Did I limit myself by focusing on MS stack?

Baltimore County / Eng
D@mn1t

Baltimore County Eng

D@mn1t
Sep 3, 2017 14 Comments

I've been a C# and MSSQL guy for a pretty long time, and I'm wondering lately if I should start to focus more heavily on Node or Python as my primary server-side language. Web dev isn't an issue, I'm rock solid there.

I want to switch employers to work somewhere with a great culture, and a really interesting mission, but all I'm finding are financial/insurance companies. I'm done wearing a tie, know what I mean? It seems like the more attractive the company is, the less likely they are to use the MS tech.

For those who've walked away from the MS stack, what's your story? Did you make the "I've been coding long enough that language is a technicality" argument? Did you take a pay cut for more potential? Something else?

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TOP 14 Comments
  • This comment was deleted by original commenter.

    • Baltimore County / Eng
      D@mn1t

      Baltimore County Eng

      D@mn1t
      OP
      I've thought about that before; does MS want everyone in-house? My wife has a thing about living near her folks. :/
      Sep 3, 2017
  • Jet / Eng
    jetenginee

    Go to company page Jet Eng

    jetenginee
    When you are a seasoned engineer you shouldn't have a focus. You should be able to choose the best stack for the job.
    Sep 3, 2017 0
  • Samsung
    octave

    Go to company page Samsung

    octave
    I used to use mainly Microsoft stack. Now I use only open source technologies. I love it and it opens many new doors. I didn't need to take any pay cut because they know not many people know NodeJS. They just need experienced and talented hard working people who can learn the new technologies quickly. It's fun to learn a lot of new stuff.
    Sep 3, 2017 1
    • Baltimore County / Eng
      D@mn1t

      Baltimore County Eng

      D@mn1t
      OP
      I completely agree! I've been doing personal projects with Node and Swift lately, just to learn new things and keep it fresh.
      Sep 3, 2017
  • Spotify / Eng
    qbeforeu

    Go to company page Spotify Eng

    qbeforeu
    Any company worth working for isn't going to care if you've only focused on C# when they don't use it as long as you can show you know the fundamentals and can learn new things.
    Sep 3, 2017 0
  • Google
    KXVK75

    Go to company page Google

    KXVK75
    There is a bias outside msft (and specially in the startup world) against Msft tech. It is real even if doesn't make much sense. Msft stack is not where most new stuff happens if it happens at all, so yes, depending on what you want to work on it indeed can be limiting. It's just a tech stack, easy to learn others.
    Sep 3, 2017 0