Ask HN: What are your tech/programming 'bets'? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What are your tech/programming 'bets'?

3 pointsKhalPanda5 comments

What technologies are you currently interested in that you think will be useful in the future?

I'm currently at a total loss for what to pour my time into. I'm working in a low-end support role, having done development on the side for nearly 4 years now. Primarily for the web - I've done development and built toy projects with a lot of tools - far too much to list (PHP - Vanilla/Symfony2, JS - Node/Meteor, SQL and NoSQL db's, lots of API integrations, experience with lots of IDE's and tools, etc).

But I find myself (4 years down the line) with basically no finished/polished public projects to call my own and generally uncertain which direction I should head in. I don't feel confident applying for any jobs since I as I mentioned, I don't have any public work to share, so my CV looks pathetic. The solution is obvious (build some), but I find myself changing my mind about the tech stack half way through and trying something else a lot of the time. I feel like I need to start being a master of one trade rather than jack of none.

There was a funny post (either on HN or linked to from HN) a while ago, of somebody trying to choose a tech stack to use/focus on, and that describes me perfectly. I can't get anything done for the overwhelming choice...

Whilst a lot of web-work is just CRUD, the web is shifting towards an expectation of realtime data or app-like behaviour. So naturally things like Meteor, or a combination of a backend stack with Angular/Ember with Phonegap look promising... but then for anything other than simple apps, the UX is still not quite there, so I look at native app development.. so Android or iOS.. argh!

Help?! How can I 'get shit done' and get onto the correct path to an interesting job in development?

It's not the new hotness, and not really sexy, but if you care about employability, it's hard not to recommend Java. Between enterprise backend web services, Android, and to a lesser extent desktop apps, there will be plenty of Java jobs over the next decade.

The nice thing about 'enterprise' companies is they tend to have a lot of money, and will be around for awhile, needing their code built/maintained. Same can't be said for most startups.

Python/Django or Ruby/Rails is another solid choice, but people don't realize how rare these tech stacks are outside of the SF Bay Area and NY. They got nothing on Java. I would say it's even easier to find .NET employment relative to the tech stacks commonly talked about on HN. For instance, in the midwest, companies will throw fistfuls of money at .NET devs as they are in high demand and low supply at the moment.

You are asking about an 'interesting job' though... at the end of the day only you can decide what you find interesting.

> Between enterprise backend web services.

For me at least I would not want this sort of job, and I doubt I would be considered qualified.

> Android

It's unclear to me if native apps won't be usurped by the webview route.

> and to a lesser extent desktop apps

This is almost clearly on the down trend.

Javascript.

Growing use among web apps, growing use on server side. Applications are running more and more on the client. Most popular way to build an API is with Node.js, API's are only growing. MVC frameworks are only growing. Use of JSON is growing.

The answer to this question seems fairly obvious to me.

As a noobie I'm all-in with javascript and meteor. Why?

It's still the wild west and new people still on time to enter the land rush. And the best of all: any settler is welcome, no need to be a ninja to survive.

My bet is that Android's current 85% dominance of mobile devices will last at least as long as Microsoft's dominance of PC operating systems. Google will never reach what was once Microsoft's almost total hegemony. But Android will reach into cars, appliances, instruments and other device outside of mobile handsets and tablets in ways Windows never did.

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