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Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

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Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#181

Post by jimbokun »

yawgmoth wrote: post #23
hijinks wrote: post #3

Kubernetes.. almost all the companies are on it or looking at it in one way or another.

I like Docker, I like microservices, but I feel like I'm just not excited about Kubernetes itself. There seems to be a "bullshit complexity" that people add to it that I really don't think is going to stick. But, I really do like the "GitOps" experience. A merge to a master branch is a deploy. Should I just get over this perception and learn Kubernetes, or could I find joy and professional usefulness out of another t…

Do NOT use Kubernetes unless you really, really need a lot of flexibility in rapidly scaling up, and occasionally scaling down your services.

If you do need that capability, Kubernetes is invaluable.

If you don't, plain old Docker and Ansible is a much better combination. Kubernetes adds a lot of complexity that doesn't pay for itself if you don't really need that much flexibility.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#183

Post by mistahenry »

aczerepinski wrote: post #60
yaman12 wrote: post #19

Learn a another human language. You don’t have to be good at it or even able to converse. Languages are systems of thinking as much as they are systems of communication. Some thoughts only make sense in a given language! The process of learning a language builds cognitive skills and perhaps fights cognitive decline. If you have absolutely no “ear” for human language start with Esperanto and work your way to additiona…

Can anybody recommend a good app to learn another language?

Assimil is the best program I've found so far for learning a foreign language. The way you learn the language feels very natural to me. I used their book but they've recently released an app which may be good.

I also recommend Pimsleur as a supplement to work on your accent and listening skills. Don't let the limited vocabulary misguide you...Pimsleur teaches and emphasizes a lot of very useful language patterns/structures. Great tool in the language learning toolbox

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#185

Post by komali2 »

phowat wrote: post #62
kerkeslager wrote: post #9

Starting conversations with strangers. Squat and deadlift. Eating healthier. Doing something kind for someone else every day. Honesty. Listening to people you disagree with. Driving safer (this is the most dangerous thing we do on a regular basis). Meditation.

From this list, the thing I struggle most with is conversations with strangers. Any suggestions on how to improve that?

Read "How to Win Friends and Influence People."

Let go of pride and ego.

Find something the person may be very interested in, and get them talking about it.

"I can't help but notice that watch, can I ask you about it?" (Anybody asking about my watch is an instant friend. WHY WONT ANYBODY NOTICE MY WATCHES??)

"This might be weird but I need a new barber, where do you get your haircut?"

"Yooo where did you get that sweater?"

"You carrying golf clubs around the city? There a course I don't know about?"

"Is that a defcon sticker?"

Something unique about them. Find it, ask about it. Easy to practice. Just do the find it step to random people during your commute.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#186

Post by bloogsy »

throwawa66 wrote: post #18

Having less stuff both phisically as in stuff at home and mentally as in single down on fewer things to pursue.

I want to second this. Decluttering is definitely a huge way to improve your life, and physically removing things from your home also helps to removes mental distractions.

I made a conscious effort to really consider what I need before purchasing things over the last 6 months, as too often over the years it felt like I was drowning in a sea of crap! Sell your old unwanted items on ebay/gumtree/wherever and save that money.

'Tidy desk, tidy mind' isn't just an old wives tale.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#187

Post by FabHK »

aczerepinski wrote: post #60
yaman12 wrote: post #19

Learn a another human language. You don’t have to be good at it or even able to converse. Languages are systems of thinking as much as they are systems of communication. Some thoughts only make sense in a given language! The process of learning a language builds cognitive skills and perhaps fights cognitive decline. If you have absolutely no “ear” for human language start with Esperanto and work your way to additiona…

Can anybody recommend a good app to learn another language?

In my view, apps are ok to train vocabulary, but not really to learn the grammar and usage patterns. As such, some languages might lend themselves somewhat better to learn via apps (Malay), while others are less suitable (Russian, Japanese).

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#188

Post by whatshisface »

billfruit wrote: post #138
chrissnell wrote: post #100

Some suggestions: - Build something. A new workbench for your office. Fix up an old car. Build a pull-up bar in your garage. Use your hands, cut some wood and metal, and treat yourself to a new tool or two. Do this with every project and you will have a nice tool collection before you know it. - Learn to take pictures on a manual camera. You can do this with a modern automatic camera if it has a manual mode. Learn ab…

Learn to enjoy poetry. There is so much of great poetry in English, but I think it is not being read and appreciated enough. It is a kind of mental challenge like doing a puzzle, to unlock the full vivid meaning. Also reading fiction, though how exactly it helps one is beyond me, but it offers glimpses into other worlds. For example I read recently 'The French Lieutenant's Woman', I doubt its richness of detail, and…

Is there any evidence that poems have meaning? I could easily imagine a world where poets fool themselves into thinking the words they wrote contained their intentions, while readers fooled themselves into thinking they had uncovered those intentions.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#189

Post by mattjaynes »

chrissnell wrote: post #100

Some suggestions: - Build something. A new workbench for your office. Fix up an old car. Build a pull-up bar in your garage. Use your hands, cut some wood and metal, and treat yourself to a new tool or two. Do this with every project and you will have a nice tool collection before you know it. - Learn to take pictures on a manual camera. You can do this with a modern automatic camera if it has a manual mode. Learn ab…

For the "learn to take pictures on a manual camera" suggestion, this is probably the reddit multi-part tutorial: https://www.reddit.com/r/photoclass/ (scroll to the bottom for the first lesson)

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#190

Post by geocrasher »

Learn how to provide proper customer service. It mostly comes down to having a form of empathy that isn't really empathy: Understanding perspective and motivation. If you understand anyone's perspective and motivation, you're in a much better position to help them.

Also learn who your customer is (It's everyone) and learn how to listen to them. It doesn't matter if you're a dev who spends 2/3 of the day behind 10 screens with earbuds-a-blasting. Whoever is commissioning you or motivating you to sit there and code is your customer. Treat them like it, and do it for them.

On the other hand if you have a job where you deal with the public, it's more direct- but the same principals apply.

With technical skills becoming easier to come by, set yourself apart by being a customer service pro. It makes all the difference in the world.

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