mrbarrett84

Agreed. There are lots of technologies and tools you can learn. It helps to step back, take a deep breath and ask yourself a few questions.

Do you want to work with the Web, with distributed systems, with software, or none of the above?

Once you narrow it down, it becomes easier to prioritize and pick your tools accordingly. I learned this the hard way, as I aimlessly spent a summer trying to learn Ruby, Python, and Java all at the same time, just so I could say I "knew" them.

It hurt my brain and my motivation suffered.

Given my slightly advanced age, my motivation seems to come from the desire to feed and clothe myself and those I care about.

Initially, I was motivated by the idea that learning certain technologies could make me valuable to employers in many industries and regions. Having previously studied business and foreign languages, it took my breath away to search for tech jobs and find hundreds of job openings across multiple continents.

I guess it can be summed up as motivation by a lingering fear of failure with a desire for freedom thrown into the mix. Classes can help, but if you hate what you are learning, why not find something equally valuable that you love?

I'm not too sure about anyone else, but I had rather limited success with this site. The only jobs I were offered were not those I applied for, but shady third-party offers from companies who the site must've sold my information.

Also, not sure what country you are in, but for many Web design and simple programming jobs it is hard to compete with those willing to do the work for a much lower price (I even saw some people bidding for jobs at $2 per hour in some cases).

Just my take.

What does that even mean?

Agreed. We owe it to ourselves not to worry about what the government is going to feed us. Every one of us is smart enough to know what needs to change.

Back away from the keyboard for a second. Take a deep breath. Get out there and work for change until you are exhausted.

Don't ask any system a question you already know the answer to. It will break your heart.