How to manage time for studying while working?

Well walking in your shoes I'd say I've got enough data to figure how much time to assign to studying other areas. Look... I frequently fail in job interviews mainly due to lack of knowledge on the other areas ...Been there done that. Interviews failures (and passes for that matter) are invaluable source of knowledge for what to learn. After each interview (no matter failed or passed), I make notes marking what areas I was lacking - that makes a solid base for the further study. Then, I just list, prioritize and estimate items extracted from these notes and that makes a guidance on further learning. If an item makes a key skill I missed at dream job interview, I try do my best to find time to study it. If it's a frequently asked stuff requiring I dunno day or two to grok, I study it too. The rest fails into if time allows bucket. If time allows, I study it thoroughly, otherwise try to get a basic understanding or drop it if it doesn't feel important enough For the sake of completeness: items in my list include not only technical areas but also whatever other skills I may be missing. These can be items like eg, hard time handling post-interview stress or difficulties with paper-and-pen coding - basically anything that I felt was not quite OK at interview. PS. maintaining and tracking such a list of high-demand technologies might lead you farther than you expect. Thing is, persistence in fiddling with that list kind of breaks the mental block of programming 8 years for a company. Eg if you decide that you really badly miss something, one day you may decide to change a job to some not-too-appealing position that however gives you an opportunity of full-time experience in desired area. That happened to me twice. Have to admit, each time it felt like jumping into ice water. Nevertheless in the long term perspective it turned out really worth it.

I've always studied in terms of what I was doing at the company while working for 60 hours per week. Simply start spending the same amount of time studying for other technologies you're interested in. It's not clear from your questions how many hours you work per day, and how many days per week. Anyway, I would use my evenings to read books until I'm tired, or (if you still want to sit in front of a monitor) spend some time in websites like this, they greatly increase your skills and knowledge. Then in the weekend I would try out new things, maybe starting up some small projects to see what I learned. Some tips and advice on how to optimize your studies: Pick up only the best books (you can find searching "best books" on SO for example) Learn as soon as possible the best practices Learn as soon as possible common mistakes to avoid and coding horrors

In addition to good answers here, I would make a habit (or addiction in my case) to be interested in what other cool programmers are doing. Like reading newspapers, visit a couple of good blogs or SO and see what problems/solutions others have on daily basis. See what skills are required for your position in job sites even when you are not looking for a job. Organize what you learned in a way that you can quickly review them when needed.

Sometimes you need to burn the midnight oil and really hit it hard. A previous poster talked about a "balanced lifestyle", but sometimes you need to put aside that balance and just be "that guy" with work and personal development. My suggestion? Have person spurts of studying. Say to yourself, every night for the next 3 weeks I am going to study three hours every night before bed. Sure it'll be a rough 3 weeks, but you'll be surprised at how much you can accomplish. Then take a week off from the crazy schedule and just relax after work. This can go in cycles and you will see yourself successful. Another thing, when it is time to study or personally code at home, don't let yourself get distracted by T.V. or the internet or any other non-productive activities.