Ask HN: Choosing between two different software jobs
2 comments
You'll likely be in way over your head with the COBOL project.
So choose the first.
So choose the first.
I'd go for job one so that you can level up your programming skills!
Agreed, position 1 sounds like the best option for gaining hands on expertise and experience with stacks that will still be around in a few years. You'll still be able to learn concepts / architecture etc along the way.
Position 2 sounds more like a path to product or project management if that's a goal.
Position 2 sounds more like a path to product or project management if that's a goal.
The first job involves maintaining some Java code with Spring Boot apps and at the same time move the project from Java to Python and Go. The stack also relies on an Azure cloud. In the future I expect to gain experience in Java/Spring Boot/Python/Go/Azure and some devops.
In the second position, the goal is to rewrite, in Java/Spring Batch (not Boot!), a very old app written in Cobol. Here I am not expected to code that much, instead I will be asked a lot of conception, basically I will be at the interface between the client and the dev team. My role will be to translate some directives to the dev team, keeping in mind how things are built and safeguarding the project from conception flaws. I will also write documentation. In the end I expect to have a strong experience in software conception and a smaller experience in Java, Spring Batch and maybe a bit in Cobol.
In a sense I feel like the second position will give me a better understanding of software in general but I am also concerned to end up with shallow programming skills. On the other hand the first choice seems to be very fancy.
Strictly speaking about the stacks, what do you guys think? Which position do you think will give me the best background for the following years?
Thanks!