.” Finally, I'd say it could also be related to a higher intelligence level, as high IQ people tend to have this crave for incessant learning. Have you ever taken an IQ test? We know online tests are never truly reliable, but there's this one which is quite accurate to give you at least an idea of which your real score would be if you took an official test. Link: IQtest.dk

When learning new skills, learn many in parallel or one after the other?

It depends. Some skills are so interrelated, that learning them in parallel just makes sense. Language learning, is one that is best sort of done one after another, but only to a point. Its faster if you start learning one language for about a year, but then start another language. But, you learn that language through the other foreign language.  I'm going to this with German and either French or Modern Hebrew. I've not decided which yet. Music - You can learn any instrument at the same time you learn Drums. Why? Drums helps teach  you rhythm and beat. OTOH, learning Piano and Violin at the same time? Its doable, but problematic. Those who are music majors where by they want to teach music, generally play their non-chosen instrument badly. They never seem to have enough time to devote to their non-chosen language, in order to get it up to speed. Another consideration is time. If you don't have enough time to  give two skills the attention they need in order for  you to be adequately successful, then I would just focus on one. One caveat: If you have a brain wired like mine, then what you do is throw out the rules, and just study what your brain connects with at that time, then move on to something else on the days your brain doesn't connect with that skill you are focusing on. And, you don't worry about reaching "B level" or "A level" in that skill, before adding something new. The other thing I do is put the skill I'm trying to learn on the back burner and allow my brain to process it for whatever amount of time I feel it needs, then I'll go back to that skill and study it seriously. I did this with programming, and this helped me learn how to program my own webpage.

I am a full stack iOS developer. Should I spend time to learn Android or just stick to iOS?

Well! Very good question, in the past I wondered the same question. But then I asked myself that: "Will I continue as iOS/MacOS indie developer or begin a startup?". There are two answers I can give you in individual role:1. As indie developer: The answer is YES. You read newspaper daily, reporter said that iPhone take a large capital share overall the world. But how about Android, from several research I found that Android also took a big share of mobile market. An application that support cross platform is awesome with both Android and iPhone geek. Let imagine all app always support iPhone first and then they move to Android later. The prior is still be iOS first but do not forget Android.2. As founder of startup: Let see in this case, as same me I look for someone who is well known as Code geek and passionate in open source (I hate open source, too many guys can impact and change it). Well I met a guys who as same as me an Android geek and he dislike iOS, sometimes he think iOS is an enemy of him, and it should be killed immediately. By my skills, I let him understand: You should quit to work for someone else, let work for yourself and with me, we can be a Dynamic Two Guys. Then, a startup company was established and we got lots of investor who watching us everyday. Finally the decision should you learn Android or just stick to iOS is depend on you career.

If I move to Russia and learn the language, would I ever be considered Russian?

If you’re good at languages (especially pronunciation) and even better at assimilation and adapting to cultures there is no reason why you wouldn’t be fully accepted - despite what the other people below say. This means that body language, clothes and hair, they way you carry yourself, facial expressions, energy, humour etc (the list is long) all needs to adapt. If you have the interest and the talent then, yes, you should be able to.If you’re white in Russia, sure, it’s going to be easier than say if you’re white in an Asian country.As for me, being white in Asia, means that because I look different there are always the barriers to be treated as a local at the beginning, but within a short time I feel as if I am treated equally, but I still occasionally get ‘consulted’ on foreign things as well, but I see it as if I have extra knowledge rather than be treated as an outsider. My good Chinese, Korean and Singaporean friends all treat me as if I am one of them, and that’s because I feel like I am one of them, because I share their cultural aspects, rather than just the language.A Russian friend of mine were once talking about ‘looks’ and who ‘looks’ Russian etc, and she said (and I’ve heard other Russians say) “but what is Russian?” They seem to view it as a mindset rather than an appearance - that’s not to say black people fit the description, but generally white or central Asian looking more so. So, I presume, that if you want to be Russian, and feel as if you’re Russian, speak Russian properly with a good accent, understand the culture and generally share their attitude and opinions, then yeah, I think it is entirely possible that people will pretty much consider you Russian.Ethnically is total different topic, though.