Keeping Up

May 28, 2025

Insight on staying current in tech (or not) from PyData Virginia 2025.

During a panel at PyData Virginia 2025, an audience member asked something to the effect of: "How do the experts keep up with the constant changes in tech? How do you determine what to prioritize, and what will be important?"

A panel member glibly responded, "You don't." This initial response seemed to be partially a joke, but it contained profound wisdom.

They expanded on this by saying there is no way to know with certainty which new tools or technologies will become widely adopted. The best thing you can do is find what interests you, and focus on that. Learning more about one thing is far more valuable than worrying about many things and fracturing your learning.

Additional concrete advice from the panel:

Follow people who post less frequently, and be cautious of those who contradict themselves by saying "Learn xyz_tech NOW", only to later claim that xyz_tech is outdated.
Attend industry-specific conferences to see what tools and technologies others are interested in.

I had hoped to find recordings of these sessions online so I could include direct quotes, but I still have yet to see them pop up. I learned A TON from attending this conference (mostly in ways I didn't expect). This gem resurfaced today, and I wanted to share it.

If you have ever flirted with the idea of attending a conference or meetup, GET OUT THERE AND DO IT! I can't recommend in person events enough, they never fail to provide me pleasantly unexpected insight.

Dive in, embrace failure, stay curious.

Disclaimer

Quotes are paraphrased from my handwritten notes taken during Panel: Principles for Effective and Successful Data Scientists at PyData Virginia 2025.