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Ask HN: Should I Change My Specialization Due to Market Saturation?

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Ask HN: Should I Change My Specialization Due to Market Saturation?

#1

Post by OulaX »

As a Computer Science graduate with over a year of experience in Full Stack development, I recently faced an unexpected career transition. My previous employer, facing financial challenges, made the difficult decision to reduce their workforce, leading to my departure. With a background in both frontend and backend web development, I find myself navigating a job market that is increasingly competitive, particularly for remote positions which are my primary focus due to the scarcity of local development opportunities in my home country.

Given these circumstances, I'm contemplating a strategic pivot in my career path. Considering the saturation in the web development sector, I'm evaluating the potential benefits of diversifying my skill set into areas such as Android or iOS development. My goal is to enhance my employability in the remote job market. I'm seeking advice on whether such a shift would likely improve my chances of securing a remote position, and if so, which platform might offer the best prospects.

Thank you

Re: Ask HN: Should I Change My Specialization Due to Market Saturation?

#3

Post by OulaX »

cranberryturkey wrote: post #2

i'd say if you want to go mobile go with react native and expo.

I was actually thinking of trying React Native, but for some reason local people prefer Flutter for some reason, any noticable differences between the two? Or should I just go with RN & Expo?

Re: Ask HN: Should I Change My Specialization Due to Market Saturation?

#4

Post by cranberryturkey »

OulaX wrote: post #3
cranberryturkey wrote: post #2

i'd say if you want to go mobile go with react native and expo.

I was actually thinking of trying React Native, but for some reason local people prefer Flutter for some reason, any noticable differences between the two? Or should I just go with RN & Expo?

i think flutter is newer and less popular. the real benefit is expo which makes deploying the apps to google/apple stores very simple.

Re: Ask HN: Should I Change My Specialization Due to Market Saturation?

#5

Post by sk11001 »

The overall state of the software job market is quite poor so don't expect things to be much better if you switch to mobile. In fact you should expect it to be more difficult to find a job in mobile development because your experience is less relevant.

Re: Ask HN: Should I Change My Specialization Due to Market Saturation?

#8

Post by quickthrower2 »

sk11001 wrote: post #5

The overall state of the software job market is quite poor so don't expect things to be much better if you switch to mobile. In fact you should expect it to be more difficult to find a job in mobile development because your experience is less relevant.

This is where I think cloud architecture / devops is a good route. It is complementary and you wont get fired for knowing how to CI/CD and deploy your thing but you can learn it while still doing web dev. You may never need to go full time devops but it is a great “extra” going into another role especially in smaller teams. In larger companies specialising might be better for example being a performance JS expert.

Re: Ask HN: Should I Change My Specialization Due to Market Saturation?

#9

Post by gtirloni »

Since you have experience with frontend, mobile apps seem like the logical choice here.

But web development is huge. Are you saying you can't find jobs that _pay well_? Maybe you can consider specializing further into web development for more lucrative types of business, go into consulting and charge per day/week instead of hourly, etc.

You haven't elaborated on what you have tried already so it's hard to say if you've exhausted your options in your current area.

Re: Ask HN: Should I Change My Specialization Due to Market Saturation?

#10

Post by gtirloni »

quickthrower2 wrote: post #8
sk11001 wrote: post #5

The overall state of the software job market is quite poor so don't expect things to be much better if you switch to mobile. In fact you should expect it to be more difficult to find a job in mobile development because your experience is less relevant.

This is where I think cloud architecture / devops is a good route. It is complementary and you wont get fired for knowing how to CI/CD and deploy your thing but you can learn it while still doing web dev. You may never need to go full time devops but it is a great “extra” going into another role especially in smaller teams. In larger companies specialising might be better for example being a performance JS expert.

Basic DevOps is easy enough to grasp and apply, especially if it's just the CI part. I'd say all developers should learn a bit of that.

Actual "infrastructure engineering" (cloud or not) is a different beast. It requires much deeper knowledge and would be akin to changing professions in terms of how much time you'd have to dedicate to know enough to raise about the noise level.

I've been doing this for 22+ years so I'm obviously biased.

I think your suggestions of becoming a JS performance expert is spot on.

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