How much does tech choice influence what roles you'll apply to?
Posted by allllusernamestaken@reddit | ExperiencedDevs | View on Reddit | 20 comments
I have a few technologies that I enjoy working with, a few that I dislike, and a few that I'll tolerate in an otherwise good working environment. But these days I'm seeing far more companies adopting tech that is in my "dislike" bucket and it's making me rethink my prior job search approach.
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How important is the tech choice (languages, frameworks, DBs, etc) in your job search criteria?
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What other boxes need to be checked before you'll take a job with less-than-ideal tech choices?
coffeecoffeecoffeee@reddit
I have a statistics background and will never touch a role that requires SAS.
NGTTwo@reddit
I've sworn off PHP for life. Because I know if I walk into a PHP-based org, I'll be wading into a swamp of amateurish legacy nonsense that homebrews half the standard library and copy/pastes everything at least 5 times. I've done that enough times, and have no desire to do it again.
prshaw2u@reddit
I applied to jobs that were strictly what I enjoyed. OS, language, level on the stack. I knew these things and could perform well with them, I did not have the interest in learning something else.
A lot will depend on where you are at in your career, first 10 years of working you might move around feeling out what you like/want, after 30 years you know what you are good at and should probably stick with that.
allllusernamestaken@reddit (OP)
I've done my share of job hopping so I have a pretty good idea what I like.
Just an example: if I'm working on anything bigger than some small scripts, I have a strong preference for strong statically typed languages. This is clashing with how prevalent TypeScript has become.
rocketblob@reddit
have you used typescript at a shop that knows what they're doing? it is strongly statically typed! if your coworkers consider it a nuisance, then it will suck to write and do no good.
Due_Campaign_9765@reddit
You might end up a perl developer that way though :) It doesn't hurt if your stack remains relevant for 30 years, such as java i guess.
prshaw2u@reddit
If you like perl and are good at it there is money there.
Reality is that most stacks are still around, maybe not as popular but still in use. There are companies that still use C and/or VB6, so if you like something you can probably find it.
Chasing the latest greatest is fun for a while, but at some point it makes more sense to let the youngsters do that and to work on things that are more stable instead.
ThrowawayBlJe1836@reddit
I'll have to disagree with you here, I can't in good conscience recommend to others to stick to only what they know in an industry that's always evolving. You don't have to chase the latest and greatest, but you shouldn't relegate yourself to only sticking to what you know. It sounds like such a self-imposed handicap with very little upside when most programming languages are generally just a tool to get the job done.
aqutir@reddit
I’d say pretty important for some industries. Majority of Fintechs has traditionally been JVM based with some other languages here and there, so you get into a vicious cycle of working in Fintech with JVM which makes getting new Fintech roles on JVM easier. Same for Python and data-heavy industries. Same for C++ and quant firms.
Being in the same industry for 5+ years opens up a unique career path where you’re not just good in tech, you understand more about the industry in general. This turned out to be a great idea in a current shitty job market, because your industry experience might just become a thing that an employee will prefer to other candidate. Especially when talking about experience in fields that people traditionally consider boring like compliance, KYC, gov integrations, etc.
midnitewarrior@reddit
Do you all find it common to get hired to work on a stack you have little/no experience with professionally?
I have not applied for roles outside of my stack, and I'd like to broaden my skills, but I feel like I need to apply for roles for the stack I know (.Net).
Have you found employers not really caring about the stack you know as much as I assume they care?
zachickster@reddit
I've been a full stack business application developer for 20+ years. Finally took a role outside my comfort zone (doing docker container configuration as opposed to C# / Java). Kind of a mind blower. Still adjusting. Different languages u could handle; this is another thing entirely.
allllusernamestaken@reddit (OP)
The good companies understand that tech changes and the best hires can pick up the language.
About ~75% of my code these days is Scala. I had zero Scala experience before I started my current job. I learned it as I went.
cuddle-bubbles@reddit
to me is more about methodology. I refuse to work at any places which practices scrum or daily standups. which unfortunately some new people is trying to push for so I may have to leave next year if they succeed
plscallmebyname@reddit
The end product should matter, not the frameworks, language, tools etc.
allllusernamestaken@reddit (OP)
Sorry, no IntelliJ. Notepad only.
anemisto@reddit
I learned Scala in vim.
Kevdog824_@reddit
As an IC I work with the frameworks, language, tools, etc. not the end product, so yes they do matter
AvailableFalconn@reddit
If the money is good, I’m not going to pass up a job offer cause of the language, but if I have to work in Python again there will be a lot of cursing at the job.
Due_Campaign_9765@reddit
I'm currently swiping away my tears with dollar bills every time Python shits the bed in some new incomprehensible way.
Would recommend.
ilikeaffection@reddit
Is the company expecting me to step in on day one and start knocking out stories like I've been there for years, or is there an expectation of a ramp up period? I find the former on contract work where I'm a staff aug there to push a project across the finish line, and the latter when I'm an FTE.
If they want a day-one contributor, it needs to be a stack I'm comfortable with. Otherwise yeah, I have a few I'd rather never see again, but I'm open to learning.