A)
If you want to make more money or look for career change, then you have to listen to market and learn whatever it needs or pays well.
B)
If your goal is to do long term career investment, then keep learning Java and make yourself an expert of it. To become "expert", you inevitably will have to learn a lot things that are beyond Java language and platform. Later on, these knowledge can be easily reused in other languages.
A) is short term, B) is long term. How about allocate 50% of your learning to each of them, then adjust allocation when you feel you need to?
Each language has been created in different context, trying to solve problem by using different approach.
Sure, they all need basic IF-ELSE, WHILE... But it is really helpful not to focus on too detail of technical side at the beginning. At high level, understand why author needs to create this language? Why the author did not select existing solutions at that time? This kind of "culture" background will help you understand language much deeper and avoid a lot of confusions.
I read that article before and totally agree with the point.
But that situation is different from the one we discuss here.
I do not know more information about ohmygord's project, but I basically want to point out to consider non-technical side of it. For example, people in the same team may not technical, and/or think maintaining existing solution is simple.
I was in similar situation before, I was lucky to happen to select right strategy to deal with the situation.
* Situation like this is not only technical issue any more. Your solution needs to reflect that.
* This is not best situation to be in, but if you learn to deal with this and emerge from it. This experience will make you so much stronger. So be ready to quit, but do not quit too early.
Good luck!
(I replied earlier, but the above two points are so important that they worth a different post.)
* NEVER modify existing one. Once you change one line of comment, you own all the code and problem from that point.
* If rewrite is not allowed, then ask huge pay raise for this work. Basically it is not about money, it is about bring everyone on the same page on the status of he existing solution.
* If the above does not work out, prepare to switch to another project, or quit the job totally.
1) A real genius can figure out things, including how to get cash. If he can not get cash/investment, he is not genius enough.
2) PhD from top school gives a person good foundation to be a professor or some positions that require PhD. But that does not mean too much in business world. Education is important for any success, but please note education and schooling are different things.
3) PhD making 150K+ in finance is not news.
4) Money is always available for good investment for every single year, regardless the market.
5) If his machine learning is really working, he can train the machine to make money (including initial capital) for him.
6) Real academic research is usually years ahead of its time. Success in business usually needs massive adoption which means right at the time. That is one of reasons that a lot of smart people are not rich.
Overall, all you are talking about is "your friend is kinda smart and plan to stay in research (for some years)". Nothing more, nothing less.
As long as you ask question "when should I do it", you are not ready. From my own experience,when you feel it, you know it is right time. That "feel" is a natural conclusion of a lot thinking, researching, preparing and prototyping. It is like you need to eat when you are hungry -- you will not ask "when should I eat"
2) Freelancing
Start something takes a lot of time and effort. Freelancing may take your time and energy away. I did that trying to start something on the side, which I considered a mistake.
BTW, are you hands on developer, or development manager?
$300k for developer sounds high to me -- maybe you are super-star developer...
A) If you want to make more money or look for career change, then you have to listen to market and learn whatever it needs or pays well.
B) If your goal is to do long term career investment, then keep learning Java and make yourself an expert of it. To become "expert", you inevitably will have to learn a lot things that are beyond Java language and platform. Later on, these knowledge can be easily reused in other languages.
A) is short term, B) is long term. How about allocate 50% of your learning to each of them, then adjust allocation when you feel you need to?