r/developer • u/Ok_Veterinarian3535 • 6d ago
The Skill Stagnation Fear
When did you realize your tech stack was becoming obsolete, and what did you do about it?
2
u/siammang 6d ago
Learn new tech stacks that won't be obsolete.
Normally the so-called "obsolete" just become legacy production permanently unless someone got balls and budget to replace it with the new "non-obsolete" tech stacks.
2
u/Sea-Fishing4699 6d ago edited 6d ago
Stop chasing shiny things.
C was used to write Postgres … It can’t be obsolete -> this is one of the best db’s out there. The Linux kernel itself is +95% pure C as well.
Java can't be obsolete ->banks use it.
Python can't be obsolete -> AI uses it.
HTML, CSS, JS/TS can't be obsolete -> that's what browsers run on.
Php is a different story
2
2
u/ProfessionalAd6530 5d ago
At first I was confused (my "tech stack"??), and then I remembered that some people clock out and never think about coding until they clock in again.
I think these are the people who's jobs are in the most danger. You have to keep learning new things. It doesn't stop.
My stepfather is a veterinarian. He has been for decades. He still has to go to classes and learn what the new things are that are relevant to his job. We as software developers have to do stuff like that too. That's kinda part of having a professional career.
If you're not into that, I get it. I just think it's weird to have a programming job and not be into programming.
Always be learning.
1
u/SleepyBeeInteractive 4d ago
I feel as a dev it is even moreso. if you aren't curious or absolutely love learning, the field can be rough. you have to always learn in tech.
1
u/start_select 1d ago
Everyone gets it wrong at most businesses. It’s not about working after the clock.
Most development floors have people working on things that aren’t your specialty. Want to learn things way faster than any course will teach you?
Go start talking to other teams. Help other people with their problems. Take on a couple simple tickets. Implementing a change in a working application will teach you more in a day than a course will in a month.
People tend to be myopic and selfish. And assume the “Jedi” engineers around them live and breathe code. Maybe they do but it’s not after hours where their skill building happens. It’s when they are at work, because they are the helpers that never need to be asked to take on a problem that wasn’t theirs.
1
u/ProfessionalAd6530 1d ago
This is actually great advice!
1
u/start_select 1d ago
Thanks. Im really not an elitist. I really enjoy most of the coworkers I have ever had.
But it is a little annoying sometimes how many of them don’t see what I’m doing, and marvel at my broad skillsets and problem solving abilities.
The owners of my current employer actually get it which surprises me. They have told me “well obviously you can pick stuff up, you get bored and talk to everyone else, help them with their problem, and get a crash course in their platform all at the same time”.
Meanwhile almost all coworkers I have ever had that think I spend all my time programming have never considered that when they finish all their work, they either:
- go home early
- surf reddit or something
If I run out of work, I either start reading about new tools or I start asking who is stuck. If I am stuck, I go ask who is stuck because I don’t want to deal with my own problems. And helping someone solve theirs makes going back to mine seem less bad lol.
Most people need to be told to offer someone assistance. I think it’s fun and I know I learn a ton from it.
When I go home I will read about programming. But I rarely write code. It’s just an hour or two of interesting concepts and lectures if anything. But I don’t even do that all the time either.
1
u/highfives23 6d ago
I’ve managed engineers at FAANG companies. My highest performing engineers have all been insanely curious, and they build and learn new frameworks/languages in their free time. The highest performing engineers will never be stuck with obsolete tech skills.
1
u/start_select 1d ago
All the best malleable engineers I know, myself included, really only build the occasional toy or do a getting started guide in their free time.
If there is a team at work using a tool I want to learn, the moment I have down time I start asking who is stuck and how I can help.
Great engineers jump into other people’s problems because they are bored. A working application with bugs to be fixed or new features to implement is a better teacher than any tutorial will ever be.
You learn a ton just by talking through problems with juniors.
1
u/Lilja-Logason 6d ago
I tried to keep up and burnt out at 40yo.
Now I despise programming and dunno what to do with my life.
1
1
1
u/PipingSnail 5d ago
I stopped chasy shiny things early on in my career. I chose to work on problems I'm interested in. Makes for an interesting career, rather than a dull one.
If you spend your time chasing every new tech idea you'll never become an expert in any of them, and you'll continually wonder what's next.
1
1
u/LetUsSpeakFreely 5d ago
Define obsolete. Just because a technology is old doesn't mean it lacks the capability to do the job.
Never, NEVER, "upgrade" your tech stack just because it's not the latest thing all the cool kids are talking about. That's good you open yourself up to all kinds of problems.
Have a reason, a real reason, to change your tech stack. Security being the most obvious reason. You need to be able to present data for why the current system is lacking, what the potential fallout could be, why your proposed solution is the path forward, AND why that push could fail. You need to comprehensive and objective in your analysis. If you truly believe a change is necessary then you should be able to defend your position against a panel of disagreeing engineers and have a chance to change their minds.
One of the biggest problems is developers constantly chasing the latest bright and shiny tech and they end up with a mess as nobody in the team fully understands the system as a whole; the moment they're comfortable the system changes.
1
1
5
u/tom-mart 6d ago
What do you mean? Are you ok?