[CiPHPerCoder]

While I don't dispute that this article lists good knowledge to have, I don't think it qualifies as useful career advice (which seems to be the intention).

Want to stand out in web development? Specialize in something useful that few other people are. The best way to do that is to learn some technology that all your peers hate.

"Pfft Java? Nobody uses Java anymore, you should learn Vue.js instead it's the new hotness" + "Companies are still hiring Java programmers" -> Learn Java, the herd is going away from it but the demand is still there.

[ch4s3]

I agree that picking a skill the market needs is sound advice, but I have a minor quibble here. I think self taught devs shouldn't focus on Java as an on-ramp into the job market, because it places them in direct competition with recent CS grads who learned Java in school, and with low cost offshore shops. I doubt you want to be in the low end (skill wise) of that market. Now, being well versed in Scala, Angular, or various flavors of SQL would be a solid way to differentiate while still targeting industry needs, IMO.

[Larrikin]

I prefer Kotlin and scala over Java and feel they'll eventually overtake most use cases for Java. But there's just so much more information out there for learning Java. If you know Java, it's just much easier to pick up all the other JVM languages. You can be productive but not idiomatic in Kotlin in a couple weeks. I continue to recommend to friends to learn java first, despite never using it when I have a choice.

[ch4s3]

From a foundations perspective, that makes sense. My comment was more about marketability of skills. I tend to tell people to learn Python or Ruby first, because there's a wealth of material, jobs (once you're good), low barrier to entry, and both languages are reasonably well designed.

[brightball]

That is a worthwhile insight IMO.

[ch4s3]

Maybe, it was a bit off the cuff, and I'd need to think more about it and look at some actually employment and pay data to have a better sense of the validity of the claim. However, I think in general looking for a exploitable niche is a solid plan.

[brightball]

I'd support the notion entirely though. There are so many Enterprise Java jobs that have the 5 years of experience qualifier that it's a significant impediment for a self-taught.

I ended up seeing both sides of this - I taught myself PHP and MySQL for a project I worked on for 3 years of college in my spare time...while I was learning Java and going through the CS program.

When I came out, oddly enough I ended up getting a PHP job despite spending a lot of time "wanting" a Java job. Definitely got to experience both sides of that coin.

[ch4s3]

I had a similar experience with Ruby.

[mywittyname]

Don't forget about the swaths of experienced Old Technology(TM) people already in the market. Nobody wants to learn PHP for the first time, but anyone with more than 10 years of webdev experience probably already knows it.

Realistically, if you're just starting out, learning the New Hotness is probably not a bad idea as it puts you on more of a level playing field.

[CiPHPerCoder]

If you have time, learn the new hotness while you're employed for Boring Legacy Languages/Frameworks.

[cryptozeus]

"You should learn vue.ja instead of java" ? Makes no sense...one is frontend, another is sever side. More like you should learn both.

[CiPHPerCoder]

They were chosen at random from two distinct buckets:

  - Stuff that HN loves because it's new and exciting
  - Stuff that companies generally hire for

Don't read too much into it.

[monkeynotes]

As a 'web developer' you can pick your area of expertise. Nothing says that as a front end developer I can't learn Java and become full stack or backend. People can pivot within the world of web development.

If I find I am not standing out as a Python developer I could very well decide to learn either Vue or Java to stand out. Either language is still within the world of web development and would key in with existing skills and knowledge. What wouldn't make sense would be apprenticing in carpentry, that's not going to help you stand out as a web developer.