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Ask HN: Returning to work after 5 years?

2 points by mthwl ↗ HN
After a 5 year hiatus, I’m planning to return to a programming job next fall (so I have about a year to prepare).

Previously, I’ve done generalist web development stuff (front end, back end, database/api, integrations, a bit of devops, design work).

And a few different kinds of employers: design agencies, product companies, universities, startups.

Since I haven’t been in the market for a long time, I’m curious to hear how it might have changed.

1) any recommendations on pieces of the web stack to focus on? I’ll be spending a year or so brushing on current tech.

2) what’s the current job market like? I see a lot of React jobs, but I can’t say I love React

3) any advice for reentering the job market after such a layoff?

Thanks!

4 comments

[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 22.3 ms ] thread
joshxyz
you got a lot of catching up to do good lord. even a month of break already sets me back with a bunch of backlogs to digest on both frontend and backend development.

1. the one youre familiar with

2. check then hn Whos Hiring threads

3. we now do everything in javascript. theres actually rule # 3434 of the internet: if you can think of it, there's a javascript version of it (maybe with some wasm)

LEDThereBeLight
I’m not sure what exactly has changed - I feel like software development has been mostly stagnant since the 80s. Most everything web-dev wise is just rehashed ideas from 30-40 years ago, so I doubt they have too much to catch up on.
mthwl
Thanks! I’m of two minds about this.

The previous commenter is probably correct in one sense. Whatever version of React I was working with in 2017 is surely unsupported now and lol-nobody-uses-that-anymore-grandpa. And maybe everyone works with NextJS or Vue or Svelte or NewerJS.

But, at the same time, I’ve been programming long enough to understand that experience with a particular framework isn’t specifically valuable. The ability to learn and understand how software works and then help build/improve it is valuable and transferable.

Also, perhaps my least favorite part of web development is the ”everything is an app now” shift that happened however many years ago.

I kind of just maybe want a job writing high quality, accessible, rigorous html and css? Is that a thing? Jobs for companies that leverage static site generators maybe?

dylanhassinger
just jump in. sure there's new tools but common sense and technical problem solving are same as they ever were. build a resume site with NextJS, that'll get you up to speed

u will learn more by getting a job/freelance project than by studying