I'm a dev who became a manager. I do a lot of interviews at one of the big tech companies. I cannot overstate how right cweagans is -- you have the opportunity now to just build stuff. Explore new projects, get passionate, learn as much as you can. You don't have to finish every project, but try to get one polished and shipped. The first question I often ask candidates is to tell me about a project they found challenging and interesting, and if you have a wall of those projects you'll be a leg up on your peers.