
Ask HN: What would you recommend a 14y/o to learn over the next 2 years? - oppressedgf
So here&#x27;s the deal; I&#x27;m 14, a hobbyist web developer and I&#x27;m really overwhelmed by how many things I could learn.
My goal is to be proficient in at least one major stack by the time I&#x27;m 16, so I can A) Have something to show off to colleges and therefore B) have even more to show off to potential employers. I feel like 2 years is enough for me to get a moderate understanding of a popular tech stack, however I have no clue what. I know I&#x27;m capable enough in PHP and I&#x27;d like to imagine I know my way around the LAMP&#x2F;LEMP stack, however I _really_ don&#x27;t want a career in PHP development.<p>So, HN, what would you recommend I commit to and practice throughout the next 2 years?<p>If it makes it easier to help, I&#x27;m currently capable in Python, PHP, and the basic web stack: HTML, CSS, JS (as well as Node.js for server-side).<p>Thanks!
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ziddoap
Do exactly what you ENJOY doing.

Don't like PHP? Don't do it. Simple.

Honestly, if there is ONE thing I've learned in my professional life.. It
would be enjoying what you do. It makes literally everything else better in
life if you enjoy it.

Don't go for the hot stack, the hot language, etc. If you enjoy what you do,
your skill ceiling is going to be much higher in the long run, you'll be less
likely to burn out (which is very common, especially if you're trying to push
yourself already at age 14... theres 50 years left til retirement). You'll
also be a more enjoyable person at work.

Just my 2c.

~~~
oppressedgf
Good point - I guess I've just been working on trying to be employable, so
trying to do something purely enjoyable never occurred to me, honestly. Are
there any languages or stacks you find particularly enjoyable to use?

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bluGill
Where do you want to be? Everything so far tells me you want to write web apps
for someone else. Nothing wrong with that, but personally I hate it. You are
not me though, I could tell you the things you need to learn to be just like
me, but you might hate the work I do.

The good news: you don't need to decide yet. You are 14 which means nobody
will expect you be more than a rank beginner for the next 8 years or more!
Take your time now to explore things to see what you like. Get an aurduino kit
and make LEDs flash, advancing to running motors. Try some chemistry (I have
no clue how to get into this - figure it out). Learn to play piano. Write a
bad novel. The point of all this is to taste your options.

When you are 17 you need to decide what college to go to (this is partially a
matter of who will let you in). Over the next 3 years you need to make sure
you know where you want to go well enough that your college choice can get you
there, the details can come latter. Even when you are college you have a few
years before you have to commit to a major, the first 2 years of computer
science are mostly the same as the first 2 years of mechanical engineering or
physics.

The point of all this is to see what you like and what door open. If you like
the electrical engineering professors that is a sign to go that way.

Don't forget to look at the charts of what various professions make once in a
while. When you like two things - pay is a powerful factor to change
direction.

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taylodl
Don't focus on learning development stacks - today's hotness can be tomorrow's
old news. Focus instead on _doing something_. The _what_ is far more important
than the _how_. If you really want to impress prospective colleges and/or
employers (be thinking of internships!) then focus on _what_ you want to
deliver. What will it do? Hey! Can I run this on my phone?

The best way to figure out _what_ to do is to scratch your own itch. What are
your hobbies? I'd do something related to that.

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buffaloo
Learn to be well-rounded and access within yourself a sense of well-being as
you use your youthful energy to explore varied interests from which in a few
years you will select life-long pursuits. Also, always be kind to others.

Python or JS or technology X will probably be the punchline of a joke about
old tech in 5 years, so don’t focus too much on any one thing right now. Play
some sport, have a couple really good friends in whom you invest, learn to
cook a little, get a dog. Don’t get hung up in life traps like drugs, alcohol,
tobacco, teen pregnancy, debt.

At 14, that’s about the best you can do. If you seem to shine much beyond that
in some area (eg., you’re a tech millionaire or child actor), it’s probably at
a fairly heavy personal cost and not worth it.

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auslegung
React seems to be the most popular framework right now, so Mongo Express React
Node (MERN) would be a great thing to study. I think you're not going to go
wrong no matter what you study because you're 14 years old and asking this
question. Many people 10 or 20 years older than you aren't asking these kinds
of questions.

And since you're obviously not the average person, you should check out
[https://elm-lang.org](https://elm-lang.org). It's a purely functional
language and it will improve the way you write code in any language.

~~~
oppressedgf
Damn, Elm looks really interesting, I'll be sure to give that a go - the fact
it generates to pure JavaScript too seems cool, thanks

~~~
auslegung
You should also check out
[https://www.cscareerhackers.org](https://www.cscareerhackers.org). It's a
discord server and is an enormous community committed to lifelong learning,
career help, etc.

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kirankn
I would suggest a combination of Elm and Elixir :-) If you gain a good handle
on these, you are bound to impress good employers

