Skills alone have no value anymore in software development

Skills have no value in software development. Why? Because there is too much competition involved with people trying to base their skills better than others. In addition, anyone can learn skills for free through online websites these days that are much better off than your education classes or traditional books. I do not really want to offend traditional books or educational classes because they both (especially schools) really guide you where to go, to have commitment (I must complete the book/education through the end ), and learn a general background of everything which is helpful for the individual itself. However, since all jobs or tasks are specialized, what is best is to get your door open to opportunities other than to learn what is on the web? Once you learn a task on the web, and do it repeatedly, you will become a master of it over time. You cannot dedicate your life on all the stuff software development offers. However, you can specialize on something. Otherwise nobody will hire for your skills, nobody will go to your website, because guess what? Clients want the best goods and only the ones that are very specialized can bring the best. Is this really good? Well, of course, the rate of products being of better quality relates on how specialized an individual is.

However, there is too much competition within individuals, that even if your skills are almost the best, you will only get an average income out of it. You think that in this capitalist society demand and supply will make its own magic? But guess what? I do not see any magic at all! Instead, I see the illusion of living in a capitalist world where all people have to "stop" the forces of supply and demand with the power of what mainstream agrees. This, I call it "making consensus with mainstream". It has become a standard that all that matters is your performance with your skills (which become better the more specialized you are). However, it is no benefit for the individual because all your effort will go to waste as "there is already too much demand to it". That is right, I proclaim that the individual is the fool of the fool itself, for he selected a supply that is already in high demand that makes himself very cheap. Of course, the individual will not notice, because who knows, software development becomes too much of an attached feeling cause you develop creations of your own self or from derived products than buying creations from others (which management does know clearly and is more clear on the value of these products). So what skills should you go after? None. If you really want to, you can always try to learn the new technologies. That will definitely work. But that will only last for the short term. Those new technologies will become old. In other words, there is at least an opportunity you can become more demanding by updating your skills which no other occupation has so much flexibility due to its slow pace of its changing environment  (some do too, but not so much) . That is why you always hear to update your skills in software development every so often. It seems like that is the only solution most people discuss for selling yourself. Is there another solution? Yes, there is. Improve your critical thinking. Actually, supply is so low because nobody is aware of it due to all people following what mainstream follows. Actually, it is not even encouraged to push critical thinking to people because that will destroy the system we live in today. Have you seen the word "critical thinking" in work description offers often? Let me explain.

The system that we live today is of course a lot of non-personal tasks that you have to do everyday (which I discussed a lot in my previous posts). However, one of the most corrupted things this society, this not so "capitalist" society is this: It is very evident that we are not living in a "free capitalism" society but a "conditional capitalism" society. Why? It does not work. People have not created their ability to critical think and people are afraid or do not trust the critical thinking of people. What is critical thinking or termed as "critical thinking" in this world? Whatever "mainstream agrees on". Whatever new and challenging idea will not be claimed as critical thinking. That is not real critical thinking gentlemen and folks. However, what will critical thinking ensue? It will destroy the ability to make consensus or agreeing with mainstream. Why is that? Cause critical thinking will always challenge the current situation, analyse it, provide itself solutions, implement them, see the effects and alter perceptions. Being wrong is when you use critical thinking while being right is when you do not use critical thinking (usually that is how it is in the current system we live). Demand and supply is a theory that follows, follows perfectly! But the way people interpret demand and supply with our current society is wrong in so many ways. First of all, why do we allow demand and supply to be controlled by the rules of a company or organization or of a government of such form. Why do we not have the ability to challenge some of the rules that may not be the most effective solution (at some times even for the company itself)? It is reasonable why. We all agree we should be in consensus with mainstream. Like I said on my previous posts, we do believe on everything others say to us because we are emotionally weak. For that reason, we only read credible articles so we do not input dangerous thoughts on our minds. Since our culture (at least most cultures) attached us to follow mainstream due to us being weak in our emotions and also for not grown our own critical thinking, this is what society proposed to us: Besides providing safety to your well being and other amenities in this society, we will do all our critical thinking to you within our government rules and company policies and rules, all you have to do is to comply to those rules (=you do not have critical thinking, blind faith on those rules sir). On a side note, yes, you are entitled to do whatever free you want to do in this world as long you harm no other. However, we will bias support organizations that follow what mainstream follows to avoid interruptions and disharmony (=better be consensus with what mainstream follows or you'll be left out on your own).

So you may be asking: Why would I grow my critical thinking if my government already does. Won't my critical thinking go out of what the government supports? Won't that leave me be all alone by myself? In some sense and degree, yes, that is true. That is why most people avoid critical thinking. But think about it, if this is really a capitalist world, for you, the individual, do you take advantage of the supply and demand model when you are not encouraged to use critical thinking? If you always follow the rules (the rules are made by the critical thinking of governments and companies) that were given to you, will you be in a position that is fair for you? What happens is this: Governments and companies do not trust individuals like you because you are emotionally weak and have not grown the ability to have critical thinking, and they rightfully make that decision right. For that case, government and companies have taken an advantage point (not a fair point) for the chart of demand and supply. As they create the rules, they will have most of the pie to themselves, sometimes it is greediness, but most of the time is to have them as a backup plan, because they already know, that most individuals living in this world are very sensitive and dangerous that catastrophic events can follow due to their limited critical thinking and attainability to keep on hold with their emotions. I can even add more reasons, but basically, that is the most critical or more worrisome the biggest thinkers stumble upon.

In other words, in terms of a real "capitalist" world, critical thinking and skills must both be combined so the individual builds not only skills, but to set them in the right context (in places where there is low supply instead of only places with a lot of supply). How much time you have to spend critical thinking? I am not pretty sure about that, but I think as much as time you spend on skills, as both are important (but not so important in our current society because the critical thinking is all pampered and ready for you to digest). Is this possible in our current society? Very hard so. Most people do not venture on "critical thinking" adventures and in order for this to work, there must be enough people to venture on "critical thinking". We are so afraid of critical thinking these days. It is evident and sad. The reason we are afraid is if we break a rule, we will sound as being criminals. That is why we never or rarely practice critical thinking due to the fear of that, and that is rightfully so. However, breaking some small rule, such as a policy in a workforce, that in real life does not make you a criminal literally, people are still taking it as serious as doing a murder. What I ask is to follow all the rules society enforces you to do, but remember that those rules that sound legal/illegal may be illegal/legal in the future. There is so much space and freedom in most countries, that you can use your ability by using your critical thinking. However, due to the fear people have out of rules (they made it a generality that I cannot create my own rules in my life. Who said you can't? As long as you don't conflict with the existing rules government really enforces you to follow, it is fine, I guess) and society itself having fear what a person can do with his own rules (maybe their rules will not follow the "right" or "moral" thing to do), most agreed to create mainstream as a form all people should follow within consensus, or else you be left out all alone.

So like I said skill alone is not enough. You also need critical thinking to sell yourself and to have more responsibilities. This will conflict to the next case: money. Once you have critical thinking, it can go two ways. And I can really imagine every one of you, you would have done it at one point of this time (or maybe not if you are too innocent): How can I make out of nothing a million dollars? You know, start up a business, and so on? Did you ever had thoughts like that on your mind? Well, yes, that is gentlemen and folks, the power of critical thinking, but in the wrong wrong way. Maybe it happens to you because your emotions took over due to the non-personal environment you lived all day. Or maybe you have no other thoughts other than money because all you see people these days is absorbed money due to again, being controlled emotionally over their non-personal environment all day. That is why most governments and society are afraid of these people that will use their critical thinking in such way. Because most real companies, I think they were interested on money, but they were more interested on bringing a better good (though that is still questionable when these companies become too big). How to use your critical thinking? Use your critical thinking in a good way. How to? The only way to kill that bad habit of demanding money through your critical thinking is this way (a method psychologists often use): Assume you have a billion dollars in your life already, what big thing you want to do in life where at the same time make a basic living with what you make? This is more hard if you have to take care of family or have dependent individuals (that is why they always encourage young people to start up their own business because they can idealize with their critical thinking easier) , but what matters is to have at least a goal like that instead of "I have X amount of money, how can I double it?". Because the real model of demand and supply main goal is not to satisfy money, but all the needs of others and yourself (yes, it will satisfy your needs, but they don't always get delivered those needs in money as this capitalism society expresses so). The capitalism society is set to only satisfy half of the needs of the individual. It only satisfies the materialistic needs of the individual. If they need to satisfy the needs that are more of the personal, they have to do it "outside of the market". Hence, capitalism society creates the split of the personal and non personal instead of integrating them. The power of money goes in so many wrong ways. We agree to clients to what they want even if they are wrong because they are giving money to us to do a thing. Its such examples that demonstrate that if money is on control on everything, all things become non-personal, and all that matters is your skills. Who ever has the money can use their critical thinking, set their own rules. But you can say: Hey, they have the opportunity of their earned money to use it on investments where they can set their own critical thinking rules. Yes, that is true. However, using skills or critically thinking are most of the time within this system done as mutually exclusive. Goal is to integrate them, but if a society emphasizes one thing over the other so much (the capitalism system revolves only money and skill instead of critical thinking and personal), most people will have no aware of the other half. People itself have to make their own distinction with their critical thinking how much money is enough and how much of their personal life should they devote more of to make their life ends meet. However, since society has created a mainstream all must follow, all to dedicate themselves on the aspect of the non-personal world of making the most money (where sometimes it may beg for no reason if you never use or use it in bad ways), you can see how we ended up today. How many articles have you seen that talk about "How to make more money?" , "How to improve your performance of your business"? Can people follow their life on other aspects besides the non-personal? As we have seen in previous blogs, most of them do not have the time to follow or use that free time to build their skills only so they can "keep up". That is due to the culture we are living ("the consensus mainstream" society). Lastly, with all the rules set up for us, do we ever need to think critically? Critically enough to not be always influenced by money?