TL;DR
An Ask HN thread asks members which skills they plan to develop in 2026 and links to prior yearly threads. Commenters describe concrete technical goals — VR development, a university graphics course, building a revenue-generating end-to-end project, and learning Zig — plus nontechnical aims like expanding social networks and using AI tools broadly.
What happened
A community Ask HN post invited people to list skills they want to develop or improve in 2026 and included links to the same thread from previous years. One commenter laid out both technical and nontechnical goals: experiment with VR development using a Samsung Galaxy XR and learn spatial computing fundamentals, complete the UCSanDiegoX Computer Graphics II: Rendering course, build an end-to-end project that generates side income, and adopt AI tools to speed learning and workflows. That commenter also listed a social goal to expand their network and encouraged local meetups, sharing an email contact for fellow NYC HN members. Another participant described being a full-stack frontend-leaning engineer with ten years of experience who feels stuck in CRUD work and wants to branch into systems-level projects — databases, compilers, emulators, 3D engines and text editors — and try Zig to experience manual memory management.
Why it matters
- Shows a mix of technical upskilling and professional wellbeing goals common among developers.
- Highlights the growing role of AI tools as learning and productivity accelerants.
- Demonstrates interest in deeper systems work (compilers, engines, low-level languages) beyond CRUD applications.
- Underlines the importance of informal professional networking and local meetups in career development.
Key facts
- The post is an Ask HN thread asking what skills people want to develop or improve in 2026.
- The thread links to equivalent annual threads from 2023, 2024 and 2025.
- One commenter plans to explore VR development and is considering a Samsung Galaxy XR to experiment with spatial computing.
- That commenter intends to finish the UCSanDiegoX course titled 'Computer Graphics II: Rendering'.
- Goals include building an end-to-end project that earns money as a side gig and leveraging AI tools across projects.
- The same commenter also aims to expand their social circle and invited NYC-based HN users to contact them at 'cybercreampuff at yahoo dot com'.
- Another commenter is a full-stack, frontend-leaning engineer with about 10 years of experience who feels boxed into CRUD work.
- That commenter wants to learn to build databases, compilers, emulators, 3D engines, version control systems and text editors, and plans to try the Zig language to experience manual memory management.
What to watch next
- Whether the commenter purchases or uses a Samsung Galaxy XR to start VR development — not confirmed in the source.
- If the UCSanDiegoX Computer Graphics II course is completed and whether learned skills are applied — not confirmed in the source.
- Whether the planned end-to-end project turns into a revenue-generating side gig — not confirmed in the source.
- Whether the engineer progresses into systems-level projects or adopts Zig for production work — not confirmed in the source.
Quick glossary
- VR development: The process of creating software and experiences for virtual reality hardware, often involving 3D graphics, spatial interaction and performance considerations.
- Spatial computing: Computing that maps and responds to the physical space around a device, enabling interactions that blend virtual and real-world elements.
- End-to-end (e2e) project: A complete product built from front end to back end, covering design, implementation, deployment and often monetization.
- Manual memory management: A programming model in which developers explicitly allocate and free memory, rather than relying on automatic garbage collection.
- CRUD: An acronym for Create, Read, Update, Delete — basic operations commonly implemented in database-backed applications.
- Zig: A general-purpose programming language that emphasizes simplicity, performance and manual control over low-level details such as memory.
Reader FAQ
What specific technical goals did commenters list?
Experiment with VR on a Samsung Galaxy XR, complete UCSanDiegoX Computer Graphics II, build a revenue-generating e2e project, adopt AI tools, and learn Zig and systems-level development.
Did anyone share contact information for meetups?
Yes — one commenter invited NYC-based HN users to contact 'cybercreampuff at yahoo dot com'.
Are there outcomes reported for these goals?
not confirmed in the source
Why does someone want to learn Zig?
They want experience with a language that uses manual memory management; further motivation details are not provided.
Thread for 2025: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42509408 Thread for 2024: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38782613 Thread for 2023: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33873800 Here are mine: Technical skills: – Among my last year's goals was to take on VR dev, which…
Sources
- Ask HN: What skills do you want to develop or improve in 2026?
- Hacker News Ask
- What new skills do you plan on learning in 2026? I'm going …
- Revenge of the junior developer
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