Should the average Windows Delphi&.NET desktop developer with 10+ years of "experience" get into Linux&Ruby/RoR _precisely_ for freelancing/remote work?

Question

linux

Hello. I was tortured by the agony of choosing the direction of development.
Please advise how you see it from your own experience.
There is a task: in the future (say a year or two) to have a stable freelance / remote job using modern technology, but normally paid (at first, as it turns out, this is clear). The main goal is freelancing / remote work.
Given: I've been a Windows developer for more than 10 years, mostly Delphi&WinAPI&a little C++&a little MS SQL&a little .NET/ASP.NET&a little administration&a little Powershell.
And a problem arose: either start actively developing in the direction of Windows technologies (.NET, ASP.NET MVC, WFC, Sharepoint, Azure, MS SQL, etc.) or choose something else that is more suitable for freelancing / remote work.
I see Ruby/RubyOnRails and its corresponding technologies as more suitable (probably backend). But this is also Linux, which I only drove a couple of times in a virtual machine + a new language and framework for me + corresponding tools. (I considered other options like iOS / Android developer, but still probably not, for various reasons). But an interesting technology, good prospects for freelancing / remote work, although there are fewer orders, but there are fewer developers.
I see a huge minus of ASP.NET&Co for freelance / remote work in a very high prevalence, and as a result of a bunch of Indian competitors, and a lower price for work.
But I have some kind of foundation for studying, i.e. It will probably be much easier for me to develop in this direction.
Actually questions:
1. Maybe I'm fundamentally wrong about the prospects for ASP.NET&Co for freelance / remote work? And correlating my knowledge and costs for normal learning (and apparently basic administration) Linux & Ruby is this the right way for me? Like the answer "come on, until you get used to Linux, until you understand the basic admin techniques, until you start trying Ruby / RoR, until you get involved, I would already become a pro on ASP.NET and earn easy money, not everything is so bad with him with freelancing"
2. Or am I right in principle, and balancing my interest in RoR with the best prospects in freelancing, does it make sense to jump there? like the answer "yes, there are no particular difficulties in Linux for freelancing on Ruby / Ror, you will quickly understand the basic things, well, then only experience-practice, but this option is better for your task"
Thanks for any opinions.

Answer 1

It’s fine with RoR remotely, I’ve been working this way for the last two years. The only thing you need to know English well. I myself have excellent knowledge of Linux / FreeBSD, but in production everything is done by devops guys. As written above, Linux is fairly easy to learn (FreeBSD is even easier, IMHO). Developing on a win-machine is a pain. So you will either have to install Linux or buy a Mac (the guys who work in the west, almost without exception OS X).
We have a lot of former C++ and Java coders in our team, they seem to have adapted well, many are already under 30.
Another question is that you will have to break yourself a lot. If you were at least comfortable with *nix and C#/Java, it would be much easier. For you, all this will be, just like a revolution :)

Answer 2

For several years I have been writing in ruby ​​on rails and looking at c++ (there are unknown horizons), and you have c++ in your piggy bank, and you look at ror.
I think with your technology stack there is also a lot to do, gamedev or something else complex and interesting, engineering something. If you like webdev, then having studied ruby ​​and its environment, you will not regret it either. But as for freelancing, ror in the domestic market is offered mainly to the office. There is more remote work in the global market (odesk, for example). Whatever technology stack is chosen, any decision will be correct, the main thing is a creative approach in business.
PS Linux is not at all difficult to master, it is simpler than Windows.

Answer 3

Good afternoon.
As always, there is no definitive answer.
Depends on the freelance exchange. As a rule, our exchanges offer mainly pehepe, and this is the lion's share. :) Of course there is Python. Of course there are other technologies.
There are many orders for .Net on oDesk, but not the majority. And yes, you are right, most of the .Net orders are for web development (Asp.Net, Asp.Net MVC). Those. I don't think it's a problem to find an order under .Net on oDesk. The fact that the order will be given to you, of course, is a separate issue. But in general, I am sure that you can find any job.
Maybe you should study exchanges for desktop development under .Net\Delphi? I am sure you will find. Of course, it will be more difficult to search for orders, but you will definitely cope and will be able to build up a portfolio. On the other hand, having received an order for the web, you will quickly learn technologies, because. will "burn".
Should I start learning another technology? Definitely yes, at least for their own development.
Summarizing. A good specialist will always find a job. The main thing is to show and prove that you are good.

Answer 4

I work for odesk in the field of asp.net mvc, orders are slightly less than for pop, but enough. Moreover, it may be just lucky, but every time after completing a simple project, the client has a lot of ideas and work, it turns out that from 2-3 clients you can feed for a very long time.

Answer 5

Probably in the answers I would like to hear additional .NET / ASP.NET freelancers to tell me how things are with orders, what types of orders are usually, whether it is interesting to work, how my fears about the "mass character" of technology and Indians are justified, etc. Because RoR developers have already unsubscribed that everything seems to be normal in this regard.