I get an annual $400 allowance from my company to spend on tech related books/courses/general education. I wanted some recommendations on what I could spend this money on.
Some background on me - I am an advanced python backend programmer (not web just general programs) but because don't come from a computer science background, recently completed (and loved) both nand 2 Tetris courses. What I learn doesn't have to be directly relevant to my career in any way and I'm open to anything that is just interesting in the computer science space.
I know interesting is subjective but I also welcome random suggestions that you enjoyed learning (has to be related to computer science/maths/physics) in some way so that I can at least see what is out there.
Some things I am thinking about learning more about
- Linux (thinking of getting How Linux works)
- System security (maybe black hat python?)
- Machine learning (maybe Andrew Ngs courses?)
- Improving as a tech manager (Haven't really researched any books on this...)
- General technology knowledge (byte go newsletter)
1. Of course, education that you find useful, interesting, and fun.
2. Education that also best "signals" knowledge useful for future employment.
As the past year+ has shown us, you never know when you'll suddenly find yourself in need of a job. So keep in mind your future and consider education that "sells" well.
For example: fill in "perceived" gaps that future employers might miss in this world of impersonal resume keyword scans or LinkedIn talent searches.
A. Based on the background you shared, it sounds like a lack of CS degree hasn't hampered your career. But it'd be great to not only beef up your CS knowledge, but show it. So one day an employer is comparing you to another Engineer with similar skills, but lack of CS degree... except you have a CS-related Udemy "Nanodegree" or Coursera courses under your belt. Your knowledge plus interest in relevant continuing ed will give you an edge.
B. If you like startups, knowledge to make you more well-rounded (aka generalist/full stack) would be useful. Consider courses in areas like Frontend development, Orchestration, Big Data.
C. "Hot topics" that have staying power. Between 2019 - 2021, it seems like everybody and their mother had the Self-Driving Nanodegree. Looking back, maybe a broader pursuit like Computer Vision courses (which still touch upon areas like SLAM) would have been more beneficial. Nowadays, maybe learning more about NLP (which will touch upon LLM) would be a good option.
And be sure to make this visible, e.g. LinkedIn profile.