One of the interesting things about having software skills is that you can shop them around anywhere. This isn’t limited to software development. Anyone who builds software can shop their skills around most places. Sometimes, transferring design and product skills from one industry to another is a little bit harder. In part because designing products for specific audiences will probably always be easiest for domain experts.
Regardless, more than most careers, building software lets you go into almost any industry since most companies need technology to be competitive.
Developing good software skills is necessary to work at the most desirable companies.
Over my career, I have been fortunate to be able to choose carefully what industries or organizations I support with my labor. My progression through these industries was definitely shaped by skill development because getting into ethically aligned businesses is competitive. I wish that ethically minded businesses weren’t in such short supply, and that their profits matched their alignment with serving humanity.
Previously, whether working for a company, building with others, or embarking on a solo project, I would focus on “changing the world” ideas and definitely not “this might negatively impact someone” solutions. This led to a lot of idea abandonment. As I learned to evaluate companies and products for their values and systems to enforce them, I discovered that human-friendly tech is cool, too – if not better. When I refer to ethically minded businesses, I mean these too.
Continuous learning is necessary to retain this advantage of choosing where you work.
Acquiring software skills takes time and constant maintenance. Sure, you can specialize or find a service to provide that pays for repetition, but you will be limited by the industries that pay for them. For example, I suspect there will be industry stagnation for people specializing in email development, specific e-commerce platforms like Shopify, or marketing themselves behind a specific framework.
Rapid growth in technology impacts all industries. Staying up to date is necessary.
For the following reasons, I believe retaining the ability to work anywhere requires skill expansion.
Competition-wise, simply having today’s software skills may not be enough for tomorrow. Technology is interesting to people who build software, which means many people continue to expand their knowledge of these skills for fun.
Growth-wise, technology is rapidly changing and impacting other industries. For example, working with AI and big data (in 2024) tends to be limited to those already exposed to such tooling despite being highly in demand. Those who took note of emerging technologies (e.g. machine learning) a few years ago are at an advantage now.
Opportunity-wise, continuously developed software skills will open a wider variety of doors. That advantage applies to the technology industry and all industries utilizing AI to process data.
Again, we see consistent skill development as essential for having a choice over the industry you work in.
You can use your software skills to advance change.
Aligning my values with my professional endeavors became increasingly important to me over my career. For example, nearly a decade ago, I worked in the addiction treatment industry. This industry was sparse for consumer information; however, we contributed to changing the industry by providing consumers with search tools, complete with ratings and reviews on facilities nationwide. I would be pretty selective about working in this industry again, but I could use my skills to advance change when it was done right.
Have any experiences with industries where you’ve been a part of how they change? Write it up and send it over. I will link to it. 👇
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👉 Share your response by posting a url to contribute to the evolving conversation section, which also includes prompts to inspire you.
How did I pick industries to endorse with software skills?
Because you can choose where to work, I recommend evaluating companies by their business model, mission, and values. This is generally a good idea, no matter your skill set, because you do not want to work somewhere that doesn’t align with your own values.
In terms of criteria, I previously put human-centered technology👶 Human-centered technology prioritizes people, focusing on human experience, preferences, and benefits. Many definitions online are elusive and promote paid courses on human-centered design. My view is that it should save lives or benefit humanity, especially the end-product it delivers. For example, Climate Tech, Green Tech, Health Tech, etc. at the top of my list, which I believe greatly and directly impacts humanity for the better. Unfortunately, figuring out how to benefit humanity is hard. However, I think you can also enjoy making good, practical tools, which I call “human-friendly” technology. To me, technology is human-friendly when there’s a commitment to values, long-term investment, and a conscious effort to consider humans first. It matters less that it be revolutionary.
With this definition, you don’t need to save the world, but you can help make really great tools that people enjoy using and making.
I am talking about companies like PostHog, which continues to lower their prices 🤯 to keep their top-tier products affordable across industries, regardless of size. Because of this dedication, PostHog supports hobbyist projects like this site, small businesses, and even those newer to collecting product insights. My favorite products enable hobbyists, whether as a platform or marketplace, individual sites, or art projects. I see that as human-friendly technology. It’s an easy thing to look for when curious about which industries to support. PostHog also “builds in public” because, of course, they do!
Are there any cool products you’ve been wanting to help build? Do you have specific companies you are chasing after? Do you have any criteria for deciding what industries to support?
Read more of my prompts or join the conversation here.
