[mcguire]

Tech career tips for the 21st Century:

* Skip the degree. It's expensive and you'll never recoup the cost.

* Choose a sub-field carefully.

1. Avoid dead-end niches. An expert in the Linux kernel or Rust compiler is just that; there's nowhere to go from there.

2. The same goes for embedded systems and the like. Nobody cares if someone knows everything there is to know about car engine management systems.

3. Check the job openings. Some things are hotter than others.

4. But don't count them too much. Five or ten years ago, being able to spell "Hadoop" or "TensorFlow" meant that everything that came out of your pie-hole was gospel. Now, not so much. Look for things that are hot, but relatively unknown.

5. Bonus: UI/UX is a dandy choice; everyone needs them and the framework developers have gotten the formula down: change things often and deprecate fast.

* Remember, it's a career, not a job.

1. Always be hunting the next job.

2. Never stay at one place too long. If you can't change projects every 6-8 months, make sure you change jobs every 12-18 months.

* Network, network, network. No, not that HTTPS/BGP/OSPF crap. See point A1. Remember, who you know trumps what you know every time.

[AnimalMuppet]

2. Embedded isn't going anywhere. If you want a career, not just a job, embedded is going to be here in 20 years. As opposed to the "hot" things... where will they be?

[throwawaygh]

> Remember, it's a career, not a job.

...how do the suggestions you made factor into "building a career"? TBH your suggestions sound more like "remember it's just a job" advice than "how to build a meaningful and high-impact career" advice.

I don't see how you either reach "principal" or reach executive positions by hopping through commodity IC roles in "whatever's hot".

[3minus1]

> Skip the degree. It's expensive and you'll never recoup the cost.

Counterpoints: the vast majority of people in the industry will have technical degrees. A degree makes getting that first job much, much easier. In fact going to the right schools with good internship connections can be the easiest and most direct way to get a job at FAANG. Finally college can be an enriching and fun experience. If you are already going to make enough of money to live/retire well, you may consider it well worth it to trade 4 extra years of career/income for the social/academic experience of college.

BTW I majored in history before getting a job in the industry

[readme]

your comment in a nutshell:

    - Linux kernel = dead end
    - Embedded = dead end
    - Front End/UI/UX = great opportunities

I don't think you could be wronger. In a few years the no-code movement is going to completely demolish front-end development but there's still going to be a lot of high paying jobs for embedded linux experts. You'd be surprised how few people there are that can even plug in a raspberry pi.

[sinsterizme]

Wow I think I disagree with all your points. Whatever works for you I guess but this is definitely not genetically the advice

[mcguire]

From me, it's sarcastic. I've done pretty well doing the exact opposite of each of those points.

On the other hand, that's a collection of suggestions I've seen often here on HN.

[dhuk_2018]

"Look for things that are hot, but relatively unknown."

What?

[ZephyrBlu]

I.e. up-and-coming as opposed to well established.