Ask HN: What is a niche in tech that you think has a big future?

[nagyf]

I think of myself as a relatively good software engineer (based on feedback), but I never specialized in anything. So I am here with 12 YoE but I don’t stand out with anything. I know the boring Java/Javascript/Python/AWS/etc. stack, and use these to write boring REST apis or data processing pipelines.

Edit: by boring I mean: there are too many people with the same knowledge/experience.

What is something that I could start specializing in now? Something with a big future.

[eranation]

0. Vector database admin, seems like the new blockchain...

1. Security (Application Security, Cloud Security, Network Security), developers who are security champions are always valued (and you can always switch careers), and even with LLMs, security is (even more so) still not going anywhere.

2. Learn some basic ML/AI/ETL/Data Engineering. Someone needs to connect LLMs to the real world, create training sets (might be AI assisted... but for at least a few years someone will still need to do some actual coding that will keep the self maintaining LLMs in case it goes down...)

3. Same for Platform Engineering / DevOps.

4. UX skills. LLMs can assist but not yet fully replace humans.

5. People skills. Some things LLMs can't replace. If you are fun to work with, that might be the one thing to keep you hired instead of Alice3.0, the LLM developer that creates boring memes.

[nagyf]

I have no idea what is vector database, I’ll look into it.

I like 1, already have some experience with it, but security is such a big field, I don’t know which direction would be the best.

Do you have any suggestion for 5? I know I am bad with people skills, but I’m kind of an introvert. How can I improve in this?

[ChadGPT]

Immediately throwing generic into the ring feels wrong to me. So I want to ask you first: What is the motivation or personal need behind your idea that you want to specialize?

- Becoming famous/known in a tech niche like Uncle Bob oder Martin Fowler? - Founding a tech-driven unicorn? - The feeling of admiration of your colleagues and potential employers? - A high salary and high paying job over the next 10 to 20 years? - The intelectual stimulation most of us tech people feel when we play with new shiny things?

I feel like all of these reasons are valid, respectable and OK. Different answers/picks/strategies might apply though.

Seeing forward for you reply. I'm happy to help!

[nagyf]

Hi,

No I don’t want to be famous :D

I want high paying salary and/or to stand out during an interview. If there are 30 candidates for a position, right now there is nothing I would stand out with.

Last but not least, I want to work on interesting stuff. I’ve had enough of writing REST APIs.

I’m also thinking about starting my own business, and I feel like if I have some specialized knowledge I have better chance to succeed or to find a business opportunity.