Depends how low your costs are and long you can go without needing to make any money from it. If your expenses are manageable and profitability isn't an issue, it might make sense to improve your product (nicer UI, more features, etc) while growing your user base and getting more information about them (location, demographic, age, etc). This will improve your pitch to advertisers when decide to cash in by, perhaps, selling premium placement for ads by keyword (iOS, Python, Devops, etc).
One issue you might have is that your user's are "shortlived", I would imagine a typical user is going to use it for a couple of months every 2-3 years, hence why I'm stressing quick growth.
One issue you might have is that your user's are "shortlived", I would imagine a typical user is going to use it for a couple of months every 2-3 years, hence why I'm stressing quick growth.