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not_a_test_user

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I'm starting to realize that what I like about web development is creating visual experiences. Sadly, that job, at least around here, seems to be limited to web agencies with all the crazy deadlines and crazy hours that implies (I know because my last job was in an agency).

So, here I am, making admin panels and customizable charts. I have learned a lot though (ElasticSearch, Angular, etc), even if it's not fun stuff.

Why? I went from having very limited free time due to having a commute to having at least 3 - 5 hours every day after work. Even more if I woke up earlier.

I'm interested in learning how to use those hours that I never had before because I have been marathoning Netflix series and I'm not so sure that's good for me in the long run.

Best case scenario: Retired, living in the beach or a mountain somewhere.

Worst case scenario and much more probable: Too old to continue working in the ageist tech industry and too old to start again, I'll be working a low-wage job trying to make ends meet.

I know HTML/(S)CSS like the back of my hand. I know enough JS for most use cases and I'm starting to explore React and other frameworks to expand my knowledge. In the backend side of things I can code in PHP without any problem and I have hacked a bit in Ruby and Python, currently trying to expand what I know in Ruby in my free time.

The local market sucks so I'm unable to escape from my agency job. I feel trapped making disposable marketing websites that will disappear in a month or two. I have applied to remote jobs but most don't want someone that is not from the US.

I have no idea what to do. I feel like my current job is killing my drive for web development even though I love it.

Sorry for venting here.

We use mostly PHP at work but lately I have been using my free time to learning Ruby because most good job offers around here ask for Rails knowledge.

I'm not saying there are no PHP job offers, there are, but they are mostly for maintaining old codebases that have none of the good features that modern PHP has. Or they are for web agency jobs that consist of mass producing cookie cutter web sites.

I think Laravel 5 looks very interesting but I feel I can't afford to explore it because I need to learn Ruby if I want a better job.

I can't believe how negative the article's comments are. Is everyone so addicted to work?

I would understand if I could work at top performance 10-12 hours a day, 5 days a week but that's just not possible for me. In the end driving developers to exhaustion is worse for everyone, with subpar code that'll probably require refactoring Monday morning.

I mentally blacklisted Quora when it was proudly US only (I'm Canadian). Their reasoning was extremely dubious: something about "cultural differences" and "language barriers" preventing "high quality content".

This was their first and final strike for me. If they didn't want me why would I want to sign up now?

CSS One-Liners 12 years ago

That's very cool but I can't help thinking "Why would you want to do that?". Columns are awful to read on a webpage.

I've always wondered, who is the target for this kind of post?

I can't remember the last time I didn't stay in the office an extra hour or two because everything is urgent and for yesterday.

It seems only owners or freelancers able to set their own rules can benefit. As an employee, if I want to keep my job, my personal life is screwed.

I work in an agency so I feel like I'm living in the worst of two possible worlds: I'm expected to work overtime everyday as clients always need everything for yesterday and I'm expected to get there everyday at 9AM no matter how late I stayed the previous day.