I'm a bit late in the discussion but I've been in the industry a long time and watched languages come and go. I now rely on Stack Overflow's annual survey which shows some surprising results. https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2022/ Javascript still tops the most popular list and SQL and C# are still up there. Rust is the most loved and least dreaded but ranks at only 9.32% on the most popular list. There are other anomalies as well. As long as the technologies I am using are high up in the most popular list I'm quite relaxed about job prospects. It's not us developers that decide on the languages and platforms it's management and they are interested in a whole range of other issues like continuity support cost etc. I wouldn't pay much attention to the "highest paying" list it can be skewed by unusual temporary demand and small samples and can change very quickly. Microsoft always cops a hostile beating but the MS ecosystem still looks pretty healthy. I've also recently noticed a few bespoke business systems being ported from Heroku/aws to Azure due to uptime reliability issues.

There are some things that can only be seen by the mind - JS

When you say the Google documentation isn't complete I assume you have looked at the developer site as follows:- Reference https://developers.google.com/people/api/rest?hl=en The Top Menu also has links to Guides, Samples and Support (seems reasonable comprehensive) I was logged in with my Google developer account I don't know if that's a requirement for access, but if you can't access just register and create a developer account.

It always looks impossible till it's done - Nelson Mandela

mkrohn wrote:

Initially, it was a very respectable engineering position

You make a very interesting point. If I compare the example of a professional in another field for example a civil engineer who builds bridges tunnels and roads. The engineer is the final authority who signs off on a plan or an item of work that has been completed. The "signoff" of the engineer means that the work has been completed to professional standards and in compliance with the standards of the civil engineers registration board. There is no junior/senior "people manager" making the decision. Software engineering has lost the professional standing it started with and has become just another type of resource in a project. This is even more pronounced in the Agile world where if timelines are under threat more "resources" are applied irrespective of the reason behind the delay, which may be a complex technical issue which has to be worked through. For myself personally, I am experienced and knowledgable enough to refuse Agile projects and I still am able to get enough work where I can retain sufficient authority to refuse to release software I am not happy with.

I'm old and I know stuff (this is a quote from another forum member unfortunately I cannot remember their name)

I've used Debut professional by NCH for many years to produce user instruction tutorials for Apps/Systems that I developed. The most important issue that I found was to get a high enough resolution so that users could read the fine print and that the media format used was common across most devices and that the streaming file wasn't gigantic. For example user's need to be able to read the individual items in a DropDown List on a busy screen. Debut professional configured to record in .mp4 provided very good results in a common format. Whilst there is a cost there is also a trial version that you can test and evaluate. /*It always looks impossible till it's done */

As a developer and business owner, I'm going to disagree with the prevailing opinion of 'look after yourself only and ignore the ex employer's interest completely'. These are the issues as I see them:- -You were primarily responsible for the development of the control software over 18 years. -Your employer clearly trusts your skills and integrity. -Employing another developer will take months if not longer for them to get up to speed. -There is a danger of a new developer corrupting the code. -Burning bridges can be a costly mistake. new positions often turn out to be worse than the previous. People often go back to previous jobs. -Protecting yourself is not a big deal. All you need is a signed letter from the empolyer setting out exactly what they want you to do and a clause which indemnifies you against any liability whatsoever. I recommend you give them the 'no liability clause', if you don't want to pay legal fees, there are plenty templates on the internet OR use one from one of the major cloud platform EULAS and adapt for dev work. As developers we also carry an unsaid responsibility for the products we create. You did say you would provide support before leaving. If you are a developer 'support' means code. How would you like it if all support for a product you relied on simply stopped one day. Of course you are free to set your own rates. There are always two sides. It pays to consider both. PostScript There is one thing I should add. Professional Indemnity Insurance is a necessity. DerekTP123 has some good advice on this. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I've spent a lot of time on MVC3/4. A few people have suggested the pluralsight tutorials, which are a good intro, particularly Scott Allen's series. However I have to sound a rather negative warning in that I do not believe that it is possible to get proficient in MVC in 15 days and that this is asking for problems. The reason I say this is MVC is only the architecture. The real expertise is required when you start doing slightly more complex things with data and this is where a deep knowledge of EF including LINQ (either SQL or Entities) is essential. Also a good understanding of which pathway you are going to follow e.g Code First, Model First or database First. If you don't understand the full implications of EF and which Code pathway you choose you will wander around in circles. Also your model structure is heavily tied into all these choices. This knowledge only comes with actual experience. I would seriously recommend getting an MVC Guru to work with your team as the team leader and allocate specific parts of the work with the Guru providing full time assistance.