HN Explorer

Ask HN: Skill you want to learn in 2022?

40 points by tmaly ↗ HN
I am looking to learn more about 3d printing and how to create things for my place. I also would like to learn a little about Unity 3d programming.

I am curious what skill you want to learn in the coming year?

75 comments

[ 8.7 ms ] story [ 252 ms ] thread
taffronaut
Classical double bass bowing technique - I'm looking to diversify from primarily being a jazz player due to scarcity of jazz gigs. I'm now actively looking for a teacher to start asap in the New Year.
frontman1988
VR/AR dev. The idea of creating your own immersive universe sounds fun.
speedgoose
It's fun but very difficult. I never managed to do anything very useful but I would recommend it. Dealing with user interfaces in VR/AR makes web development feel a lot easier.
Stevvo
It's not particularly difficult with the help of Unity. Building complex things is difficult, but that's always the case.
[deleted]
(comment deleted)
mbg721
I want to get some basic woodworking skills together. I can do simple household plumbing, and I'm not going anywhere near electricity or roofing, but I would love to be able to patch up that corner of the staircase and have it look decent.
mr_tristan
You might want to look up carpentry, instead of woodworking. They're actually pretty different in skills and approach.

It's like, with woodworking, step one is often "make everything perfectly square". In carpentry, nothing will ever be square. So you just have pretty different problems to solve

defterGoose
In construction contracting, an 1/8-1/4" tolerance is sufficient depending on the scale involved. With fine joinery, I typically find myself in the 1/32-1/16" range.
matt_s
I think of carpentry more like building a deck or a shed and woodworking is more of building a bench or a bookcase.

Even with woodworking things end up not square and fixing/hiding those mistakes is part of the project, just using a smaller scale than carpentry.

scotuswroteus
Man I would love to really get into either, but I have a 9-6 in the Bay Area and the one "workshop" weekend class I took was about tool use. It's really difficult to get into anything in a serious way, but any tips about somewhere in the Bay that really gets you into "carpentry" or into "woodworking" on weekends would be excellent!
codingdave
It sounds like you are trying to filter out unsafe hobbies?

Electricity can be done carefully and safely - just know your limits. I'd recommend at least getting comfy replacing outlets and switches. If you want to go one step further, light fixtures are also not too bad. Basically, anything where you just disconnect one widget from between two wires, and replace it with a different widget is fair game for most people. I call someone if I need new wires run or need to touch the main panels, though.

Likewise, woodworking is not as safe as most people think. Saws can bite you, as can drills, routers, etc... even rough edges on wood, or flying chunks of wood when you are teaching your 14 year old son to build a workbench and he just stands up a piece of wood next to your head and starts up a hand-held belt sander on it without clamping it.

The point being that tools that use electricity can be just as dangerous as the wires that carry the current, so plan accordingly.

shaftway
I had my hand sucked into a router over the summer. I was really lucky, and now I understand what went wrong (it was a conventional cut, but I relaxed my hold and the bit pulled it into a climb cut. The wood got wedged between the bit and a fence and exploded, pulling my left middle finger in in the process). I'm as healed as I'll ever be and my finger looks normal, but I have no feeling in it, and effectively no fingerprint. That was a fun ER visit.
pkrotich
I’ll finally dig into frontend frameworks like react. I’m an old fart (started as C dev) and assumed it was a fad years ago - even thought no JavaScript was the future.

Silly me, now I have to play catch-up.

gaws
You're fine. C will always be around, and there will always be a need for C people.
pindogu
Being decent at Java, the first programming language i am currently learning :)
asadawadia
check out kotlin
xu3u32
The internet is always there to sidetrack you once you pick a direction. Learn Java. Build something. Kotlin will always be there and you will have a greater appreciation for it.
danr4
public speaking

writing

timeboxing

ranuzz
Writing. Mainly fiction writing and publish something on wattpad or similar platform.
Reflecticon
Same here. Let's do this brother/sister!
teddygraham326
Not sure if it counts as a skill but I want to be able to run a half marathon. To word it towards the question, I want to pick up the skill of distance running
tinza123
I did it early this year, finished on April 15th. I was not an avid runner by any means, onlyed picked up running around Sept 2020, started from daily walking only. You can absolutely do that, and it will feel awesome after you achieved it
tomcooks
Got into running during my sober October, I suggest you start with the COUCH25K program so you build a solid foundation.
zck
I want to get better at playing music with other people. I've played a little guitar with friends, and want to be better at accompanying them. Also, I got a harmonica, for times I'm not able to carry a guitar.
asadawadia
Lmk if you want virtual lessons - we can set something up. I have been playing for over 10 years and have taught many people before
zck
Sure, that would be fun! Thanks!
sul_tasto
sailing
oriettaxx
GREAT!

my 2 cents:

the earlier the better; don't wait retirement.

keddad
I want to learn some low-level programming and hardware stuff, however, I don't really know where to start - sure, I can order an arduino with some kit, but I don't know much about electrical engineering, so making anything harder when a blinking LED will be a challenge.
bootlooped
How to use a Mac. I've always been on Windows and used Linux VMs or WSL. I think it's time to take the plunge though.

Just got one recently. The difference between keyboard combos for text selection and navigation, and window switching is annoying so far, but I'm confident I'll get used to it.

randomluck040
Tell me about it, man… guess where the „@„ sign on the German keyboard is? On „q“. Guess how often I’m closing applications when I want to type an „@„ haha. Outside of that I think it got a lot better though.
fzil
For your sanity, I suggest you get the free open source app called Rectangle. Makes managing window splits and the like much nicer.
thiht
Agree. With no surprise, managing windows is Windows’ strong suit, and macOS really sucks at it. Rectangle makes it a lot more bearable.
themodelplumber
I'd like to make my first Morse Code contact on the HF bands.
playing_colours
I’m planning to retire from contracting and looking for a permanent position where I can ideally

- dig into one of the specialisations I’d like to focus on: data processing frameworks, databases, computational geometry,

- keep improving my communication and mentoring skills.

atmosx
(more) Political Philosophy & Science :-)
oriettaxx
Elixir/Phoenix
xu3u32
what is the motivation?
oriettaxx
uh, I love Rails, and I get even paid to code with it :) :)

and so many says it's even better then Rails.

I do really wish to write code that is used by millions (super fast and easily scalable) and not just a small teams of engineers (I write mainly backends for my clients/contracts)

Then it is something new: I am so glad I moved to Rails many years ago (10), and now it's the first time I'm tented .... :)

willmeyers
C++. I've dabbled in C and old C++ since I've started programming, but I've never really felt like I learnt the language. I'm thinking of going though Meyers' most recent ed. of Effective Modern C++.
giantg2
How to get a decent rating without burning out, how to make it to the next level, and how to make tons of money.
scollet
What is a rating
giantg2
Performance rating
nicbou
It probably won't affect your income much, at least not relative to the effort you put into it.
giantg2
You need a good rating for promotions and bonuses (at my company).
nicbou
You only get to ask once a year, and they can deny it to you for any number of reasons. Bad economy, hiring freeze yada yada.

In the end you often work really hard for a disproportionately small payoff. I've seen many people waste precious time chasing unsatisfying promotions.

It's easier to spend that time looking elsewhere.

fractal618
You need a two pronged attack: Make more, spend less. Check out Dave Ramsey if you haven't already.

Rome wasn't built in a day, start very small, and tell yourself your doing GREAT every time you make or save a few extra dollars, even if it's just a few cents.

Write down your "WHY". Remind yourself multiple times throughout the day why you want more money.

Remember: Money can be made or spent, Time can only be spent.

Good Luck Friend!

trash3
Portraits. And Jax I guess
taxcoder
Beekeeping. I'm finally at the place financially where it won't matter if I lose my hives the first winter.