Ask HN: Returning to SW development after a 15-year break?

Re:Ask HN: Returning to SW development after a 15-year break? by dataminer on Wednesday March 24, 2021 @09:01AM (#26566601)

If you want to get back into web development which is very remote friendly, learn one of the following frameworks, Rails (Ruby) / Django (Python) / Laravel (PHP). The best way to learn and have experience is to build a small project, if you pick Rails, you can use the book by Michael Hartl https://www.railstutorial.org/book, it's a project based tutorial, so it's quite practical. For other frameworks there maybe similar books or tutorials.

Be part of a relevant forum / linkedin group, so you can clarify things when you are stuck.

Once you have built your first app, you can build more advanced features and start your job search. Update your linkedin profile with keywords which reflect that you are into web / software development. Start posting stuff on linkedin / blog and making connections with recruiters. Also connect with companies hiring remotely.

There are lots of companies with opensource projects on github, pick some issues, resolve them and send a pull requests, this will give you experience working with existing code, you will get to know remote team dynamics, and get to know people working on these projects.

Ask questions early, seek help often, I have found people to be very collaborative and helpful. We need more people in software development. I wish you great success.

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Re:Ask HN: Returning to SW development after a 15-year break? by alwaysanoobie on Wednesday March 24, 2021 @12:36PM (#26569499)

On a similar note, does anyone have a similar project based book recommendation for Django.

I have found that I generally learn better from books compared to video lectures.

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Re:Ask HN: Returning to SW development after a 15-year break? by neoncontrails on Wednesday March 24, 2021 @01:57PM (#26570751)

The book I usually recommend is Two Scoops of Django with a small caveat that while it remains the most lucid guide to a fairly complex framework, Django itself has evolved since its publication (most notably in its support for async). But I actually just learned there's a new version out that targets Django 3.0 and supposedly covers all its fancy new bells and whistles. Haven't picked it up yet, maybe someone who has can chime in. But IMO you really can't go wrong with Two Scoops — I'm sure the new version is fantastic.

Intermediate-level Python proficiency is assumed, but that's to be expected when learning any new framework.

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Re:Ask HN: Returning to SW development after a 15-year break? by alwaysanoobie on Wednesday March 24, 2021 @04:30PM (#26572491)

Thanks for the recommendation. Will check them out!

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Re:Ask HN: Returning to SW development after a 15-year break? by backtoswdev15 on Wednesday March 24, 2021 @12:13PM (#26569153)

Thanks for your great points.

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