Many a young developer believe that it is crucial that you use the most advance languages and frameworks for your development work, else your apps will be total garbage! If you won’t take our word for it, at least listen to some of regrets of what could be your next employer…
Full transparency: This is mainly for the young ‘nerdling-devs’ who feel like they have something to prove, but it could apply to anyone really…
So, we thought we’d throw out another PSA about how using the most cutting edge tech is not always the best idea. That “language that will make all the difference”, doesn’t necessarily exist. Essentially, that “there is no stack that is universally better than the other [and] that everything is very circumstantial: for certain tasks, certain languages are better.”
But today we thought instead of wearing out the same letters on our writer’s keyboard, we’d try a little negative reinforcement… Today we’re gonna hit you where it hurts: your wallet. Then were show you your potential employers and how they got hurt in the wallet, and why their hurt will always dictate how and what you do (which I would argue then turns into an existential hurt which will forever linger ever so slightly in the back of your mind and weigh down your soul just a little …so bonus negative reinforcement -I win forever- Boom!…Sorry.).
It comes down to this, whatever new tech you think is soooo cool, and you want immerse yourself in, do that on your own time. The companies that you work for or will freelance your time out to will not use it. They will use either OLD (read: tried and true) tech or something that they have invested thousands or millions into and are not going to give up. You wanna make money: learn to use their tech. Period.
Still on the fence? “One of the advantages nobody points out is that old technology can mean job security, or job opportunity. If all the young hipster nerdlings are jumping into some brand new cutting edge tech, a lot of the times, there’s not too many jobs in that.” Whereas if a company invested a lot of money running their business on an older language, there’s probably not a lot of programmers out there anymore for it, and that would be an abundance for you!
Still not convinced? Alright, hail-mary throw: “I am very reluctant to adopt any new technology, just like any other business is…and the reason they’re very reluctant to adopt a new technology is not because they’re ‘old school’, or they’re dumb, or because they don’t see the advantage… It’s because they look at the broader picture [what you should do as a developer]. The broader picture is that you don’t want to find yourself using a stack that never really catches on fire; that never really takes off. Imagine if you spend 50 grand, 100 grand, a million building an application, and your business depends on that application, using some cutting edge tech and you find out 4 years later that nobody wants to use it anymore. Happens all the time… And then you’re stuck: cuz good luck trying to find new people [programmers], and if you find people they’re going to charge you an arm and a leg… and you’ve got this investment in this technology and you’re stuck: you have to rewrite from scratch, or you have to pay through the nose to find people. …Even worse is if the technology doesn’t take off, you may find yourself with an abandoned technology; and then you’re in big trouble!”
So there it is, we’re sorry we had to do that you…it was outta love. Check out the VLOG for a way more in depth dive into this. And good news: the newsletter is up! subscribe to get access to stuff you can’t get on YouTube (links down below). -Enjoy!
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Developers have to choose in-demand languages and leave the nerd-affections for tech behind. Also, learning about Amazon Web Services.
For those of you that thought we were going to talk about the possible alcohol problems you’ll face as a freelancer, and having to stop carrying around a flask of ‘liquid inspiration’ with you at all times… Sorry, that’s not this article (I keep mine loaded with bourbon -it’s a sweet treat with a kick!). No, we’re talking about Python Flask, which is <generally> a web framework that few people use, so ironically, if you decided to base your whole career around Python Flask, you might be hitting the bottle pretty hard… We’re responding to an email we received about a gentleman (cuz he’s in the UK, I guess…) who’s about to finish school, wants to become a freelancer, and is wondering what he should “pick up” as his back-end language. He’s currently using Python Flask and doesn’t think he’ll stick with it as job opportunities in his area are not great. So let’s get down to it:
Follow the Money!: “As one of my mentors used to say, ‘follow the money, Stef!’, this applies to business, this applies to getting a job, this applies to freelancing. You gotta go where the demand is: people have to want to buy what you’re selling. So what you want to do is look at the freelance market and determine what it is people are asking for in terms of when they’re hiring freelancers.” Also, just a note on being a freelance developer, ” …you are not a JavaScript developer, you are not a Node developer, you are not a Java developer; you are a developer… and you happen to use Python for this project, and you happen to use Java for this project, and you happen to NOT use RUBY for that project… .” 🙂
AWS and the NTNB (Need to Nerd Basis): No doubt time is precious and, “…hosting is becoming more and more sophisticated, and there are now third-party hosting solutions that you can use that will be able to deliver not just disk space on their servers but all kinds of utilities and capabilities, and processes that you can leverage in your apps.” Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one of them, so is Microsoft Azure, and even DigitalOcean (full transperancy: We use them), to name a few. And while we’re not going to go into a huge description of the services offered or how to strategically use them (Check out the VLOG, link below), we will say that there are some robust and sophisticated solutions on offer. Do you need to drop everything you’re doing and learn AWS or any of these? The answer is: NO…maybe. “Do you jump into AWS now? No, the first thing you have to do is your foundations, you [gotta] understand basic web app development, and so forth, and then you can look at the solutions.” Also, depending on the client, “AWS: I think those are for larger projects, larger community, or larger organizations because they require more money and are more sophisticated: they may require more setup…”. There are of course, more middle of the road solutions, but this would be a good time to introduce our founding core concept: NEED TO NERD (NTN). At its heart is the idea that you “…learn what you need to learn on a ‘need to nerd basis’ “, which is a play on the ‘need to know’ concept. “People think oh my god, I gotta learn this and I gotta learn that, before I even get a job, and I say no, no, no: you learn what you need to learn on a need to nerd basis: when a project comes up, when you have to implement a certain type of functionality that requires a certain type of technology, then you learn it.” NTN will also be a newsletter that will be going out to you guys with links to videos and we’re thinking that we may even do an accompanying podcast as well (more on that as it unfolds). In the meantime check out the VLOG, (it’s packed with all the explanations and clarifications that this BLOG will surely be lacking, lol). Remember that you are a developer first and not to bog yourself down learning archaic/draconian languages before you even need to. Just take a look out there and go with the flow. -Enjoy!
In safety news today, we regret to inform you that our ‘code on the go’ segment: where we drive around and talk about coding/tech and give our opinion will no longer be done in the car. I know, I know, but driving requires attention and concentration coupled with the ability to react to danger in a split second, and I just don’t think I can do that while delivering a deep dive into coding and insulting ‘Ruby’ at the same time…
Going forward there will still be a ‘travel’ component, where I show you parts of the city or nice scenic views but that will either be at the beginning of the VLOG and then we’ll go into deep dives, or maybe it’ll be more of a ‘walk n’ talk’, I haven’t decided yet… Which brings me to my next point; multitasking is a lie. There I said it. Think about it. When have you ever been able to do two things at once and finish both of them quickly and efficiently? Or to put it another way, “…our brains cannot multitask: they can focus on one thing, and then they focus on something else… that’s why if you want to be maximum productive in what you do, do one thing and finish it and then you move on to the other thing.” Studies have shown that taking on two tasks or projects at the same time has been shown to actually reduce your output and efficiency. “There’s not such thing as multitasking with human brains. …Our brains cannot multitask: they focus on one thing, then they focus on something else. That’s why if you want to be maximum productive, …you do one thing and then you finish it and then you move onto the other thing. If you’re trying to do two projects at the same time you’re actually reducing your output by quite a bit. …There’s a start-up time, there’s a spin-up time; let’s say you’re focused on talking about subject A and then you want to go to coding for an hour and you’re going to go back to talking about something else…the time it takes you to spin-up into coding mode…typically it’s ten/fifteen minutes, especially if you’re dealing with complex application development. …When you’re switching from one area to the next, there’s a loss of productivity with every switch, so multitasking doesn’t actually happen”.
There you have it. Now, obviously the VLOG will go into better detail about multitasking and you can hear the channel news straight from the source, so check it out. -Enjoy!
…and other wide-ranging subjects in this ‘car-talk’ vlog…
Alright, usually there’s an intro and then we maybe make a joke about something (mostly RUBY) and then we go into the subject matter, but this time I’m really going to recommend you just watch the VLOG. We jump from subject to subject with no real connective tissue to any of them, including a shoot-from-hip review of “Avengers: Endgame” and a chat about our lizard brain… I mean, it’s super fun and you’re gonna have a good time, but from a writing standpoint, it’s like herding kittens: cute and cuddly but hard to pin down…
One major cool piece of news: We’re going to be offering certifications for our courses very soon; it’s in the works. Not only do you get the benefit of all that knowledge and experience after completing our programming courses, but now you have a piece of paper for those sticklers that demand physical proof -take that, suckas!
Really, just check out the VLOG, maybe have a cuppa coffee and sit back and feel that smile just slowly make its way up… -Enjoy!
So PHP has jumped from version 5.6 to 7…which means they skipped (version) 6. Interesting? Maybe, but wanna know what’s really cool? It’s almost 50% faster and now PHP has jumped up to version 7.3. Why should you even care? Well for starters STUDIO WEB, our kick-ass course that helps you learn to code fast and efficiently, yet is somehow packed with learning and exercises solving problems you will encounter in the real world (Whoa! that was a lot of shameless promo, apologies!), that runs on PHP and when we moved up from 7 to 7.3 we saw a 15% increase in speed and big reduction in memory requirements (aka footprint). Which means you can learn at an even faster rate while having your load times cut practically in half (okay, that’s the promo stop line, right here. Sorry.).
It should come as no surprise really, “the PHP community are working hard to optimize and to bring PHP to a higher level.” Possibly because for a few years PHP was getting really bad press, due to most people thinking PHP was still using version 3 (not their best version). However, “PHP is a very very capable language. Facebook was created with PHP as an example…Most dynamic sites are driven by PHP, they’re putting a lot of effort into optimizing the core language…so you see this huge speed increase at run time…PHP takes much less RAM and memory…it’s much quicker”.
So there it is. The VLOG is pretty much just us loving PHP and talking it up but you get to see my dapper mug…and blink and you’ll miss it…maybe the most subtle and pacified dig at RUBY yet? -Enjoy!
A Sneak-Peek At The Upcoming Developer Vlogs In 2019 + So Much More!
First things first: HAPPY 2019, N2N-ers!! …we’re all still here…day 2…
Next up we’re happy to announce some of the cool new gear we’ll be using for our vlogs ( including a 360 camera and some cool videography tools).
Plus, I’m going to be a little more relaxed in the presentation (that’s right you heard me…), “a little more “Stef”, ya know?
We want to focus more on content than pesky little things like video quality that only grizzled old camera operators could pick out.
I’m going to let the vlog do most of the talking but I’m really happy to tell you that we’ve got some big upgrades coming up for the killersites network,
AND you’ll be seeing it in the first couple of months this year. BOOM! Right outta the gate!
There’s so much more, but while reading about it is FUN-damental, let’s take a look at the vlog and engage some more of our senses (for those of you that are still recovering from the last 2 days…maybe put on sunglasses and turn the volume down…). Also, if any of you want feel the cold of Quebec emanating off these pixels, or just wanna see some “BTS Stef”, you can fast forward to 4:25 of this vlog.
PS – Yes, I actually move that fast in the cold and yes, I try to move through most of my tasks like I’m in a “first person shooter”, but the my weapon of choice will always be a coffee.
Enjoy!
I want to mention that we are busily working major upgrades to the killer video library, upgrades that will make it easier to find the videos you want to watch.
Click on the screen shots for full size images.
Screenshot #1 – The video player now supports iPad and iOS video playback.
Screenshot #2 – Each video category will now have their own page and the videos are sortable.
Screenshot #3 – Each video course will have its own page.
The updated Killer Video Library should be out within a week. We have two new courses due out soon as well … more on that later.
I believe 2013 will be good for HTML5, CSS3 and small business development on the Web. That means you will see a lot more training from KillerSites on these subjects this year.
What else do we have coming up?
I have a lot planned but if I had to pick the top three things:
There is some confusion between the KillerSites Video Library vs. the KillerSites Interactive University, that I want to clear up. Once upon a time the Library was called the University … yes, a mistake. Anyway, here are the differences:
KillerSites Library:
Is our complete collection of video training courses – we have well over a 1500 videos on web design and web programming subjects. Not just a bunch of tips and tricks either, we have complete training so that you can learn to become a web designer or programmer from scratch. This is a subscription based service where you need to log in to view the videos.
Is a collection of INTERACTIVE training videos where you watch a video (videos run 3-10 minutes each) and then are quizzed on it. Sometimes the quiz questions are code challenges (where you actually write code,) and other times it is good old multiple choice.
As you progress through the courses, your progress is scored and tracked just like a video game. As you do more courses, you scores add up and soon you have a profile where you can show that you’ve actually done the training! You can make that profile public or private, it is your choice.
The courses quizzes are half the learning value – code challenges make you think about what you just saw on video and writing out the code reinforces the information even more so. Try out the free courses:
