Why and how to improve your writing skills as a software developer

This is a guest post from Allie Cooper. Enjoy. It’s one thing to be able to write good code, but professional written communication is something else entirely. The ability to efficiently and authentically communicate using written language is an often ironically underrated skill in software development.This is something that new developers need to get over … Continue reading Why and how to improve your writing skills as a software developer →

I’m writing the book I wished I’d read

Dear new developers, Update July 5, 2020: I now have a launch date and a cover. You may have noticed the pace of new letters has slowed down a bit. There have been some fantastic guest posts, but there's only been one new letter per week for a while. There's a reason for that. I'm … Continue reading I’m writing the book I wished I’d read →

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 →

Things learned from a senior developer

Dear new developer, This post by a Bloomberg developer catalogs everything they learned sitting next to a senior developer for a year. Lots of good stuff in there. Favorite excerpts: How to handle an outage: For when things go wrong, and they will, the golden rule is minimizing client impact. My natural tendency when things … Continue reading Things learned from a senior developer →

Writing Is An Undervalued Engineering Skill

Dear new developer, This post discusses writing and how learning to write well can really level up your engineering experience. You can also view over 300 comments about this post on one of my favorite online communities, Hacker News. The author has some suggestions on how to become better: So how can you work on … Continue reading Writing Is An Undervalued Engineering Skill →

Write a technical ebook

Dear new developer, I suggest you take some of your ample free time (if you have it) and write a technical book. I've written one book and doing so gives you a deep understanding both of the technology you choose to write about and of the difficulties of doing so. It will give you instant … Continue reading Write a technical ebook →

What Mitchell learned in his first two years as a software developer

Dear new developer, It's great to see what other developers have learned, especially when they are just starting out. This is a post covering Mitchell Irvin's lessons from his first two years as a software developer. Now, I don't know Mitchell at all (but I guess I am connected to him in the third degree, … Continue reading What Mitchell learned in his first two years as a software developer →

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! →

Always Be Journaling

This is a guest blog post from Brooke Kuhlmann. Enjoy. Dear developer, Of the many techniques you'll pick up over the course of your career, one worth investing in early is journaling. Journaling might not seem like a worthy endeavor at first. Capturing important moments of your life on a daily basis might even seem … Continue reading Always Be Journaling →

Start a blog

Dear new developer, A blog is free (except in terms of time), forces you to think, provides an example of your ability to discuss concepts, and helps others. What's not to like? The hardest part about blogging is just doing it, day in and day out. Now, I am no Fred Wilson, who has blogged … Continue reading Start a blog →