| First of all: it can be done!
I friend was flight attendant 10 years ago and is a SAP Abap developer. Focus on the side that has less friction to you: backend or frontend. I am in the backend and I believe it changes at a slower pace than the frontend, but some people thinks otherwise. Spend some time working with new leanguages. Since you know PHP and Javascript, both Python and Node are good options to explore. With PHP you can start working remotely writing plugins and integrations for CMS like wordpress but it is not as widespread as Python and Node. Backend path where with _little_ friction: - Javascript, Node, MongoDB.
- PHP, MySQL/MariaDB, Laravel.
Frontend: - Typescript, Node (npm), React, CSS
You'll hear a lot about microservices. In fact, you'll end up coding some microservices yourself - learn about them, and try to implement what might make sense to you but don't get obsessed.Learn about CORS. It is both your friend and foe. And read code from other people.
A lot of code. The more, the better. I was lucky to be able to read Charles Petzold articles in Microsoft Systems Journal 20 years ago and I learnt a lot just reading his code. |
And I think you're right that I need to read code other people have written - mostly I've approached building stuff for fun, figuring it out as I go, instead of really investing in understanding. What a great suggestion.
Thank you again!