I asked about whether pursuing MEAN stack training without dabbling in other languages was a bad idea on an IT recruiting forum and got this response:
You could get a job being proficient [only] in the MEAN stack, but it’s a bit unlikely. Not only is that stack on the rarer side when compared to all companies, but no one wants to hire a specialist who only knows certain frameworks.
Instead, I’d encourage you to keep going and to become proficient, and then it will be much easier to learn other languages and frameworks. Having high levels of knowledge in one stack and a basic understanding of a few more make you much more employable.
Do you guys agree with his assessment? This has been a concern of mine, focusing on MEAN stack when Python/Django or PHP/MySQL/Laravel seem much more widespread. I know picking up other languages gets easier, but I would rather focus on getting good at one thing than learning many equivocal stacks at a lower level (without serious time investment).
I think that’s a true reflection of my local job adverts. They seem to all want PHP or .net.
Like you say picking up other languages should be easy enough once you get going - but to me the point of learning this stuff (with the JS stack like you) is to truly understand the concepts and paradigms of programming and with that in mind the different stacks and languages just become tools. Yes there will be a learning curve for any new approach but it should be trivial once I have that full understanding.
My issue is exactly the opposite, I have no desire to learn any unnecessary language, I just want to master 1 stack. But with such rigidity I must be smarter about the stack I choose. The MEAN stack seems like the tightest option but sadly it sounds uncommonly used.
I hope you understand that Free Code Camp is basically free training with all sorts of peer interaction and an opportunity to build a portfolio under guidance of experienced developers. If you are assign weights and values to things, then those alone are worth a lot to an employer. And it’s free. Also it’s not a far leap to spend a month or two (after you finish Free Code Camp) and pick up a bit of relational databases and .NET via some books or Pluralsight training. That’s also how it works in industry. But .NET plus the javascript you picked up from MEAN would make you quite a dangerous asset!
Also where I am at, PHP is often considered a step down from MEAN or .NET.
Good to know. What are the peer interactions besides this forum and the Gitter chatrooms? I should probably be engaging more. There’s not a meetup in my area though.
