Dear new developer, As a new developer, you have a lot of flexibility when looking for a job. This is great in some ways, but makes it difficult to hone in on particular a job opportunity. What should you do when you are looking for a position? After all, if you are open to any … Continue reading What should you look for in a job?
This is a guest post from Joyce Park. Enjoy. To my newer colleagues: Welcome! I’m so excited to have you in the dev community, and honored to hopefully be able to contribute by sharing a few time-tested hints about entrepreneurship and early-stage startups. I’m a community-taught web developer who has enjoyed 22 years in high-profile … Continue reading How to prepare to be a startup founder
This is a guest post from Perry Tiu. Enjoy. Dear New Developer, Ask for great hardware. Ask for that latest MacBook. Ask for that extra built-in 2TB of flash storage. Ask for that 32-inch monitor. Ask for that additional vertical monitor. Ask for that standing desk. Ask for that Aeron chair. Ask for that expensive … Continue reading Ask for great hardware
This is a guest post from Christie Brandao. Enjoy. Dear new developer, It’s easy to get wrapped up in only focusing on the deeply technical aspects of your job, especially if many parts of the stack have technologies you haven’t worked with yet. As your career progresses over time, you will be improving the quality … Continue reading Understand the use case
Dear new developer, In my experience, four types of companies use software. Software is as prevalent as accounting, so every company uses it in some way. Those that sell software to help build software, software product companies. Examples from my career: Oracle. Those that sell software, often called product companies. Examples from my career: The … Continue reading Types of companies that use software
Dear new developer, I remember reading this article a few years ago and being struck by the wisdom contained therein. Code and development is crucial to building many businesses, but as developers we often get wrapped up in the code to the exclusion of other things. I have definitely discounted the value of other aspects … Continue reading Schleps
Dear new developer, It's paradoxical, but sometimes the best thing you can do is not write code. Remember, the value you provide is to solve the problem you are faced with (the outcome), not to write code. Custom code has value, but comes with costs. It needs to be deployed, maintained and upgraded. It has … Continue reading The best code is no code
Dear new developer, Justin Kan has deep experience in the startup space, including at an accelerator called Y Combinator. He gave a talk about why you should work for a startup, and why you shouldn't. Here's the transcript,, and here's a blog post based on it. If you're looking for good management, avoid startups: The … Continue reading Justin Kan on whether you should work at a startup
Dear new developer, Your code is written to further some end. It could be for academia, government, or, more likely, for business purposes. In all the cases, having a greater understanding of these overarching purposes will allow you to make smarter decisions and write better systems. However, just like in software development, business uses a … Continue reading Understand the business
Dear new developer, Businesses will spend money to make money (or save money, which is essentially the same thing). This is what they are doing when they are hiring you, when they buy that shiny new office building, when they spend money on computers and other tools to help you do your job, and even … Continue reading Businesses will spend money to make money
Letters To A New Developer 