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Specialization (in anything) sets you up well in the future. Here's an example: Let's say you starting specializing in Go. One of two things will happen: 1. Go

Specialization (in anything) sets you up well in the future. Here's an example: Let's say you starting specializing in Go. One of two things will happen: 1. Go increases in popularity. You're then the go-to-guy for many projects and startups. You can consult like crazy and make a lot of money. 2. Go decreases in popularity. Many many projects still exist that are written in Go. Other programmers move on to the next flavor-of-the-month, and so Go skills become harder to come by. But these projects still need to be maintained and worked on. Businesses look for specialists to help them with this rare skill. You can consult like crazy and make a lot of money. This has been the surprising arc of languages like COBOL. COBOL programmers make serious cash these days, because the rest of the world has moved on. So I'd say: Pick anything. Truly, just pick whatever you like the most, and try to be the best at that. Being a generalist just lumps you in with all the bootcamp grads and hobbyists. Being a specialist lets you offer skills/services that other's cannot. That kind of scarcity is future proof.

leap_ahead 11y ago
Somehow the reality demonstrates the opposite: >> 1. Go increases in popularity. Lots of people rush into the market with the newly learned Go skills and the salaries take a dive. >> 2. Go decreases in popularity. Many many projects still exist that are written in Go. These need to be maintained. Maintenance jobs pay poorly and do not advance one's skill set, leaving one with the outdated skills after a while. New shiny things are developed in new languages and those who quickly learn them before everybody else get to earn some good money. Specialization gives you an edge... for a brief while until this skill becomes a commodity and is eventually outsourced. Lesson to take: focus on some skill which cannot be easily learned by a vast army of outsourced workers. Everyone can learn some Java or Go or whatever. Not everybody can run a consultancy. Not everybody can talk to humans and translate their needs into software solutions. Not everybody can found a company. These are the skills that provide the highest ROI in the long run.
- kohanz 11y ago
  Maintenance jobs pay poorly I would call this an inaccurate generalization. It all comes down to supply and demand. What and who needs maintaining? How many people out there are capable of maintaining it? Price is set from these variables. Example: Cobol and Fortran developers during Y2K.
  - leap_ahead 11y ago
    Agreed. I should have been more specific and said "maintenance jobs from a mainstream market". COBOL is different in that it was used to develop niche software for rather prosperous organizations. Naturally, they didn't mind paying extra to get the necessary skills. Somehow I doubt many of the currently hot web frameworks will enjoy the same fate. Some might last longer than the others but for the most part these are the commodities with a relatively short life span.
gesman 11y ago
This: >> Truly, just pick whatever you like the most, and try to be the best at that. Being a generalist just lumps you in with all the bootcamp grads and hobbyists. Being a specialist lets you offer skills/services that other's cannot. That kind of scarcity is future proof. As Zig Ziglar used to ask: "Are you wondering generality or meaninful specific?"

leap_ahead 11y ago

Somehow the reality demonstrates the opposite: >> 1. Go increases in popularity. Lots of people rush into the market with the newly learned Go skills and the salaries take a dive. >> 2. Go decreases in popularity. Many many projects still exist that are written in Go. These need to be maintained. Maintenance jobs pay poorly and do not advance one's skill set, leaving one with the outdated skills after a while. New shiny things are developed in new languages and those who quickly learn them before everybody else get to earn some good money. Specialization gives you an edge... for a brief while until this skill becomes a commodity and is eventually outsourced. Lesson to take: focus on some skill which cannot be easily learned by a vast army of outsourced workers. Everyone can learn some Java or Go or whatever. Not everybody can run a consultancy. Not everybody can talk to humans and translate their needs into software solutions. Not everybody can found a company. These are the skills that provide the highest ROI in the long run.

kohanz 11y ago
Maintenance jobs pay poorly I would call this an inaccurate generalization. It all comes down to supply and demand. What and who needs maintaining? How many people out there are capable of maintaining it? Price is set from these variables. Example: Cobol and Fortran developers during Y2K.
- leap_ahead 11y ago
  Agreed. I should have been more specific and said "maintenance jobs from a mainstream market". COBOL is different in that it was used to develop niche software for rather prosperous organizations. Naturally, they didn't mind paying extra to get the necessary skills. Somehow I doubt many of the currently hot web frameworks will enjoy the same fate. Some might last longer than the others but for the most part these are the commodities with a relatively short life span.

gesman 11y ago

This: >> Truly, just pick whatever you like the most, and try to be the best at that. Being a generalist just lumps you in with all the bootcamp grads and hobbyists. Being a specialist lets you offer skills/services that other's cannot. That kind of scarcity is future proof. As Zig Ziglar used to ask: "Are you wondering generality or meaninful specific?"