Ahhh, the web-dev journey. I’m sure you’ve seen the posts about “Roadmaps” to take for web development. So now, it’s quiz time…
Should you start with React or Node? When do you learn MongoDB? Have you mastered HTML enough to move on to CSS? Javascript before JSX? Is Vue still relevant? Angular’s good too, right? When do you move on to Go? Python? Java? Should you really just learn WordPress first and then move into something more “programmer-ish”? Do I need to jump into AWS now? Time’s up!
I don’t have the answers. Sorry! No matter where you are in your developer journey, you’re going to come across these types of questions. They are inherent to learning something new and decision-making. Sometimes they seem easy like learning HTML before CSS. And other times they seem hard. Like, should you learn WordPress and DevOps? Well, I’ll try to explain what’s happening here.
What is opportunity cost?
You make decisions every day and with those decisions, you lose something. (Don’t fret! You obviously gain something too). Perhaps you’re aware of this, and perhaps you’re not. But I’ve found it quite reassuring that psychologists, economists, and business people have come to a conclusion as to what to call this type of decision in life.
Opportunity cost
As defined by Wikipedia, opportunity cost can be described as…
…the cost of a particular activity option is the loss of value or benefit that would be incurred (the cost) by engaging in that activity, relative to engaging in an alternative activity offering a higher return in value or benefit
Easy, right? Well, maybe not so much.
It really comes back to microeconomic theory and we can dive into that a little bit. The reason I would like to highlight this is because as a software engineer, you’re going to be designing and developing software that will likely be for a business. It’s going to be sold and people should buy it! You’re on the front lines (literally if you’re a front-end developer) and you should have a good understanding of what opportunity cost really is.
Investopedia (they sound financially smart!) explains that…
Understanding the potential missed opportunities when a business or individual chooses one investment (i.e. your software) over another allows for better decision making.
In layman’s terms, if you have a choice between A and B and you choose A, then you’re not going to get the benefits of B. Sometimes, you don’t even see option B. I know that’s kinda simple, but in essence, that’s really what it means. You have to choose something, and you’re going to miss out on what you DO NOT CHOOSE.
Some people will regret their choices, some won't
Let’s take a simple example. It’s dinner time, and your significant other asks you if you want burgers or pizza for dinner. You choose hamburgers (because, I mean, hamburgers!). Well, guess what… you LOST OUT on pizza. Nanny nanny poo poo! Maybe that pizza was amazingly delectable, and you lost. But simultaneously, maybe it wasn’t (are we in the Matrix?)
In any case, your opportunity cost is not eating pizza. Now, it’s up to you to decide what kind of benefits you would have gained from eating pizza, but whatever you decide was valuable, has now been lost.
Some people will be upset about losing out on pizza, and others won’t. It’s preference. But what really happens in the loss. That’s the cost we incur. That’s the opportunity cost.
It looks like this if you choose a hamburger…
Maybe that wasn’t a great example, how about another one.
Let’s say you’ve been looking at taking [Data Science Boot Camp], but you’ve also been thinking about taking [Web Development Boot Camp]. And let’s not forget about [ALL THE OTHER BOOT CAMPS]. Most are great choices, I’m privy to #100Devs :) These are in-demand skills and you want them all, but you’re going to have to choose!
Sure, weigh the options of both. Which is cheaper? More accessible? More fun? Better possibility of job growth? Salary expectations? You are now venturing into ROI (return on investment) and profit margins. Everybody does this when making decisions. It’s important. But don’t get caught up in the decision-making process! Analysis paralysis, ahhh!!! But that’s for another day and another blog.
So, when you choose that Data Science BootCamp option, you’re going to lose out on the web development option and every other option too. Shucks! That sucks! But that’s what life is. I’m sure you’ve heard…
‘No regrets’
I don’t subscript to that theory.
You have opportunity costs. I think you should have choices that you look back upon which make you sad, but also provide an important lesson. Oh boy oh boy! I have some major lessons in my life that affected me, my family, my friends, my future, my identity as a person… holy sh*t! Sorry for cursing, but I get so emotional thinking about those times. You have and WILL HAVE choices like this too.
For me, high school was a time for growing, learning, making mistakes, and trying new things. I’m glad I had that terrible thing in high school and made a major mistake. In retrospect, it made me who I am today. Your past leads you to where you are now. It doesn’t define you, but it shapes your view of the world and that’s what opportunity costs do to you too.
It’s kinda like the butterfly effect, so what can we do?
If you haven’t watched the Ashton Kutcher movie, I recommend the watch. It’s weird, but also reassuring. The decisions that you make are final and unadjustable. There is no going back in time to change it. And, spoiler alert if you try to go back in time to change the future (well, present), it’s not going to be pretty. Things mutate. And if you believe in a higher power, then you believe that they happen for a reason.
I’m not so sure about that, but I think that every decision that you made prior to right now brought you to where you are. Again…
Every decision you made, brought you to where you are
And I think that’s a great position to be in! So, engage with that opportunity cost and hug it tightly. Straddle it like an out-of-control tornado. Life’s a wild ride. I’m not old (kinda) but I’ve seen some crazy, depressing, uplifting, scary, sorrowful, joyful, and all-around exciting things in my life. I’m sure you have too, and that’s what makes you…. You! Live a life, choose what you want and go after it. Don’t forget to look back on your decisions and opportunity costs though, because I believe that it makes you better. When you understand opportunity costs, you can use them to make the best possible choice!
As for me, I chose to self-study Python and Data Science for 3 years before turning to JavaScript and web development. I had opportunities to change. A few students told me they’d rather have JS class, but I stayed strong with Python. Is that in my future? I’m not sure. Am I glad I did that? Yes! I made a decision and stuck with it. You can pivot too!
What I do know is that I gained experience. I coded. I learned. I stepped out into the unknown by myself. Now, I’m focusing on full-stack development and love it.
Everything has opportunity costs, but you just have to…
Choose a path. Go for it and get it.
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