[WalterSear]

As far as I can see, there isn't really much of an alternative to coding in your free time. It's the only way to stay current unless your employer gives you time to improve your skills on the job. Which usually means you are using unproven tools in production.

Your choices are: only stay at jobs that let you greenfield the most cutting edge, experimental technology in production, constantly develop yourself by working on your own on the side, or expect to be outmatched the next time you look for a job (when those experimental technologies have had the kinks worked out and are now suitable for production. Then the cycle starts again).

Or you can do what my father's generation of programmers did: stay with the same company doing the same thing for so long that you are no longer in the game.

[slackingoff2017]

Currently working with a bunch of guys out of the game. Spending about 4 hours of free time a day for over a month was the only way to break into new tech and absolutely vital to my recent job search.

Learned some cool stuff, but also how terribly behind my company was