Learning Rails.
When did you learn rails? Would you recommend learning it today?
learn machine learning and AI instead of rails now. Rails is 2008-2012.
Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
41–50 of 491 posts
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#42Strategically burning bridges when appropriate, putting forth a will-do attitude even if it means doing things outside scoped responsibilities, and just being kind to people.
When was it appropriate for you to burn bridges and how'd you go about it? I'm going through something similar.
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#43Probably taking my first job after college 2800 miles from where I grew up.
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#44Leaving the mom and pop shop that was underpaying and under appreciating me.
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#45Saving and investing approximately 40% of my income at all times.
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#46I enrolled in the JET Programme [1], got accepted, quit my job at 39 and taught English for 5 years in Japan. Oddly, I think I'm less effective as a programmer now. Before I left I was definitely an "alpha dog" programmer and pushed my way towards success. Teaching changed my perceptions and I think I am more effective as a person. It's been a hard transition and often frustrating because I now back down in situations where I know the team will suffer. But young people have to learn and they need someone who is willing to let them do so. I still need a fair amount of practice not being grumpy about it, though ;-)
Note that while I feel this is the best decision in my career, I think it's debatable whether it has helped my career in the traditional sense (i.e. more money, more influence, etc). Probably not :-) Still, I like the direction I'm going, which I would not have said before I made that transition.
Edit: Link :-P [1] -http://jetprogramme.org/en/
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#47Changing careers. Left software to become a doctor. I'll graduate in 7 months.
Since this is mostly a place where those in the software industry spend time, your story is generally going to veer off the path most people here took in their career.
Can I ask for more detail about why it was that software was not the proper path for you?
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#48I made the decision to not have a career after leaving college and travelled around the world for a few years, working brief stints in tech and non-tech jobs here and there to make ends meet and fund further travels.
When I actually started to focus on work that experience benefited me extremely well.
Re: Ask HN: What was the best decision you made in your career?
#49Both the best and the worst decision I made: starting grad school in 1993 instead of moving to the Valley and getting a programming job.
More details?
I started a doctoral program at the University of Maryland in aerospace engineering, instead of going to work with a bachelor’s in CS. Had I started a programming job, my net worth would almost certainly have an additional zero behind it.
But: A PhD gives you intellectual freedom you don’t get any other way. I’m the PI for a space robotics program. And in grad school I made friends I’ll have for life. I got to do a Vomit Comet flight. I got to do a spacesuit run in Marshall Space Flight Center’s neutral buoyancy lab. I designed a spacecraft simulator robot from scratch. I’ve done things very few people get to do.