5 Helpful Tips for New Developers

Things they won’t tell you starting out.

Photo by Max Duzij on Unsplash

When I was first learning to code, a little over 3 years ago, I often felt lost. At the time I was just using YouTube, I eventually started going through Udemy and took a fantastic course from Colt Steele, it was called The Web Developer Bootcamp. It covered everything from HTML to Github and RESTful. I learned a ton, however, at times you just want a real person to help walk you through the why behind the how. I have taken several other courses throughout my time learning. I did Udacity Front End Nano Degree, I also went through a portion of Codecademy. I am currently enrolled and set to begin a six-month immersive boot camp to sharpen my skills and hone my craft. This takes me to my first point.

1. You’re never done learning: Becoming a software developer is an amazing journey, but something you need to understand is, you will always need to be learning. This field is always changing, languages are always being developed and utilized in more efficient ways than before. The idea isn’t to take a class and call it good, but to be a perpetual student of the game.
2. Focus on learning one language at a time: Far too often you see new software developers trying to learn 3 different languages at the same time. This shortcut doesn’t do them any favors, however. Pick a good core language and learn it inside and out, then, learn a framework with that language. You will inevitably come across a shiny new language, the hot new thing that will make you a ton of money, I am here to tell you this changes from time to time. What's hot now may not be hot tomorrow. It is far better to be an expert in one than to dabble in and be substandard in several.
3. Some tech recruiters have no idea what they are talking about: When you get into the field you will see many job listings with an absurd amount of languages as required. The reason being, the person responsible for the job listing had no idea what they were talking about. I personally have seen listings that required experience time in a language that exceeded the time the language had actually been around. I’ve also worked with some absolutely amazing recruiters and your mileage may vary. When you are looking to get your first job, do your due diligence and remember you are interviewing them just as much as they are interviewing you.
4. Everyone has imposter syndrome: In this industry, you will work with a lot of smart people, some are self-taught, some have CS degrees and some went through boot camps but everyone has felt that maybe they don’t belong. It can be challenging but I assure you, as long as you have a coachable mentality and you learn every day you will be just fine.
5. 70% of development is Googling: Believe it or not, even the most seasoned developers Google things all the time. Get good at researching things, become an expert at looking things up, coding isn’t a closed book test. If you have a question, more than likely it’s been answered several dozen times on the internet. A few great sites that provide incredible resource are Stackoverflow, MDN, and W3 Schools. These are all favorites on any browser I use.

As with learning anything new, there will always be different paths to success, but these are just a few tips I have found that I wish I knew earlier. Being a developer is a wonderful career but it is not without it’s roadblocks. I hope these will be as helpful to you as they would have been to me. Happy coding!!