What Next?

I've been in the development game for more than a decade – I'm certainly not claiming to be a coding prodigy, far from it... but I’m not terrible either, I guess? Even with the recent slump in contract availability, I've somehow kept myself busy enough, at a rate I'm okay with. But, let's face it, this won't last forever. So, what’s the plan? This article is my attempt to figure that out, or maybe just toss my thoughts out there. Let's see where it takes us.

I've always seen myself as a "startup Swiss Army knife" – a jack-of-all-trades with a toolbox full to the brim with the technologial tools (and the know-how to use them) to launch most young tech businesses out of their proverbial nest into the real world. Ideally, it's a smooth flight into the open sky, but I'm just a small part of a much bigger picture that needs to come together at that crucial moment for liftoff. I've had my share of successes, failures, and everything in between.

After more than ten years of putting other people's ideas on the internet, I'd like to think I know what works and what doesn't. I can usually get most products to market in a scalable, secure, and financially savvy way. Is it the most cutting-edge, AI-powered, [insert 2024 buzzword here] method? Nah, not really, but it gets the job done. It's tried, tested, and budget-friendly. Unfortunately, I don't often find myself tackling espeically novel problems that need innovative solutions. My toolbox has pretty much always had all the tools I'd need, but I'm not naive enough to think it always will.

Nowadays, I'm mostly working with Typescript, which is fine. I know my way around most of what AWS has to offer, CI/CD pipelines, source control, and security best practices within those spaces. I'm comfortable with all the big names in persistant storage and database tech, although my raw SQL skills aren't top-notch. But, hey, who writes that much raw SQL these days? Most TS/JS ORMs do the job without needing specialist SQL knowledge (although I certainly appreciate it's specialist advantage). I've got a decent grip on containerization and workload management. I write my code with testing and modularity in mind. I tend to architect my applications so that replacing me wouldn't be a nightmare. I'm not calling myself an expert in any of this, but Google (read: StackOverflow) usually has my back.

I often find myself as the first senior hire in a company's engineering team, maybe even the only hire. So, I end up working in a bit of a silo, without many engineers around to exchange knowledge and share expertise with. Being the dumbest person in the room doesn't faze me – I might even thrive in that situation. But being the most senior or the only person is starting to wear me down. I'm just not growing at a rate im happy with. Is it time to switch rooms?

One perk of contracting is the freedom to move around, soaking up knowledge from one gig, and passing it on to the next. Lately, though, this trend is slowing down for me. It's rare to land in a situation with new and exciting tech to dive into. I've been playing with the idea of jumping ship entirely and exploring a new professional pasture, but which pasture do I pick? I've messed around with some WebAssembly, that seems cool. I've dipped my toes into Rust, that seems to be gaining some broader market interest. I've always had a soft spot for Cyber Security – that could be interesting. There's always plenty of Python work floating around. But, as I write this, the fear of leaving behind a familiar ecosystem overshadows any excitement. Even setting my personal feelings aside and looking at a potential move from a business development standpoint, I'm struggling to find a practical application for these technologies at home, at least in a way that really lets me grasp the tech or how it's deployed in a professional setup. Sure, I can pull a few projects and make some arbitrary changes, but without a real cause or motivation, I struggle to genuinely learn.

This really is what I'm wrestling with – I know deep down that it's time to shake things up, and keep growing in my career. The thought of leaving behind this familiar, well-worn groove I've carved out for myself over the last few years is terrifying. It's standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing I need to take a leap, yet glancing back at the familiar landscape, thinking, "Do I really need to leave all this behind?" It's the ongoing battle between doing what's right for my career and feeling a pull back to the safety of what I know, even if it might be holding me back.

So, what's next? If I'm being completely honest... I have no idea.