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"Anyways, the point I am trying to make is you should use whatever is the easiest thing for your use case and not just what is popular on the internet. " This

"Anyways, the point I am trying to make is you should use whatever is the easiest thing for your use case and not just what is popular on the internet. " This is good advice in theory but in the real employment world you are killing your own career that way. At some point you get marked as "dinosaur" that hasn't "kept up". Much better to jump on the latest tech trend.

sequoia 8y ago
I'm so annoyed that this is true. I hate this, and I'm in the JavaScript world, which is worse than anyone else in this regard as far as I know. Incidentally, this "don't follow trends" advice ironically seems to carry the most weight when it comes from tech celebrities, frequently those who built a name by being experts in trendy technologies. When someone who's not trendy says "don't follow trends," either no one listens or it's taken as proof that they're a dinosaur. (No shade on Jess intended here, she didn't create this phenomenon.)
mcguire 8y ago
I don't know. I've always found having an actual, functional product to be more impressive than a list of buzzwords on your resume. And most of the buzzword-driven development doesn't usually lead to a functioning system.
- bitwize 8y ago
  If you're buzzword compliant, you can fail forward. Your last product may not have worked out, but you've become an expert in Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, OpenShift, and Terraform which means that companies who are committed to the cloud (i.e., everybody) won't pass you over. Built an app that works before the cloud hype hit? Congratulations. You're a specialist in legacy technologies. We'll call you if we have a COBOL or Perl app that needs maintenance. snicker
  - maxxxxx 8y ago
    "If you're buzzword compliant, you can fail forward. " Exactly. You don't even need to have delivered something useful but you are still a hot commodity on the job market. Same with a lot of "data scientists". Having used the tools with or without success is sufficient to being hired.
  - PavlovsCat 8y ago
    > That so many are ready to live by luck, and so get the means of commanding the labor of others less lucky, without contributing any value to society! And that is called enterprise! I know of no more startling development of the immorality of trade, and all the common modes of getting a living. The philosophy and poetry and religion of such a mankind are not worth the dust of a puffball. The hog that gets his living by rooting, stirring up the soil so, would be ashamed of such company. If I could command the wealth of all the worlds by lifting my finger, I would not pay such a price for it. -- Henry David Thoreau, "Life Without Principle"
  - LinuxBender 8y ago
    I believe that is called Resume Driven Development. I see it in my org quite a bit. There are pros and cons. One of the cons is the academic exercises that have no bearing on customer requirements and last far too long. Mgmt won't kill these projects off for fear of losing good talent, so we end up with loads of shiny things that nobody wants to support and nobody will admit that we don't need.
  - pathseeker 8y ago
    No companies worth working for hire that way. What you are describing is a way to get jobs at startups or non-tech companies that don't have a good grasp on fundamentals.
    - maxxxxx 8y ago
      From my experience a lot of companies (not all) work that way. I am little stuck in some legacy tech and during interviews it looks like they can't even conceive that someone may learn their stack quickly.
    - bitwize 8y ago
      When your only alternative is starving, you tend to adjust your expectations of a company "worth working for" downward. I've been faced with that alternative enough times in my life to think it wise not to rule out any options.
rek32 8y ago
Buy this danger hypnotism https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rishibhakat.pallavi.sammohancontrol https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rishibhaka...
brooksyd2 8y ago
I get the sentiment here, but I don't think it's strictly true. The way I look at new technology is that I need to know enough about it to either discount it, or choose to use it. So long as I know what I'm talking about when I tell a prospective employer that I advise not using technology X, then they typically understand that I have the knowledge to make that decision. So your advise should be, learn about the latest tech trend, try it out, and then have an informed opinion.
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  " try it out," How much time do most of us to really "try out" something deeply enough to have an informed opinion?
  - noxToken 8y ago
    Informed enough to talk (read bullshit) your way through an interview. Honestly though - think about all of things on your resume that you said you had experience with (when it more of a resume of hope and less of a CV of experience). Was it actual, working knowledge that was applicable to your professional career, or was it passing knowledge from that time you followed a few tutorials? I don't ask that to denigrate you. I did it. Lots of my peers did it. It's part of this silly game we play for employment. We complain about needing to pad resumes to get our foot in the door, but when we get to make hiring decisions, we automatically bin resumes of students who only put knowledge of one language and a handful of basic tools.

sequoia 8y ago

I'm so annoyed that this is true. I hate this, and I'm in the JavaScript world, which is worse than anyone else in this regard as far as I know. Incidentally, this "don't follow trends" advice ironically seems to carry the most weight when it comes from tech celebrities, frequently those who built a name by being experts in trendy technologies. When someone who's not trendy says "don't follow trends," either no one listens or it's taken as proof that they're a dinosaur. (No shade on Jess intended here, she didn't create this phenomenon.)

mcguire 8y ago

I don't know. I've always found having an actual, functional product to be more impressive than a list of buzzwords on your resume. And most of the buzzword-driven development doesn't usually lead to a functioning system.

bitwize 8y ago
If you're buzzword compliant, you can fail forward. Your last product may not have worked out, but you've become an expert in Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, OpenShift, and Terraform which means that companies who are committed to the cloud (i.e., everybody) won't pass you over. Built an app that works before the cloud hype hit? Congratulations. You're a specialist in legacy technologies. We'll call you if we have a COBOL or Perl app that needs maintenance. snicker
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  "If you're buzzword compliant, you can fail forward. " Exactly. You don't even need to have delivered something useful but you are still a hot commodity on the job market. Same with a lot of "data scientists". Having used the tools with or without success is sufficient to being hired.
- PavlovsCat 8y ago
  > That so many are ready to live by luck, and so get the means of commanding the labor of others less lucky, without contributing any value to society! And that is called enterprise! I know of no more startling development of the immorality of trade, and all the common modes of getting a living. The philosophy and poetry and religion of such a mankind are not worth the dust of a puffball. The hog that gets his living by rooting, stirring up the soil so, would be ashamed of such company. If I could command the wealth of all the worlds by lifting my finger, I would not pay such a price for it. -- Henry David Thoreau, "Life Without Principle"
- LinuxBender 8y ago
  I believe that is called Resume Driven Development. I see it in my org quite a bit. There are pros and cons. One of the cons is the academic exercises that have no bearing on customer requirements and last far too long. Mgmt won't kill these projects off for fear of losing good talent, so we end up with loads of shiny things that nobody wants to support and nobody will admit that we don't need.
- pathseeker 8y ago
  No companies worth working for hire that way. What you are describing is a way to get jobs at startups or non-tech companies that don't have a good grasp on fundamentals.
  - maxxxxx 8y ago
    From my experience a lot of companies (not all) work that way. I am little stuck in some legacy tech and during interviews it looks like they can't even conceive that someone may learn their stack quickly.
  - bitwize 8y ago
    When your only alternative is starving, you tend to adjust your expectations of a company "worth working for" downward. I've been faced with that alternative enough times in my life to think it wise not to rule out any options.

rek32 8y ago

Buy this danger hypnotism https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rishibhakat.pallavi.sammohancontrol https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rishibhaka...

brooksyd2 8y ago

I get the sentiment here, but I don't think it's strictly true. The way I look at new technology is that I need to know enough about it to either discount it, or choose to use it. So long as I know what I'm talking about when I tell a prospective employer that I advise not using technology X, then they typically understand that I have the knowledge to make that decision. So your advise should be, learn about the latest tech trend, try it out, and then have an informed opinion.

maxxxxx 8y ago
" try it out," How much time do most of us to really "try out" something deeply enough to have an informed opinion?
- noxToken 8y ago
  Informed enough to talk (read bullshit) your way through an interview. Honestly though - think about all of things on your resume that you said you had experience with (when it more of a resume of hope and less of a CV of experience). Was it actual, working knowledge that was applicable to your professional career, or was it passing knowledge from that time you followed a few tutorials? I don't ask that to denigrate you. I did it. Lots of my peers did it. It's part of this silly game we play for employment. We complain about needing to pad resumes to get our foot in the door, but when we get to make hiring decisions, we automatically bin resumes of students who only put knowledge of one language and a handful of basic tools.