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Real Learning

Ran into this job posting the other day and it got me thinking about the importance of curiosity and self-improvement in ways that matter. The person has a steady and comfortable job from how she describes it and likely does not have a compelling reason to become smarter about Java architecture. Yet, she is willing to pay to be mentored on the subject. There is so much to love about this. She is not looking to acquire credentials to parade around but actually learn something she cares about. 

In the technology business it is becoming commonplace to require certifications as a condition of continued employment. There is a window of opportunity to get it done and once that is missed, the pressure on the employee mounts. Folks do end up getting certified to keep their jobs but it often does not correspond to actual learning or increase in level of knowledge though there are always metrics proffered to insinuate a strong co-relation between such certification and job performance. In times when credentialing is king, this job-poster truly goes above and beyond. 

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