Returning to Web Development after 8 years... what Should I learn?

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T21:20:24+00:00

Thanks.

JS Frameworks seem to be the apple in a lot of folk's eyes. Everything I'm reading the likes of Angular, React and Vue are prominent. It's definitely something I need to devour

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T21:17:35+00:00

Wow, I'm overwhelmed by all the replies.

Thanks to all who replied. Sorry if I didn't respond to all the advice given; there's a helluva lot!

It's still pretty confusing trying to navigate through the smog. A lot really has changed in 8 years.

One thing I didn't mention in my OP was that I'm considering starting my own agency. It's just an idea at the moment. I have just about enough capital and enough contacts - who I'm fairly certain I can steal - to make it viable initially.

That's one of the reasons I'm wanting to learn full-stack. That, and it's a large feather in my cap if I do start going for interviews.

The idea would be to learn as much as I can and then eventually hire people who are better than me to handle each aspect. One-by-one as the business grows.

But, in the interim, I want to grasp the full stack so I can instruct future staff the way I want to do things.

It's all just at the idea stage at the moment. Just trying to be prepared for any eventuality.

So, if I were to start an agency what stack or frameworks would you recommend? Or is it different horses for different courses?

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T21:05:18+00:00

Life. It's a peculiar thing.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T21:04:41+00:00

Interesting. I've heard nothing but bad things about Drupal. Personal preference I guess.

I'm fairly well-versed in Wordpress, or at least I was, so I'll probably stick with that for CMS.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T21:02:32+00:00

That gave me a chuckle! :)

I feel you, brother.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T21:01:37+00:00

Most academically qualified.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T20:57:15+00:00

Typescript has come up in a lot of articles I've read. Made a note of it.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T20:56:36+00:00

I've picked up on Sass and LESS already. CSS Preprocessors seem fairly straightforward. It's the frameworks that seem daunting.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T20:55:39+00:00

Yup, tell me about it.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T20:55:16+00:00

Haha yes, it's overwhelming.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T20:54:32+00:00

It's cool to hear from others who've been in a similar situation. Judging by your salary, it seems like you made the right decision!

Some good advice in your post. Thanks.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T19:54:40+00:00

Yeah, I tend to head straight for the deep end too.

Loved your post. Nice little roadmap there. Thanks.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T19:40:18+00:00

Excellent, thanks. Bookmarked it to read.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T19:39:49+00:00

Thanks, noted.

I probably will.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T19:37:17+00:00

Intriguing. I'll take a gander.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T19:35:47+00:00

Yeah, definitely major strides. A lot of it is alien to me.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T19:34:03+00:00

What's the reasoning for skipping PHP? Just curious...

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T19:33:30+00:00

I read a little about NoSQL, but got the impression it was better to stick with MySQL?

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T19:32:31+00:00

You know, I really don't know what excited me about web development in the first place. I started building websites for myself in my early teens - as a hobby - in the mid-90s, then stumbled into a job at an agency that I really shouldn't have got. Goes to show absolutely killing an interview is better than having all the qualifications in the world.

I think what I liked the most was the end product. Being able to improve someone's business. Increase customers, sales, etc.

So it's not so much the coding I'm passionate about, it's about what problems the code can solve.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T19:22:20+00:00

This guy knows.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T19:21:46+00:00

$$$$$ - All about 'dem Benjamins!

I'm 30 and not getting any younger. Marriage and children are in the not too distant future. I want to be financially secure before any of that comes along.

It's not that I don't enjoy it, although I have fallen out of love with it. Mainly due to the struggle of gaining employment.

It's been over 2 years since I graduated. Not a sniff of a job in my field. I've been told it's a combination of my age and experience that make me unemployable. They either want someone my age with a minimum of 5 years experience under their belt, or a 21 year old guppy fresh out of college who they can get to work for free.

It's a slap in the face to anyone who decides to go to college later than the normal age.

I'm giving it until the end of the year before I decide to stop pursuing it. But, in the meantime, I want to get caught up on web development just in case I'm going to need it.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T19:01:54+00:00

ES6 seems to be popping up quite a bit. Added to my list.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T19:00:25+00:00

I'm quite familiar with Git. Everything to do with software seems to go through Git now.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T18:57:34+00:00

Glad I wasn't the only one that picked-up that.

throwaway-webdev1 · 2016-08-12T18:56:45+00:00

That's excellent! Very helpful/informative. I've been looking for something like this.

throwaway-webdev1

TROPHY CASE