Pro skills and a passion for code: let's find the balance!

While certain skills have been trending in recent years, it's important to clearly separate skill growth on a defined stack to advance professionally from skill growth in the technical areas you're unconditionally passionate about.

If you want to become a contributor or join a company that shines in its technical area, you'll need to dig deeper and build a deep tech culture.

For Christophe Hébert, a developer by training and now CEO of Bluecoders, you have to grow your skills not just from a professional standpoint, but also and especially on a personal level!

You don't always feel like growing the skills companies care about today. Obviously, things can't always be rosy! Are you mad about functional programming but companies aren't necessarily interested? Don't get discouraged — train at home, take part in open source projects, and join communities!

"Go where you're passionate, but most importantly, talk about it" — make it known! That's Christophe's advice. Be active on social media, write articles related to your passion, and be visible in this very community-driven space. That's the recipe for finding a job where you can put the skills closest to your heart to work.

And if always being on the cutting edge of the latest stacks is what makes you tick, that's great! But be careful not to be counterproductive — aiming to become a Vue.js contributor, for example, to participate in the project's maturation is an excellent idea, if only to expand your professional network exponentially. As a result, you'll have a better chance of being introduced to THE startup or company using the skill you're passionate about.