Very true. I followed the same path, and a side project was always the way to learn something new. Sometimes those side projects become full on ventures as well. Added bonus.
I also very well remember my joy after I "invented" the AMQ, only to later find out about ActiveMQ, RabbitMQ etc. (which didn't diminish that "proud" feeling)
I think that is some of the best validation, to know that your solution is not to different than the ‘standard’, without having any prior knowledge of its existence.
I also very well remember my joy after I "invented" the AMQ, only to later find out about ActiveMQ, RabbitMQ etc. (which didn't diminish that "proud" feeling)