I woke up this morning with a question. When did I start to teach myself other programming languages? What sparked the change from working with SAS to STATA- for instance? I don’t think I had a choice. If a job hired me, I had to use the software they had readily available.  So the job opportunities back in the 90’s and early 2000’s were willing to let learning take place on the job.  And what you don’t learn on the job- do the research.  You pick up on the teachable moments.

There are a lot of resources out there for learning.  Some universities have websites for source code with examples. You can download data files from online repositories and practice different scenarios. But I think taking a course (with real world examples) is a more productive use of ones time. Especially if the class focuses on your field of expertise. It helps if the teacher has work experience and why we code rather than what we code. Knowing the ‘why’ promotes learning and skill development. Never stop learning.

-Moore to follow Amy