Dear new developer, I already covered the right way to ask questions, but this post was so good that I wanted to share it. (I found it on hackernews.) Mike Ash gives advice on how to get answers from the internet. Tips like "explain everything up front", "post your code" and "follow up after you … Continue reading The right way to ask a question to get an answer
Category: letters to a new developer
Learn about personal finance
Dear new developer, If you have a job, you're probably making pretty good money. I know when I started I was making a lot more money than I ever had before (it was $42,000 per year, but this was in 1999). Man, it felt good to just buy what I wanted to buy and not … Continue reading Learn about personal finance
Letters to a new developer from Joel Spolsky
Dear new developer, Looks like Joel Spolsky has written a number of blogs posts aimed at new developers. Every post is tagged with the date so you can be aware of any old posts that may have dated advice. But I've been following Joel since a colleague emailed the Joel Test around our workplace in … Continue reading Letters to a new developer from Joel Spolsky
Use LinkedIn, and use it well
Dear new developer, Set up a LinkedIn profile and keep it up to date. This will serve as a public resume. (Yes, a github is great too, but you might not always have time to keep code up to date or an interest in a maintaining a large project.) Once a year, at a minimum, … Continue reading Use LinkedIn, and use it well
You can do this.
This is a guest blog post from Kyle Coberly. Enjoy. Dear new developer, You can do this. There's a lifetime of stuff to learn and it will seem intimidating, but if you keep doing it, you'll get better. Teenagers, career changers, and retirees all have done this, and they weren't any smarter or more naturally … Continue reading You can do this.
Use stackoverflow, and use it well
Dear new developer, Stackoverflow (SO) is great for three different kinds of developers (and someone can be all three over time): those who are looking for answers, usually via Google (searchers) those who are looking to showcase knowledge, usually by answering questions (answerers), and those who have a specific question to ask (askers) Every developer … Continue reading Use stackoverflow, and use it well
Reflect on your mistakes
Dear new developer, This post called "Leveling Up Skill #10: Reflecting on Mistakes ", part of a series on leveling up as a programmer, provides a good solid process for reflecting on, learning from, and moving past mistakes. I liked two parts of this in particular. The calling out of the "it's ok to make … Continue reading Reflect on your mistakes
Get used to failure
Dear new developer, I was chatting with someone I met at a meetup who was about to graduate from a bootcamp. I asked him what his advice to a new developer would be. He said that it would be "get used to failure, and get used to working through it." I thought that advice was … Continue reading Get used to failure
Write that down!
This is a guest blog post from John Obelenus. Enjoy. Dear new developer, Even when I was a kid in school I hardly wrote things down. That’s why we had textbooks after all! I was baffled by other students in college furiously transcribing every word that came out of the professor’s mouth. Now I have … Continue reading Write that down!
Be a Just in Time Learner, part II
Dear new developer, I previously wrote about being a JIT learner and talked about it in the context of a Just In Time compiler. Just in time has another meaning, that relates to manufacturing. Delivering the right parts to the right plant at the right time revolutionized manufacturing. Just in time learning means that you … Continue reading Be a Just in Time Learner, part II
Letters To A New Developer 