How to learn new technical skills as a freelancer?

Question

I've been working with PHP, specifically Symfony (and previously Laravel) in the last years. I also do some frontend stuff (Vue.js, jQuery) and some backend and infrastructure stuff (e.g. AWS). Most of the the new stuff I learnt because I had built up some projects on my own and fortunately they are making a bit of revenue, so I can justify working on them for a few hours each week. But I'm a bit scared I'll be stuck in this role for a long time and later will be too rusty to "jump ship".I want to learn new (technical) skills that are not currently part of my skill set. Such as Python / Flask / Django; perhaps some Node.js (since this is where the market I work in is headed) and React or even C#. Less popular languages look interesting (Haskell, Rust, etc), but as a freelancer with family including 2 small kids, I can't really find the business ROI on those languages since the freelance market is still too small.But I am expected to jump into a project as an expert. I can do some tiny projects with new languages, but I can't bridge that part going from 'small hobby projects' to 'expert'.Have you had successful expansions of your skill set? Or maybe transitioned into a different domain or programming language?I've even considered becoming employed for a year or two, using a different programming language, visiting workshops, before going back to freelancing with a larger skill set.

ooooak · Accepted Answer

I had the same mindset but it turns out its not the right one for me. People don't really care about how many languages you know. They want their business problems to be fixed. if you are interested in technology x first try it your self. see if it something you actually wanna use it. then market your self around it.
jumping to a new stack could also mean you will be unproductive for years and you will face problems that you never have seen before. Surely all new technologies sound fun but at the end of the day, there are no silver bullets. on top, it takes years to be an expert at any stack.
I started with PHP and then moved to the node. that made me realize how good PHP is. I have been looking for an alternative on the backend. Go, Clojure and elixir sound about right. turns out they all have their issues too. It's better to stick to your guns and only move when the current stack is not fixing the problems you have created for your self.

emilmoe · Answer

I agree. It's not all about learning the technology but more about learning to apply it and understand how to do that effectively.