Dear new developer, It's a good idea to learn SQL (which stands for structured query language). This is the language that the vast majority of data is stored in for most companies. The reason for this is that relational databases (which is what SQL is the main interface for) are very good at a wide … Continue reading Learn SQL
Don’t be afraid to “fail”
This is a guest post from Cierra Nease. Enjoy. Dear new developer, “Failures” as a new developer are plenty -- but you might be asking, why is “failures” in quotes? To fail something is dependent upon one’s perspective. The only true failure is to quit working towards success. Every failure brings a small success in … Continue reading Don’t be afraid to “fail”
Use copy/paste as much as you can
Dear new developer, Use copy and paste as much as you can. Not so much for code snippets from Stackoverflow, though that will save you some time hunting down mismatched parentheses. But this is especially useful whenever you are searching for errors or moving information between systems. For example, recently I had to find where … Continue reading Use copy/paste as much as you can
Three Mantras to Live By
This is a guest post from Dave Mayer. Enjoy. Dear New Dev- After 22 years of 'production level' experience in the real world, I'm writing to share three mantras that have led to more happiness and more success for us. To be clear, these are DAILY mantras. Not weekly, not monthly, not annually. Daily. They … Continue reading Three Mantras to Live By
Read great books about software development
Dear new developer, Read books about software development. Seriously. Now, you won't learn the latest techniques from books. Those will live online in blogs or videos (or in papers, if you work in an area like machine learning influenced by academia). Nor will you learn a lot that you can put to immediate use to … Continue reading Read great books about software development
Don’t try to change the tabbing / bracing style
This is a guest post from Andrew Rondeau. Enjoy. Dear New Developer, Don’t show up an a new job and immediately try to change the tabbing and/or bracing style. This is especially important if the codebase you work on has a very consistent style that all of the other developers follow. Why? Tabbing and bracing … Continue reading Don’t try to change the tabbing / bracing style
Admit your weaknesses
Dear new developer, I just had a conversation with my boss. I said "Hey, sometimes I can be overly direct and it comes off like an a**hole. I've been told I've been condescending by co-workers. I'm working on being more empathetic but if you see behavior like this from me, please let me know." A … Continue reading Admit your weaknesses
A Crash Course for Your First Job in Software
Dear new developer, This post, "They Didn't Teach Us This" is a great read. There’s a curious phenomenon that happens when new web developers take their first job. You’ve just gotten your CS degree or graduated from bootcamp, and you’ve spent months or years learning to write efficient code, practicing for interviews, and building portfolio … Continue reading A Crash Course for Your First Job in Software
How to start blogging
Dear new developer, I was asked about how to start blogging during the Q&A portion of a talk I gave. I had offhandedly recommended blogging as a great way to make connections and to be both credible and findable (locatable?) when looking for a job. I started to spout off an answer using WordPress, and … Continue reading How to start blogging
Learn a Little Network Engineering
This is a guest blog post from Allan Wintersieck. Enjoy. Dear new developer, I realize that just trying to learn basic programming principles can feel daunting enough, but if I may, I’d recommend adding one more task to your list: learn a little bit about network engineering. Networking underpins everything web and app developers do, … Continue reading Learn a Little Network Engineering
Letters To A New Developer 