+1 to all this. :) Absolutely, learn the fundamentals. Also, detecting which tech is here to stay, and which is here today gone tomorrow, is itself a skill, tha

+1 to all this. :) Absolutely, learn the fundamentals. Also, detecting which tech is here to stay, and which is here today gone tomorrow, is itself a skill, that's essential for survival in this industry. Such a skill tends to come with age and experience (a.k.a getting burnt by working hard to learn something that's then discarded). The earlier this skill is developed the better. Then, one must be ruthless about quitting jobs, shunning higher pay or seniority, when that's necessary in order to keep working on stuff that maintains long-term skills. No good getting paid a fortune if 3 yrs later you're unemployable. I know someone that literally happened to, made a fortune as a contractor paid off his mortgage, then became a postman for a bit, eventually became an accountant as he saw that those skills would have long term value. (He couldn't stay in tech cos his skills were out of date.)