Rails is (officially) life-changing 14
A little over a year ago, I was a (basically) content Microsoft developer, as I’d been for the past 10 years. I had my MCSD in hand, and had a well-paying, stable .NET development job.
As of today, I am a full-time Rails developer. That’s right – I’ve left my day job to do Rails consulting, while at the same time building a web-based product business. Not to mention that I’m now also doing all my work on a Mac.
How did this happen? It’s true, I made a good living working with Microsoft technologies, but I never quite found what I was looking for in the sense of day-to-day professional happiness. Then, DHH and the core team did their thing, I managed to bang out a couple of side projects because of it, and here we are. Yes, it’s a different flavor of kool-aid, but it just tastes so much better to me.
And, talk about good timing… Jeff and I just happen to be rockin’ the Ruby on Rails podcast today! Big thanks to Geoff Grossenbach for the great conversation we had just before RailsConf. We talk about a whole bunch of interesting stuff like developing (and deploying) Rails on Windows, why Microsoft should be scared of open-source technologies like Rails, Rails IDEs for Windows, and DHH’s hair. So check it out!
I click on http://luckymonk.com/ and I get: Application error (Rails)
Nice! Good luck dude!
Congrats on the full-time Rails development Brain!
And thanks Jeff for plugging RIDE-ME in the podcast!
Great interview both of you! Loved it!
Well done. Just came across this website. I used to be a Microsoft MVP a few years back. I'm currently developing with Java but looking for that break with Ruby and Rails.
Congrats on taking the plunge!
I completely understand where you're coming from. About 9 months ago I discovered Rails and I was a die-hard J2EE developer earning a good living. I know it's not about the technology, but I think I'm in love. I cringe everytime I have to modify an existing J2EE app and anything new is built on Rails. I had a hard time convincing the IT guys, but resistance is futile :-) Good luck!
I am close to following in similar footsteps. Completely understand the change of heart and mind the rails and ruby brings. Good luck!
I enjoyed the RoR podcast also. For a guy deploying on windows (for now), whilst no capistrano, I am very grateful for mongrel with win32 support at least. Thanks Zed.
I'm trying my hardest to follow the same path! Congrats on making the big plunge and try to make sure there's plenty of room for the rest of us!
This is in direct contrast to what you told me a couple of months ago. I somehow knew it though. Congrats!
Congrats! Now that you are a Rails consultant, how would you describe market’s attitude towards Rails? Do many customers know about it? Or do they even care what their website is written in?
Sasha: I've found that most clients I've worked with outside the little bubble of web development we live in have never heard of (or care about) Rails (or any other development technology, for that matter). They only care that you choose the best tool for the job and that you get it done. That said, the majority of the advertised Rails contract work that is available today is coming from the early adopters and "Web 2.0" tech types who are quite knowledgable about the various technologies.
Brian, Thank you for a prompt response. Good luck with your new career and make sure you post about the experience on this blog. I am sure there are a lot of .NET developers that will be watching this blog very closely.
Being officially in Rails - How would you compare the tooling differences? Do you miss Visual Studio at all? That seems like a big thing that keeps many people converting from .NET to Rails. And now that you an official Rails shop, did you have to buy a Mac? :)
Also, are you going to change the name of the blog to formersoftiesonrails or something similar? :)
Personally, I much prefer TextMate on OS X to Visual Studio :) If you want to develop Rails applications on Windows, you have no excuse - RIDE-ME is very Visual Studio-like and is by far the best IDE for Rails on Windows out there, especially for those of us comfortable with VS and .NET.
Well done guys! I just discovered your site, and guess what? I was a .NET dev too, and now I'm going through the shiny path of open source technologies... wish I was in Chicago to go to your workshop! Wish you the best :)
Thanks Adrian! Too bad you can't join us (c'mon, it's only about 4000 miles away :-)