Dear new developer, Every company has its warts (aka issues, aka problems). I have never met anyone who worked for the perfect company. So, go in with your eyes wide open and choose what warts your company has. You may be able to help fix some of them, but some will be permanent. One wart … Continue reading Work for a place where people care
Category: letters to a new developer
It will turn out mostly fine… if you have the passion
This is a guest post from Jenn Chu. Enjoy. 'Passion is one great force that unleashes creativity, because if you're passionate about something, then you're more willing to take risks' ~Yo-Yo Ma Dear new developer, I've always taken the quote above to heart… fast-shooting myself into the named camp of 'Career Switchers` when talking about … Continue reading It will turn out mostly fine… if you have the passion
Learn automated testing
Dear new developer, If you want to build good software, learn automated testing. Depending on your platform of choice, you may have good defaults or you may need to investigate options. But I think of a test suite as a "fat suit" for your code. Sure, your code can still "fall down". But it will … Continue reading Learn automated testing
‘You get what you give’
This is a guest post from Rylan Bowers. Enjoy. Dear New Developer, 'You get what you give' isn’t just a late '90s catchy pop song set in a late '90s mall that gives me late '90s cringe (and nostalgia, but those go hand-in-hand, eh?). It’s also a great way to approach your career! This is … Continue reading ‘You get what you give’
Know your runway
Dear new developer, When you are considering a career move, whether to a startup, a sabbatical or further schooling (basically any time when your income will exceed your expenses) it pays to calculate your runway. There are various kinds of runway (social, emotional, financial) but the easiest one to calculate is financial. You do this … Continue reading Know your runway
Avoid being an expert beginner
Dear new developer, This post by Erik Dietrich covers the situation where a developer becomes an "expert beginner". This is something to avoid as you build your career--don't work in a place where you are isolated or unable to progress. He breaks progress in any area down into a number of components--Beginner, Advanced Beginner, Competent, … Continue reading Avoid being an expert beginner
Read the documentation
Dear new developer, Reading the docs is so important. It is so easy, when you are confronted with a task, to just jump in and start doing. It feels right. It feels natural. It feels like progress. The problem is that it may be motion, but it probably is not progress. You may be spinning … Continue reading Read the documentation
Job hunting tips for new developers
Dear new developer, Joe Marshall has some interesting tips for new developers (he calls them "junior developers to be" but developer nomenclature is so broken that I prefer the term "new"). They are focused around finding a job (and Joe has a newsletter to help 🙂 ). They range from the simple: "Read coding interview … Continue reading Job hunting tips for new developers
Learn to use a debugger
Dear new developer, When you are fixing a bug in a program you are working on, a key thing to do is to get an understanding of the state of the system. This can include user input, stored values from a persistent data store, and non recurring information like the current time. But the most … Continue reading Learn to use a debugger
How to read code
Dear new developer, Reading code is much more common than writing code. Some might even say, "don't trust any documentation, read the code," though I consider that to be a pretty radical position. But how can you effectively read the code. This post from selftaughtcoders.com gives a good explanation: Find one thing you know the … Continue reading How to read code
Letters To A New Developer 