

Ask HN: Developing a Skillset for Contracting in Europe - pendragon

I&#x27;m a Python developer with a Linux background looking to develop my resume over the next 1.5 years prior to a move to Europe. I&#x27;m interested in what advice you could offer.<p>I&#x27;m at a point where I could invest in DevOps and infrastructure skills or go heavily into programming. I&#x27;ve been a developer for 4 years and self describe as intermediate. What I&#x27;m looking for is the kind of skillset that would give me mobility throughout Europe so I can travel slowly and focus on seeing new things and living.<p>I&#x27;ve done a lot of web app backend work, some sysadmin work and really need to step up my knowledge in both depth and breadth. The question is into what? I absolutely hate frontend web work and am frequently bored in web dev.
======
morey
I am living in Germany and I think that either way you will have good
opportunities if you really develop a strong skill set in that field. But if
you "hate" frontend" work and are frequently bored in web dev I would say that
customers and contractors are often looking for a "complete package" for
developing smaller short-term projects.

------
ianpri
If you're going to be moving around Europe then having a "full stack" skillset
is going to be the most advantageous - 3 month type gigs for devops are going
to be much harder to find than MEAN stack roles, especially if you want to
visit less startup centric countries/cities.

------
collyw
I live in Spain, and I haven't been aware of a large contractor market here.

The financial industry in London does seem to attract a lot of contractors.
Its also fairly corporate style languages that look for a lot of the time
(Java .NET).

------
iamdave
This is a good question, I'd like to hear what people think. Not for the sake
of sojourning through Europe, but I feel the answers could easily apply to
someone wanting to work remotely period.

~~~
pendragon
Remote drove me insane. I was younger then though, and if I did it again I
would make sure I had a seperate office room. Living in a flat of rowdy people
was a bad idea.

