How should developers approach professional development?

There’s a joke that goes like this:

A doctor takes his Mercedes in for a brake job. When he picks up the vehicle the next day, the mechanic presents him with a bill for $2000. “Two thousand dollars for a brake job! I only charge $500 for a yearly checkup,” the doctor exclaims.

The mechanic replies: “Doc, you only have to work on two models. I have to work on a dozen and they change every year.”

Sound familiar? This is pretty much how it is in IT. We’re more like auto mechanics than doctors. We work on technologies that are constantly changing, and we need to keep up with it all. One unanticipated change can cause havoc.