Dear new developer, I recently learned a new skill. And I wasn't good at it. (The skill, if you must know, was writing with a certain tone for a corporate blog. But the lessons below apply for any skill.) I don't like being "not good", aka bad, at something. Especially since it was adjacent to … Continue reading The despair of not being good
It is never too late to start learning how to code
This is a guest post from Jenna Quindica. Enjoy. Dear New Developer, I didn't learn how to program until I was 18; in fact, I didn't know about computer science the concept until I was 18. It is never too late to start learning how to code. In the beginning I struggled the most with … Continue reading It is never too late to start learning how to code
On debugging, v2
Dear new developer, I wrote about debugging a few weeks back. I wanted to get more concrete. One time a friend called in about his client. The client was getting doubled orders on their ecommerce site. That is, someone would order five widgets on their site. The system would have some kind of hiccup and … Continue reading On debugging, v2
On mid-career challenges
Dear new developer, I really liked this post on mid-career challenges. I know you're new, but you'll be mid-career before you know it! I’m in a position right now where I have to figure out what comes next for me and how to navigate the challenges of getting there. I made it to senior engineer, … Continue reading On mid-career challenges
Manage your career
Dear new developer, You have to manage your career. If you don't, no one else will. This means three things. Know what you want. Communicate that. Make moves toward it. Let's talk about each of these in turn. "Know what you want" is the hardest part. Because we are lucky to live in a world … Continue reading Manage your career
Contextual advice for new developers
Dear new developer, A few months ago I asked Marie Chatfield, a front end developer and advice columnist, what her one best piece of advice for new developers was. She wrote a great response. From the post: For the self-taught programmer: I am amazed at your dedication and perseverance and ability to learn from different … Continue reading Contextual advice for new developers
Develop empathy
Dear new developer, Right now you're probably a bit frustrated and confused. You're learning a lot of things and you don't really understand everything. Sometimes things click and it all makes sense, other times you're confused and staring at what feels like a brick wall. Perhaps you just want to make things work and they … Continue reading Develop empathy
Leveling up tips from Chelsea Troy
Dear new developer, I found this video from Chelsea Troy about how to level up as a developer interesting (I love watching YouTube videos on 1.5x speed to save time): A few tidbits I found interesting: the distinction between leveling up passively (which we all do as we learn in our daily work life) and … Continue reading Leveling up tips from Chelsea Troy
Software is about people, not code
Dear new developer, When I was starting out, I thought that software development was all about code. After all, that was the main thing I was working on. Well, maybe not the main thing, as I needed to know what code to write, how to interface with other code, what was the problem being solved, … Continue reading Software is about people, not code
Things good engineers do
Dear new developer, I found this post covered some things that good software engineers do. It doesn't focus on the technical aspects, but on other aspects of software development. Things they do: Ask for help Work on one thing at a time Prioritise unblocking My favorite quote: In software development we rarely have the luxury … Continue reading Things good engineers do
Letters To A New Developer 