Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Should I move away from JavaScript based skillset because of saturation?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 45 posts

Re: Ask HN: Should I move away from JavaScript based skillset because of saturation?

#11

Post by gumby »

Do you enjoy what you do? js front ends aren't going away any time soon (inevitably they will someday, of course).

Anyway, if you like what you're doing and are just wondering if it's safe, why not expand your skills rather than jump to a separate pond. To use metaphor: "increase size of your circle" or "learn something in an overlapping circle".

Also, I suggest expanding first in the area of fundamentals. You mentioned SQL: it has outlasted many fashionable programming languages and is likely to do so for quite a while. Or improve your on algorithms and DS skills a bit. This is because the "next language" is statistically going to last a short time, while the deeper skills will make you better with whatever the fashion of the day happens to be at some time in the future.

Re: Ask HN: Should I move away from JavaScript based skillset because of saturation?

#12

Post by happytoexplain »

joshxyz wrote: post #2

maybe anecdotal but in my experience there is no saturation in devs who are doing things properly. im in a multinational company in a billion dollar industry yet our frontend code is reactjs without typescript, eslint misconfigured, stylelint not used, bad practices on use of react hooks, and many more. there are teams and devs that are out of touch on maximizing what tools are available out there. im not even saying…

My perception is that the vast majority of employers are lacking either the will or the experience to recognize skilled developers and the value of their skill. In other words, skill depth is borderline meaningless in job-hunting, as opposed to skill breadth. Do you think that perception is exaggerated/pessimistic?

Re: Ask HN: Should I move away from JavaScript based skillset because of saturation?

#13

Post by john-radio »

sokoloff wrote: post #4

The reason to develop a skillset in a different programming language is not because JS is such a widely popular ecosystem (on both the labor demand and labor supply sides), but because having a reasonable level of comfort in multiple languages makes you better as a programmer overall and therefore more likely to compete successfully in interviews and on the job (and, IMO, it's a damn lot of fun as well). Even if you…

Comfort and familiarity with a variety of languages is always a nice to have for a professional developer, but if the hypothetical oracle said the opposite, that focusing on JS would indeed limit OP's professional options, then that would be a much more compelling reason to go learn some Golang or whatever than just intellectual curiosity.

Re: Ask HN: Should I move away from JavaScript based skillset because of saturation?

#14

Post by frfl »

Capricorn2481 wrote: post #6

When people say it's easier to get a higher paying job in [niche language] and that you'll have less competition, they're just echoing nonsense they've heard on the internet. There are a lot of devs in JS for sure, but there's also a lot of below average devs in that space. It's actually easier to stand out than with a long established language like Java with decades of baggage in how to do things. People will spot a…

From what I can tell and what I've seen[1], _right now_ and maybe for a while longer[2], applying and not hearing anything is gonna be the norm, even for people with more than 10 years of experience, forget those with less than that much.

[1] Personal experience over 2 months, what I've seen others I know experience, and what I've found researching the current hiring market online (reddit, HN)

[2] At least until the current high interest rate economic situation changes

Re: Ask HN: Should I move away from JavaScript based skillset because of saturation?

#15

Post by moribvndvs »

A language being popular or competitive is not a particularly good reason to avoid a language. However, you should learn more than one language. If you’re worried about competition or saturation, being flexible and having a wider set of tools/experiences to draw from is more useful than picking the “perfect” language.

Start somewhere (JS is a decent place to start) and become proficient in it, and once you have concepts down the others become easier. Then branch out from there. Learning C# or Java is an accessible next step from JS.

Always be trying new things. Don’t know where to start with the new thing? Try rewriting a project you know well from scratch in the new language/platform. Don’t have a project? Try the ubiquitous todo example app, or reconstruct some site, service, or app you like. It doesn’t have to be something you sell or put out there, you just have to make it work and understand how you did it.

Re: Ask HN: Should I move away from JavaScript based skillset because of saturation?

#16

Post by twelve40 »

john-radio wrote: post #13
sokoloff wrote: post #4

The reason to develop a skillset in a different programming language is not because JS is such a widely popular ecosystem (on both the labor demand and labor supply sides), but because having a reasonable level of comfort in multiple languages makes you better as a programmer overall and therefore more likely to compete successfully in interviews and on the job (and, IMO, it's a damn lot of fun as well). Even if you…

Comfort and familiarity with a variety of languages is always a nice to have for a professional developer, but if the hypothetical oracle said the opposite, that focusing on JS would indeed limit OP's professional options, then that would be a much more compelling reason to go learn some Golang or whatever than just intellectual curiosity.

yeah "better programmer overall" seems rather vague. The OP seems to be asking specifically "is it even worth it to stay in JS anymore", not "how do i become a well-rounded individual".

I personally prefer to hedge my bets by doing both backend and frontend work. If you join a smaller place/startup, you may end up having to push both. Saying, "I can build anything and I can help across the entire stack where needed" and showing history to back that up i think is a positive. Yes, a github project in a different stack might come in handy at an interview.

Re: Ask HN: Should I move away from JavaScript based skillset because of saturation?

#17

Post by nassimsoftware »

twelve40 wrote: post #16
john-radio wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Comfort and familiarity with a variety of languages is always a nice to have for a professional developer, but if the hypothetical oracle said the opposite, that focusing on JS would indeed limit OP's professional options, then that would be a much more compelling reason to go learn some Golang or whatever than just intellectual curiosity.

yeah "better programmer overall" seems rather vague. The OP seems to be asking specifically "is it even worth it to stay in JS anymore", not "how do i become a well-rounded individual". I personally prefer to hedge my bets by doing both backend and frontend work. If you join a smaller place/startup, you may end up having to push both. Saying, "I can build anything and I can help across the entire stack where needed"…

This is exactly what I'm asking about. You hit the nail on the head.

Re: Ask HN: Should I move away from JavaScript based skillset because of saturation?

#18

Post by jimmychoozyx »

joshxyz wrote: post #2

maybe anecdotal but in my experience there is no saturation in devs who are doing things properly. im in a multinational company in a billion dollar industry yet our frontend code is reactjs without typescript, eslint misconfigured, stylelint not used, bad practices on use of react hooks, and many more. there are teams and devs that are out of touch on maximizing what tools are available out there. im not even saying…

"yet our frontend code is reactjs without typescript"

I don't blame them. I hate Typescript. Worked on projects at a major gaming company, no typescript necessary.

Re: Ask HN: Should I move away from JavaScript based skillset because of saturation?

#20

Post by bwh2 »

As a hiring manager who looks at a lot of resumes, I think your hunch is correct. I see a lot of junior to mid-level developers that primarily work in JS/TS/React. That market is heavily saturated and I regularly read posts on LinkedIn from these people about how difficult it is to find a job.

The candidates that stand out from the pack are those with some tangible production backend experience in languages like C#, Java, etc., combined with SQL experience. Strictly in terms of marketability, I do believe getting real-world backend experience greatly increases your value.

Post reply on HN