I'm bored by web dev. Where is the cutting edge of tech and how do I get there?

Yes, it is possible to recapture the experience.

1. There's a lot more than deep learning and genome editing. But yes, you're right, these are part of the cutting edge. You should look around further. And beyond pure technology too.

2. Script hacking is different from things like deep learning or genome sequencing. The former requires knowledge of a programming language and some talent. The latter requires a great deal of subject knowledge in addition. So yes, going back to school is a good way to start learning these things in a structured manner.

3. One option, if you are a big picture guy with tech skills, is to build your own product. You should have the vision and the skills. The other, like I said before, look beyond pure tech, there's a lot starting to happen. Third, like you said, go to school and learn machine learning or genetic engineering.

Hope this helps somewhat. All the best!

That's why they call it work - (half kidding, half serious, I tell my friends this all the time when they complain about their day job). The economy/job market isn't the greatest so be glad you're able to do something you semi-enjoy in a comfortable environment and make a decent income.

When you're working on your own projects, learning new things, can change direction at any time, chase new things that is fun and exciting.

I think rails and web application development is a great career and good way to fund your side projects make a good living for now. I would focus on being a great developer at work. Volunteer to take on new features/new technologies that are interesting to you.

Start working on side projects outside of work. Keep in mind what your employment agreement states as far as IP. Always work on your side projects on your own hardware and outside of work/the office. You don't need to share anything about them with co-workers.

Listen to startups for the rest of us (podcast) for inspiration building your own product/company that would be more exiciting. If you like doing your own thing then start planning for building your own products and/or SaaS.

Hacking on your own, building side projects sounds like what you enjoy so do some of that in your own time.

Do some fun side projects and see if that recaptures some excitement.

Good luck.

http://www.magicleap.com, Microsoft HoloLens and other VR seem like very interesting/difficult/cutting-edge opportunities.

For me web dev would be completely unattractive as well, I just don't care for the web. So find out what interests you. Maybe low-level things, reverse engineering, language design, graphics, game development...there is so much you can do. If you're unmotivated my money just play around.

I think an interesting direction is figuring out how to leverage web tech (or just code in general) to interact with the real world. Consider companies like Uber and AirBNB. They've identified a real-world problem and set out to solve it using technology. A lot of the "cutting edge" stuff these days is figuring out how to take a real-world problem (genetics, taxis, mail), and writing some code to make it accessible, cheap, and easy to do.

The problem with "cutting edge" is that it's often ahead of its time. It takes a LOT of time and effort to make even a tiny dent in the space of "cutting edge." If that's something you want to do, you might want to go back to academia and stay there. The "real world" is a bit more pragmatic -- there's a reason the space shuttles tended to have tech from 20 years ago and not brand-new tech from last month.

IMO to find interesting projects, a better idea is to look backward: what industries are still in the 20th century, and how can you help bring them into the 21st with modern technological advancements?

What about farmers, truck drivers, construction workers? Why are they still driving tractors, trucks and bulldozers? Why aren't robots doing those things more widely?

What about real estate agents and their legalese? Why are real estate agents still handing me stacks of paperwork? Can't you Zenefits the crap out of that process?

What about community outreach programs and community centers? Why are community outreach programs still accosting me on the street and handing out fliers? Can't they do outreach digitally? Can't we automate scheduling basketball games and pick-up kickball games?

What about having to fill out paper applications or stand in line at the DMV? (Shouldn't all that crap be automated by now?)

What about having to actually hand your credit card to the cashier at the drive-thru at McDonald's? (Can't they just magically detect who I am somehow and charge me accordingly? Why do I have to hand some punk ass kid my card or cash?)

What about planning weddings or raising kids? (Haven't enough people gotten married that planning a wedding should be as simple as browsing Amazon for a few hours? Haven't enough people had kids that we should have some solid data about what works and doesn't work?) (These two things aren't really tech-related, but man, if you could figure those out...)

The best part about this approach is that pretty much any idea you come up with will be "cutting edge" as far as these areas are concerned. These are the things we're still doing the same way we did 50 years ago, before computers were even a thing.

Wait, you call yourself a big picture guy, but are asking how to get even deeper into the nuts and bolts?

I'm a big picture guy, and I taught myself web dev precisely because you can big picture easily by making an app as a business.

I'm building a personal OS that manages your life. You can view a demo at www.cwesley.co/#video.

If you are interested in joining the team and want to get in on the ground floor, shoot me a message at hello@cwesley.co.

Thanks! - Wesley

See if this interests you http://www.covert.io/research-papers/security/Automatic%20An...

co-creator of deeplearning4j here. you can get involved now with open-source projects, if you're willing learn and chip in. most open-source is built by a handful of individuals, so there's always lots to do, and the learning comes with the doing.

http://deeplearning4j.org

Frankly the "big picture guy" comment is a bit snobbish. If you have big ideas and you know how to build them...go build them. Otherwise your ideas never mattered anyways.

Look into Machine learning and Neural Networks. If you like python start by checking out pyBrain.

CRISPR? Like CRISPR-CAS? That's molecular biology, and while it's an important new tool, it's just a means to an end. Getting into biological research is going to require a degree, basically without exception. There are more biology PhDs than positions, so employers can be picky. Lots of biotech firms can demand people with a post-doc or two under their belt.

just pick something that may interest you and work on it outside of your day job. That's how I keep myself away from bordum

Hi Noob,

I think the most fascinating and lucrative field today is in medical and biotechnology. I am a game developer moving into that space as well. Making 3-D interactive bio experiences or simulations (think "fantastic voyage" style stuff) is quite difficult[1], gaining popularity, and no one is really doing much of it yet.

[1] It is difficult in many ways, the one you'd be most interested in is probably "simulating systems with trillions of independent actors such as the bloodstream or a working tissue so you have to cheat/optimize like hell."

A couple of ideas :

-- Deep neural networks. For : not so difficult to learn, still mostly heuristically trained so a lot of room for self-created "gurus", currently sexy with a lot of applications. Against : existing connections to academia and researchers may contribute to the kind of applications you are asked to work on.

-- Being a programmer for scientific research. For : a whole lot of different applications, can generally work at universities or institutes anywhere in the world, an intellectually stimulating environment. Against : the level of your higher degree will often determine your pay rate, which may be lower than corporate, credit on papers for programmers is only beginning to gain general acceptance.