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Re:Ask HN: Developers with kids, how do you skill up? by jwr on Wednesday March 08, 2017 @02:54AM (#13818712)
Totally agreed. I find it impossible to work in the afternoons/evenings, because even if you find a moment, it's too hard to concentrate and do meaningful (e.g. hard) stuff.

Make the best of your work hours. The idea of a boring job "for money" and fun/learning stuff afterwards is outdated. Don't waste your life on a boring job. Work time should be when you do fascinating stuff and learn.

Re:Ask HN: Developers with kids, how do you skill up? by majkinetor on Wednesday March 08, 2017 @08:07AM (#13819948)
That is totally unrealistic.

No job will fit your interest 100% unless you are lucky bastard. Boring jobs are the rule. The point is to make boring stuff less borring.

Re:Ask HN: Developers with kids, how do you skill up? by jwr on Wednesday March 08, 2017 @02:19PM (#13822815)
I beg to disagree. I don't consider myself a "lucky bastard", but I define my own job(s) and everything I do is fascinating, I learn new things all the time. I don't do boring stuff.

Sure, there are compromises (plenty of people make more money), and it took me a while to get to where I am, but it proves that it is possible and not through luck, but rather a well-thought through approach and careful strategic thinking.

Re:Ask HN: Developers with kids, how do you skill up? by LeanderK on Wednesday March 08, 2017 @10:32AM (#13820880)
i agree, but i think this is not what he meant.

Most of the people working in the software industry are lucky enough to balance the two (getting a job that is paying enough to live a decent live while also not being totally boring). If you are extremely lucky, there is some correlation between fun and pay. Maybe working not as long is harder in SF, but there are other options, it's a compromise.

But lets not forget that for many this is not very their reality. They have a family to feed and not much room to compromise.

Re:Ask HN: Developers with kids, how do you skill up? by nb777 on Wednesday March 08, 2017 @04:21AM (#13819069)
If you are not living in a city with plenty of developer jobs available then that's often not possible and you are stuck to the boring job "for money" scheme. Of course you can always relocate but this has its own downsides...
Re:Ask HN: Developers with kids, how do you skill up? by methyl on Wednesday March 08, 2017 @05:32AM (#13819338)
We as developers have privilege to work remotely. Don't excuse yourself saying "I need an office and people around". That's just not true, as you gain so huge amount of perks when you find a remote job it's madness if you don't even try it for a year or two.

If you really go crazy alone you can always find coworking space almost anywhere in the world.

Moreover, constantly look for opportunities. I recently heard very wise words that the best time to change your job is when you are perfectly happy with current one.

Re:Ask HN: Developers with kids, how do you skill up? by vonmoltke on Wednesday March 08, 2017 @08:20AM (#13820021)
If you are not a web developer or DevOps it is very unlikely you have that privilege. I currently do ML/NLP, and my heart is really in embedded. Almost nobody is going to hire me to do either remotely.