It’s Monday again and I got to thinking of why I personally love learning and decided to go over 5 reasons I do it myself as a web-developer so here goes:

1.    You can charge more

Knowing more technologies and always being up to date with the newest trends whether it’s in terms of the tech you use or the design trends that need to be implemented to give your clients a modern website allows you to charge more. As a simple example in the 90’s a website with simple text may have costed X and as soon as flash became all the rage it may have costed 2x what it costed before. Now all the craze is responsive and implementing that may make a build more expensive. I am not saying that responsive should necessarily cost more but in comparison to the previous versions of sites mentioned it definitely does.

2.    It makes you smarter

I am not saying that when I read a new book or learn a new programming language I automatically become a professor. What I am saying is that continuous learning helps me with being more creative and even innovative. I mention innovative because any book can teach you the basics of a programming language for example or a web-development framework, but the fun part is trying to put your own twist on what you learnt and making it your own based on the needs of a project.

3.    It increases your cognitive abilities

When we say cognitive ability, we mean a set of abilities that include attention, memory, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. I love learning exactly because it makes me activate all the abilities mentioned above.

4.    Learning sparks social interaction

This one might sound funny to a lot of people but learning anything leads to anyone being able to handle social situations easier. I am going to use an example that involves a group of people that I didn’t initially know but met because I was in a café with a friend that sat with these people because he knew them. My physical disability isn’t an issue for me per se, but I can feel it when people around me are a bit awkward purely because they have no prior experience, of course I find that totally normal, for any first encounter with strangers disabled or otherwise. Anyway, they were discussing an idea for an app with a guy that is also a developer and he was selling them on the fact that it was doable but forgot to mention that the idea only works if there is an API to interface with the microchip the device was using, thus, they needed to talk to chip developer because if their API was closed source there may be unforeseen licensing costs. Me interjecting sparked a conversation with strangers that didn’t even know me up until my intervention. This was tech related, but it just as well could have been about how long it takes for someone to sear a stake.

5.    It gives us purpose

Finally learning something new makes me feel like a kid opening a present on Christmas day. When I make the decision to learn a new technology it makes me feel like I have a purpose. In reality, it fuels my passion or reignites it over time when I feel it start fading.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at info@georgenicolaou.me