Ask HN: What skills would you invest in learning? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What skills would you invest in learning?

#41

Post by lsniddy » Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 2:19 PM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #37

solutionyogi wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you please given an example or two for X + Y? I am not following that.

For me the original plan was bilingual (English/Japanese) plus engineering but I ended up getting more career mileage out of being able to program rings around most SaaS companies' marketing teams. (A high bar that is not.) You can pick many, many things here, though. Combining programming (any stack which lets you ship things) plus any other white collar profession works well, too. Try embedding in anybody's workday…

could you elaborate on what you do when "programming rings around most SaaS companies' marketing teams" ? Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: What skills would you invest in learning?

#42

Post by nindalf » Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 2:22 PM UTC

h0phead wrote: post #10

dankruss wrote: post #6

Code. Teach yourself how to code. Create a project that you would find useful. Given your finance background, create a system to manage your personal finances or automate some of the tasks you perform at work. You have the mathematics background, so logic isn't a hurdle. If the glove fits... code.

Which language though? Coming from someone who knows a bit but doesn't work in the field.

I second the other suggestion - Python. I think its a great language to learn first up. I feel its biggest strength is its excellent standard library and ecosystem Python allows you to do really cool things with minimal frustration. This is important because once a person gets past the basics what keeps them hooked is doing cool things what they've learned.

Re: Ask HN: What skills would you invest in learning?

#43

Post by pmelendez » Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 2:27 PM UTC

> learning some new skills.

I would say whatever sparks your curiosity. In most cases and somehow it would fit in your daily tasks.

Re: Ask HN: What skills would you invest in learning?

#44

Post by Balgair » Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 2:28 PM UTC

IgorPartola wrote: post #20

Depends on what your goal is. If you want to make a lot of money, I'd say learn about an industry, especially one that's in a bad need of a technological overhaul. Make connections with people who can help you shape and advance a product. Almost nobody ever made money creating TODO apps, but plenty of people made loads of money bringing technology to where it was absent. As for specific skills, sales and marketing ar…

While we are all here, lets make a list of some industries that are very badly in need of a tech overhaul. I'll start:

Any sport where girls are required to put bows in their hair. Ballet sure could use some carbon fiber thingy in those shoes. Same with figure skating. Gymnastics is a bit better, but I'm sure there is room for something.

Pipe and cigar smoking. The vaping trend hasn't hit them yet, but it will.

Road construction. It is terrible! Potholes everywhere!

Re: Ask HN: What skills would you invest in learning?

#45

Post by robinhoode » Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 2:29 PM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #37

solutionyogi wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you please given an example or two for X + Y? I am not following that.

For me the original plan was bilingual (English/Japanese) plus engineering but I ended up getting more career mileage out of being able to program rings around most SaaS companies' marketing teams. (A high bar that is not.) You can pick many, many things here, though. Combining programming (any stack which lets you ship things) plus any other white collar profession works well, too. Try embedding in anybody's workday…

In my experience I've found that you can automate a lot of white collar work if the rest of the business will become organized enough to make that happen. If they aren't collecting or ingesting the right data already, then the hard part is changing their behavior, not writing the code.

Re: Ask HN: What skills would you invest in learning?

#46

Post by hal9000xp » Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 2:34 PM UTC

I'm surprised that nobody advised to learn algorithms. It's not only fun but also algorithmic skills offer bright career perspectives.

Top-tier employers requires deep knowledge of algorithms and math rather than concrete technologies (in case of average employers it's quite opposite).

If you strong in math, it would be easy for you.

In general, if I had solid background in math, I would consider to join research team.

Re: Ask HN: What skills would you invest in learning?

#47

Post by chakkop » Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 2:38 PM UTC

keywonc wrote: post #2

Why "finance (sigh)"? I'm aware HN doesn't have the highest regard for the finance industry, but I'd like to hear your perspective: What makes you not so proud of your current skills?

I think the skills are OK. I find the average personality type I encounter in finance a bit abrasive: one-dimensional, sharp-elbowed, too full of certainties. I worry that this might be a general phenomenon in the corporate world :/ (of course, these people also tend to be much much happier).

The 'sigh' was almost reflexive: even writing the word 'finance' makes me feel bored.

Re: Ask HN: What skills would you invest in learning?

#48

Post by C0d3r » Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 2:40 PM UTC

civilframe wrote: post #36

I'd recommend putting some time into learning how to change your body composition, improve your fitness, and control your mood. Better physiology improves all other aspects of one's life. Also practical psychology (why people do what they do, etc) is helpful. After that, learn how to create software.

Which subjects/areas of psychology would you recommend for someone looking for learning about practical psychology?

Re: Ask HN: What skills would you invest in learning?

#49

Post by radmuzom » Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 3:06 PM UTC

Write a book.

While it appears to be an "activity" rather than a "skill", I believe it is a skill.

My recommendation is write on something which you know well; most probably in finance as you appear to be most experienced in this field. It will be even better if you can make it programming oriented, as there are a dearth of programming books specific to specialized domains.

1. Writing well is something which sets apart great technical people from the good technical people.

2. Writing is much more difficult than it sounds. It requires much more clarity of thought than when you are working. At work, some things may be obvious to you - only when you write about it do you think about the fundamentals of a domain.

3. Depending on your goals and the medium of publishing, it may teach you something else - like HTML or Latex, for example. It may also lead you to explore options for self-publishing a book, which can be a good skill later on.

Re: Ask HN: What skills would you invest in learning?

#50

Post by mikexstudios » Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 3:15 PM UTC

I agree with others here who recommend learning how to code.

But instead of chasing the latest trends in frameworks, I would recommend learning ruby on rails instead. It's a mature framework that is still very popular. Learning it instills good principles that you carry over when learning future frameworks.

The best way to learn rails is: https://www.railstutorial.org/book

It's written for absolute beginners. Work through the entire book, and you'll have a good foundation for web development.