HTML programmer used to be a job. In the early days of the world wide web there weren’t many people who understood how to make a web site. How to stand up a LAMP server, or even customise a landing page from an ISP. This meant that you could learn a bit of HTML and pick up a few basic design concepts, right click – view source on any pages you liked the look of and copy and paste your way to a new site.
As a software developer you have heard of other people worrying about their jobs being automated. Typist is no longer a job. Taxi drivers are worried about Uber and autonomous vehicles. Factory work is going the way of mining with more and more automation in factories. Not everyone can re-train as a brain surgeon.
But you’re a programmer, so life is good.
Your skills are in demand and you are making a decent wage. More than a lot of people. But if you think you are immune to this problem, you are dead wrong.
Now HTML is just one of the many skills you need to be able to be a full stack developer.
Back-end language, front-end language. Styling, design, test automation, agile, DevOps. A modern language that shows you know what is cool in the industry. A portfolio of open source work to show you give back to the community and are not all about money, and how you work on code all the time even when not at work because you love to code so much.
Designers have 99 designs to contend with, we have Upwork (now including oDesk and Elance), and freelancer.com where anyone can find a coder on short notice.
You are not a commodity and shouldn’t be treated like one. But the world isn’t fair and no one is going to give you more than the market price for your skills.
As a developer your biggest asset is your ability to learn new things. To solve new problems. To be creative. Progress can be held back but it can not be stopped. You can either find a hole to hide in and ride out your current skills until retirement, or you can keep learning.
As a developer you have a huge advantage over most people when dealing with this problem. Part of your training, either school or on the job, has been to solve problems you’ve never seen before. To learn new things quickly and to apply that knowledge to complex problems. By learning the underlying fundamentals of programming as well as the practical skills to apply that knowledge you have already started to build up the skills you need to achieve bigger and better things. You are in an industry where you can move up the value chain to solving wider business problems and that’s where the money really is.
This is where we can help. DistributedDeveloper can show you the skills you need, the table stakes you need to stay relevant, and the areas where you can gain additional skills to stay ahead of the competition.