This is a guest post from Pariss Athena. Enjoy. Dear new developer, Honestly, I don’t think there’s one absolute answer. I believe the answer depends on you and the risk you’re comfortable taking. However, I do think there are things you should take into account before jumping the gun. This is how I personally knew … Continue reading When is it time to quit my 9-5?
Dear new developer, I thought this article was worth sharing, as it is a relatively inexperienced developer talking to newer devs. But as I read it, one piece of advice stuck out and is worth emphasizing. Plan first, then code Roberto Hernandez This is fundamental. Unlike, say carpentry, where planning is critical because you waste … Continue reading Plan first, then code
Dear new developer, Perhaps you took the first job offered to you. Perhaps you joined a friend's company, then realized it wasn't quite what you were promised. Perhaps you joined a company as the only developer and didn't realize you should avoid working alone. You might feel trapped by the money, trapped because you believe … Continue reading If you’re trapped in your job, what should you do?
Dear new developer, I've written before about how being a developer sets you up for a lot of adjacent professions. Jobs like: Engineering managerTechnical trainerStartup CTOProduct managerDeveloper advocateSales engineer I have either direct personal experience or have watched a colleague or friend transition to those types of jobs. I'm sure there are many that I'm … Continue reading How to make a move to a related occupation
This is a guest post from Lorna Mitchell. Enjoy. Dear new developer, Recently, I decided my seven-year-old niece was old enough for her first programmable device. She has done a little bit of Scratch with me, so I bought her a BBC micro:bit (a very simple programmable device, with a web editor and USB connection, … Continue reading The Code Will Never Judge You
This is a guest post from Jerome Hardaway. Enjoy. Dear new developer, So, you’re in the office, learning a million things a minute that you were never exposed to. Everyone around you seems super competent and you don’t want to take time away from them, but you have no idea what you’re doing. You feel … Continue reading You’re gonna be OK
This is a guest post from Mia de Búrca. Enjoy. Dear new developer, You’re probably going to want to quit. The very qualities that make writing software appealing can also make it frustrating beyond belief. You're headed down this path because you like to be challenged, to learn and grow. However, facing new harder problems … Continue reading You’re probably going to want to quit
Dear new developer, For me, there comes a point at the end of every project where I'm just sick of it. I'm sick of the project. I'm sick of the technology. I'm sick of project management system. I'm sick of the code. Sometimes, I just want to see the whole thing burn. Or better, just … Continue reading Sometimes you just have to ship it
This is a guest post from Tim Bourguignon. Enjoy. Dear new developer, Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a black chalk board in a dark room. The board carried remainders of countless creations. Diagrams that could pass as hieroglyphs for the non-educated eye. Or well crafted UML to the … Continue reading Make it work
Dear new developer, https://twitter.com/saronyitbarek/status/1255278961250185218 I thought this was a great tweet. It's worth clicking through and reading the responses. I wrote my own tweet in response, but thought I'd write about it a bit more here. First, it's worth acknowledging that the term "senior developer" means different things in different places and times. Certainly the … Continue reading When do you feel like you’re “senior”
Letters To A New Developer 