However, I do spend only 1-3 years with each job. Generally I work as a permatemp worker where promotions aren't expected of me. So I'm usually in a position where it's easy for the company to lay me off (as it has happened before).
It helps that the culture/mentality is different from the start, but if you work for FAANG-like places or start-ups, it probably not hugely better. Vice versa, I'm sure you could find a more laid-back workplace in the US, might just be a bit rarer. To be honest, I've seen some coasters in FAANG-type places, too. The bigger the place, the more opportunity there is to slip through the cracks, but it's a risk. On the opposite end, in a smaller place your expertise goes further, so you might be able to get away with putting in less effort day-to-day. Plus fewer meetings.
In any case, and as other commenters have mentioned, the easiest path is to pick "boring" technology that still super valuable to the business, with a long shelf-life, but not sexy. You become proficient in it, maybe you already, don't mind working with it, and you're set.
There's still the tricky part of making it future-proof, but a lot of technology sticks around longer than you'd expect.
Would PHP and Ruby still fit this? Not just the "boring" part but also the long shelf life? These have been my main standbys but a lot of things in the web are moving away from them. Should I jump back to things I haven't used in a long time? I don't know how much Magento has changed over the years but I get some recruiter emails about it, even 8 years after I last used it on the job.
Ruby on Rails is still well and alive (see Ruby 3.0, and the recent mimemagic issue), overall I think PHP is more widely deployed (and alive, see the recent malicious commits to PHP. worth exploiting like that = people use it and update it). As brundolf said, Wordpress is everywhere.
You could go off the one you prefer more, but I'd definitely recommend reaching out to contacts and just casually surveying if they know what places use what to give you an idea of your local situation.
- Event driven cloud master with k8s and docker knowledge - PHP developer, but Typo3, Magento or Wordpress - Tool user, actually not a real developer but a semi designer
Then there's the - Frontend developer master of virtually everything, studied, knows all the languages and is a designer as well - Backend developer Python, Java, less Ruby, much PHP with Symfony and/or Zend
All of those make me blergh
Oh and they pay 3-4k € which is an insult.
I have given up. Once my cash runs out I'm taking social security and die a depressed bitter man.
Being self-employed the internet is owned by the big companies and everything is getting harder as time passes. Not because of tech, but companies and regulations.
For instance BaFin, the Germany regulatory institution for finance. I wanted a certificate so I could automate bank account checks, because FinTS3.0 now requires a OTP for every action you do. So no more automated bank account checks. Now you need XS2A which requires a certificate and registration. The cert costs a sum every 2 years, which the German state printshop receives (Bundesdruckerei). I asked them how I can register, I want to register, tell me how please. After 3 mails which were sent over 2 months I'm none the wiser. Yet I see over 500 companies already registered. I don't have a German name, that's probably why.
Next example. I have a website that compares dsl cable fiber tariffs. The domain is old has I partnered with all kinds of telcos via the Zanox affiliate network. Something happened, they rebranded to Awin and the partnership was cancelled. I've then recently redone the site, made it more modern. Every Telco except the German Telekom accepted the affiliate application. Only the German Telekom declined for NewSpeak reasons that don't explain anything at all.
Thanks to the corrupt Axel Voss the EU has redone copyright and put hosts in jail with 1 leg. If you're a host, you allow people to post messages on your leased hardware and one of the free users posts something illegal, you will be liable for what the user had posted.
So what's left? Writing 10 Best x/y/z spam articles?
I'm overqualified and underappreciated. I have written distributed systems out of necessity, not because it was hipster. I've had top 1000 alexa ranked sites. If I had them nowadays I could make a living, but back in 2006 they barely paid the hosting costs.
What can I do anymore? I don't know. Take some shit job just for the money? Pretend I'm interested in their crap? I really don't care. I can't work under someone. I can't accept someone being my boss, in the negative sense. I also don't like people. People suck. Too many negative experiences with them. Especially work people. I don't want to live in an environment where you have to watch every word you say. And 15-20 years ago society was much more tolerant for negativity. Nowadays you have the politically supercorrect kids. Look at Stallman, HOW DARE HE. I mean WTF. So he returns and Red Hat of all companies is like "ZOMG THE NERVE" because he questioned the integrity of the 17 year old girl? What bullshit. And this is just symptomatic for today's society. When I see those glass wearing shaved haircuts I'm becoming aggressive, with a suit preferably. Whatever I'm rambling and am a bit drunk.