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Hi and thanks for you kind help :)
I have to admit that I'm quite lost. Being a software engineer for some years, I have experiences both SPA & MPA. or several languages (C#, Java, Python ...).
It's been two years that I'm full-time freelancing and most of my clients are always asking me for my Python skill (I previously worked in data-science). I like the language itself but not its web frameworks such as Django. I find its paradigm messy and can't get myself to use it properly without overriding everything and tailor it to my needs.
Then come the idea to break this : I decided to focus on something new, something I might appreciate more than Django.
Being a freelancer, I have to deal with my local requirements. In France, there's a HUGE demande for PHP (Symfony mostly, some Laravel) and Node.js.
As soon as I like both, they don't fill the same needs. Node.js is mostly used for APIs and PHP (Symfony, Laravel..) is common in a more "classical" way of building websites. And I can't decide myself ..
My question is more about getting feedbacks for developers using one or both and how it is going for them. Why would you pick Laravel over Node ? Can you describe a feature (or more) that makes you love your framework of choice ?
Lastly, because I know some of you might say : "You can use both". For sure, but freelancer's clients are always looking for experts. That's why they ask me for Python everytime. I'm just looking for something to focus on. Something that can get me enough jobs & satisfaction.
I'm a (german) PHP freelancer and have specialized on Laravel maybe 3 or 4 years ago. It might take a little longer to find a new client compared to e.g. Symfony but the added enjoyment of development makes more than up for that for me.
And I've noticed in the last year or two that the demand for Laravel developers has definitely risen quite a bit.
@hyrro that's a really tough question and no one knows for sure if one is better than the other.
I personally use Laravel because I came from a PHP background and a lot of my freelance work before is based on PHP language and even today, my day job requires expertise in Laravel framework.
I tried to learn the basics of Node.js and even tried to dive deeper but had no success with it because I really don't use it on an everyday basis.
As you have said, clients are looking for experts. You can "try" (not use) both and see if how fast you can learn and how you feel about it. Then decide where to focus afterward based on your observation.
In your location, you said that PHP and Node.js have a huge demand, so I guess you don't have to worry about choosing which one to use, and then all of a sudden you can't land a job or client work.
Software development is really huge and to be honest, I have considered myself transitioning into Python or other high-level languages. And it's funny to know that you as a Python developer want to transition to PHP/Node.js world.
Consider as well if you have known a person that is interested in a certain topic, that might help you boost your knowledge and help each other grow.
If you choose PHP/Laravel, Laracasts mostly has all the resources you needed to get started and this forum will help in case you have difficulty with something. And Laravel is very well documented and a lot of free tutorials on youtube.
Good luck @hyrro !
Another tip: don't jump straight to Laravel, learn PHP first, try to get comfortable with it using OOP, and maybe use MySQL to create a simple CRUD app.
Software development is really huge and to be honest, I have considered myself transitioning into Python or other high-level languages. And it's funny to know that you as a Python developer want to transition to PHP/Node.js world.
Just to detail you a little more my move : Python is a good language. Really. You can use it for building whatever you want ! But this flexibility has a cost : speed. Python is slow. Like, really slow. Using Django makes you feel how Python is not built to make websites. Most of the things are hidden from you, and when you need to get your hands dirty tailoring something custom, it's getting a mess. Django is built on a paradigm called "meta-programing". You can even use class based views, functions or just simple templates with no views ... there're so many ways of coding that no one is used to the same. You'll get a project base on classes and use OOP, then another one using scripting ... Every Python developer I know is coming from a OPS background or one of these express developer formations you pay thousands of bucks to become Steve Jobs. They both don't know how to code properly and most of my projects are really crappy. Since 2 years of freelancing, every demand I had was (mostly) : "Can you clean this project ?". Yes, I can ... but I don't get any fun of it. I am more angry than happy ... and it's not the way I mean to code.
Python is a really good choice if you plan to use machine-learning or heavy computing webapps. I all the other cases, stick to something else. That's why I plan to move to PHP. The language itself doesn't have a good reputation but it has been tailored for the web. It's also in huge demand in my country, but using a language that has been created for the web makes sense to me. Node.js has also been created to that purpose and solving issues PHP (and other languages) had. I think we use Node as a silver bullet, thinking coding in JS will solve every problem development involves .. but this is another debate.
Thanks for your answers :)
Thanks for sharing @hyrro ! That's really helpful to know!
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