[dave333]

It was pretty rough at first - my background was doing UI in C/Xwindows/Motif, followed by Java/Swing UI which was by far the most glacially slow stack. Javascript was fast taking over the browser but I didn't know it. I remember failing a job interview because I had no idea what a closure was although I was familiar with C stack frame and Java variable scoping. Another time I got a trial job at a one-room startup mainly on the recomendation of my reference, who reported back to me that he advised not working for the startup's CEO. Sure enough I lasted there a week although to be fair I was not yet competent in javascript. I did some private projects to learn it - sudoku websites - and later landed another startup job (mostly because I got the brain-teaser style interview questions right) doing javascript UI where I had free choice of frameworks and chose ExtJS. Six months later I got headhunted by a large company that was using ExtJS for its internal web framework. But JS frameworks were coming thick and fast: ExtJS, Dojo, jQuery, Angular, React and each harder to learn than the last for someone in their late 50s. But I would have to say the relief of earning a full salary again was immense compared to scrimping and saving and juggling credit card balances.

[em-bee]

not having an up-to-date experience is a real problem. i am struggling with that too. most jobs demand experience with current tools. it's really hard to find jobs where the company believes in the potential of learning new tools based on the experience with other comparable tools. i'd like to learn react and go, but i am already overwhelmed with writing job applications and taking care of my family.

[dave333]

Doing a personal project or contributing to an existing open source project can help you to get up to speed on new tools/frameworks. Maybe even reimplement an existing proj you are familiar with in a new framework. As for time make learning new stuff the priority. Job applications are worthless without the chops to pass the interview.

[em-bee]

you are right of course. in part what i am struggling with is prioritization. apart from needing time to take care of my children i find it hard to focus on any side project when the constant inability to find work is looming over me. this is exacerbated by the fact that a recent theft while traveling caused a rather large financial loss, cutting my savings in half, so that i now only have a few months left before i am broke, living as an expat without social security support.

if i run out of money i'd have to go back to where i am from, and disrupt not only my own network of friends and relationships that i have been able to develop, but even worse that of my children who not only will have to switch school but also do so in a new language that they only have a passive understanding of.

what i am trying to say is that life will not only be hard, as that would be bearable. i am used to hard times. but the effect would be a very dramatic upheaval, and that is paralyzing. a few months is barely enough time to learn something new just to help me find work. (and i only identified go and react as prominent skills in job descriptions very recently too. a few months ago would not even have known what is worth learning). if i focus on learning now i am almost certain to fail to find work by the time money runs out. i do have plenty of experience, if i could only find an employer or customer who can recognize that.

(ps: this comment may sound defensive, but it isn't. i am trying to elaborate and clarify and i do invite readers here to find the flaws in my argumentation and point out alternatives. i am commenting here so i can learn and improve)

[dave333]

One small point is that AI tools like cursor can greatly speed up any project and will also be required and are probably even higher priority than any new underlying framework. I can see software moving to where the human oversees the business logic/aesthetics and AI does all the framework-specific code.