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> - up to date with technology and great chances for resume building. Resume driver development is bad for the planet, you, for everything. Java programmers s

by pmlnr 7y ago

> - up to date with technology and great chances for resume building. Resume driver development is bad for the planet, you, for everything. Java programmers still find jobs; COBOL programmers are still needed; FORTRAN is still alive, so I'd rather find something that will not go away in my lifetime than trying to keep up with trends.

themodelplumber 7y ago
There's really something to this. A friend of mine recently received an email to her dev shop criticizing her for using PHP. The funny thing is, she knows the guy who sent the email. He runs an IT business and sent an article to her client about the latest web technologies, then the client said "we use PHP, is that OK?" to which IT guy, with close to zero web experience, replied that it wasn't. I was pretty upset on her behalf because she and her team do really awesome work and it's not like they are using the same PHP you'd use back in the early 2000s. I'm wondering if paying so much attention to new tech just naturally makes people a bit more shallow when it comes to actually using tech.
- ehnto 7y ago
  Very important parts of the web continue to use PHP. Forget WordPress, we're talking fast, scaleable, well engineered applications built by software engineers, being used by millions of people a day. Built using the same software engineering principles you would use in any other language. It's just a language after all, and both the language and it's community have matured a great deal.
  - scarface74 7y ago
    And the market for PHP developers is huge -- thanks to WordPress and legacy systems -- but the pay is much lower in most markets. Why hire someone who knows the fundamentals when you can hire someone who knows the fundamentals and your tech stack?
- braindouche 7y ago
  For you and your friend: http://phpdoesnotsuck.com http://phpdoesnotsuck.com
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
scarface74 7y ago
Good Luck With That. In 2008, I was looking for a job after being with one company for close to a decade. I knew C and C++ like the back of my hand and written programs for x86 PCs as well as three mainframes (Stratus VOS, DEC VAX, and one that I cant remember.) When it was time to find a job, after a few months, I found one company and a mid level job (that paid more because salary compression is real) that wanted my VB6 skills because they were moving away from a proprietary VB6 like language and moving to C#. Later, my C++/MFC skills came in handy when they needed someone to maintain their proprietary development system. Fast forward three years later and the company died laying everyone off. Knowing the situation of the company, I did a lot of Resume Driven Development with C#. It took four days from the time I called some recruiters to getting an offer from what was then a F10 non tech company. It’s been the same every since as I slowly moved up to where my salary and responsibly has matched my years of experience. All based on seeing what the local market wants and keeping my resume in line with it. RDD means optionality. You can literally make a few phone calls and have multiple offers in hand with in a couple of weeks if you live in any major metro area. I live in Atlanta. Even with Java if you say your expertise is writing Java applets and EJBs you will be laughed at.
- Someone 7y ago
  I’m not disagreeing with your conclusion, but the 2008-2012 comparison is n=1, and the US economy wasn’t exactly booming in 2008 (https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/gdp-growth-rate https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/gdp-...)
  - scarface74 7y ago
    And I was looking for a job between 2008-2012, even though I had one, the direction my company was going was obvious. Employers looking for employees or contractors could be picky and find someone with just the right skills and didn't have to compromise. Having the right skill fit is even more important in a down turn. What are the chances that their won't be another downturn in the next 20 years?

by pmlnr 7y ago

themodelplumber 7y ago

There's really something to this. A friend of mine recently received an email to her dev shop criticizing her for using PHP. The funny thing is, she knows the guy who sent the email. He runs an IT business and sent an article to her client about the latest web technologies, then the client said "we use PHP, is that OK?" to which IT guy, with close to zero web experience, replied that it wasn't. I was pretty upset on her behalf because she and her team do really awesome work and it's not like they are using the same PHP you'd use back in the early 2000s. I'm wondering if paying so much attention to new tech just naturally makes people a bit more shallow when it comes to actually using tech.

ehnto 7y ago
Very important parts of the web continue to use PHP. Forget WordPress, we're talking fast, scaleable, well engineered applications built by software engineers, being used by millions of people a day. Built using the same software engineering principles you would use in any other language. It's just a language after all, and both the language and it's community have matured a great deal.
- scarface74 7y ago
  And the market for PHP developers is huge -- thanks to WordPress and legacy systems -- but the pay is much lower in most markets. Why hire someone who knows the fundamentals when you can hire someone who knows the fundamentals and your tech stack?
braindouche 7y ago
For you and your friend: http://phpdoesnotsuck.com http://phpdoesnotsuck.com

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

scarface74 7y ago

Good Luck With That. In 2008, I was looking for a job after being with one company for close to a decade. I knew C and C++ like the back of my hand and written programs for x86 PCs as well as three mainframes (Stratus VOS, DEC VAX, and one that I cant remember.) When it was time to find a job, after a few months, I found one company and a mid level job (that paid more because salary compression is real) that wanted my VB6 skills because they were moving away from a proprietary VB6 like language and moving to C#. Later, my C++/MFC skills came in handy when they needed someone to maintain their proprietary development system. Fast forward three years later and the company died laying everyone off. Knowing the situation of the company, I did a lot of Resume Driven Development with C#. It took four days from the time I called some recruiters to getting an offer from what was then a F10 non tech company. It’s been the same every since as I slowly moved up to where my salary and responsibly has matched my years of experience. All based on seeing what the local market wants and keeping my resume in line with it. RDD means optionality. You can literally make a few phone calls and have multiple offers in hand with in a couple of weeks if you live in any major metro area. I live in Atlanta. Even with Java if you say your expertise is writing Java applets and EJBs you will be laughed at.

Someone 7y ago
I’m not disagreeing with your conclusion, but the 2008-2012 comparison is n=1, and the US economy wasn’t exactly booming in 2008 (https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/gdp-growth-rate https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/gdp-...)
- scarface74 7y ago
  And I was looking for a job between 2008-2012, even though I had one, the direction my company was going was obvious. Employers looking for employees or contractors could be picky and find someone with just the right skills and didn't have to compromise. Having the right skill fit is even more important in a down turn. What are the chances that their won't be another downturn in the next 20 years?