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

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

#1

Post by nassimsoftware »

I have noticed that there is a lot of competition for frontend/full-stack jobs where the tech stack being used is JS based (JavaScript/TypeScript, Next.js, React, etc...).

In your opinion would developing a skillset in another programming languages like Java, C#, Golang or even going deeply on SQL would increase the likelihood of finding a job because of less saturation.

A related question : If you have experience working in a specific tech stack (programming language + specific frameworks) but want to target jobs involving another tech stack, how would you go about demonstrating competence on this new skillset in your CV?

Will adding personal projects with a Github repo do the trick?

EDIT : My question can be boiled down to if "is it even worth it to stay in JS anymore" and not "how do i become a well-rounded individual" like it has been understood by some commenters.

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

#2

Post by joshxyz »

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 they are incompetent, what i mean is most are just unable to keep up.

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

#3

Post by ativzzz »

I think there's never been a better time to be a JS developer. JS is now everywhere. It runs on browsers, it runs on servers, it runs on mobile devices. You can use it as a scripting language if you really hate python and ruby. You can compile it to webassembly. There's game engines that use JS. Typescript is great as JS projects grow larger and more complex (if you can get over the fact that reading complex types is stupid)

So the more and more JS devs are coming in, the more we need JS experts who really understand how stuff works at lower levels. Like for example the browser event loop - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCOL7MC4Pl0

Being an expert that deeply understands a tech stack will never go out of style

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

#4

Post by sokoloff »

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 only ever wanted to work in JS and an infallible oracle told you that you'd never be out of work longer than a week at a time, I think you should still become reasonably familiar with a few other languages.

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

#5

Post by nassimsoftware »

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…

How would you go about demonstrating that you're a dev that do things properly in your resume?

Considering the code I wrote for work is in private repos, would you have to create an open source project to demonstrate this to future employers?

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

#6

Post by Capricorn2481 »

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 Java beginner a lot quicker.

Moreover, you can't control what a company is looking for. They might hire you because of your hobbies, and I'm not even joking. If you're feeling discouraged by the process, understand that it's not abnormal for first time devs to apply to 80+ jobs and not hear back from any of them. It's just part of the process. Keep applying like that's your job

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

#7

Post by bern4444 »

nassimsoftware wrote: post #5
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…

How would you go about demonstrating that you're a dev that do things properly in your resume? Considering the code I wrote for work is in private repos, would you have to create an open source project to demonstrate this to future employers?

Put the projects on your resume along with the associated impact.

In interviews you'll be asked about them. If you're not mention them or refer to them in your answers to other questions! Discuss your approach to the design of those projects, considerations, performance tradeoffs, how you approached testing, how deployments were handled etc.

Mention the tools you used that made a big difference - maybe swapping compilers led to faster build times and smaller bundles. Swapping test runners led to improved test times. Maybe you tried to swap test runners and that increased test times and so you went back to the previous one. Maybe you led an effort to automate deployments!

Discussing migrations from old patterns to newer ones demonstrates that you know what good tools are available and you know how to leverage them.

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

#8

Post by steve_adams_86 »

JavaScript gives you access to a large pool, and while there are a lot of people fishing in that pool, you can use soft skills to dramatically increase your odds there.

I get work in part because I can work with TypeScript, though I have many other languages and hard skills. It’s also because I’m a strong communicator, I can organize my thoughts and plans well in lay terms, and I have particularly sharp empathy for what a client or customer (for example) needs.

This allows me to point my skills of solving problems that matter to people in ways they can see, understand, and value.

This is just a piece of the bigger picture of how you can differentiate and stand out. At the end of the day, your ability to write JavaScript or Go or Rust shouldn’t really matter much; people should be picking you because you can collaborate with, understand, and support them in all the ways they need.

In my experience, this is where a lot of software developers have weaker skill sets, and you can fill a lot of important voids that non-software people experience to great effect. This will be true no matter which language you focus on.

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