Ten tips for novice Software Developers
Foreword
It’s good when you work with a person who knows a lot. But what if you work with a colleague whose experience is not so great? It is especially true if we talk about professional and personal qualities. Involuntarily I have to advise, help him in places, and somewhere even teach. We all being there. All these actions require considerable efforts that could be applied for their intended purpose – in the development of the project; however, without the training of new specialists it will be harder.
So, in order to minimize these costs, let’s “create” a good, and possibly an ideal beginner software developer, with high potential and bright horizons.
The ten tips offered here are not claimed to be original and are mainly based on my short five-year development experience. So, let’s begin.
1. Be independent
If you have a question and don’t know what to do with it, then first try to research it yourself. Do not expect constant help from colleagues – they have enough work without you. Use the full power of search engines, specialized resources (for example, StackOverflow), professional blogs, developer forums, etc. There are dozens of ready-made solutions to solve basic problems. Just go and get it.
2. Know how to ask
If your independent search for an answer to a question hasn’t given results and you have been treading your feet for a long time, then do not be afraid to ask more experienced colleagues for help.
Before you ask your question, do not rush, try to formulate it as clearly as possible. The answer to the question may already be in the question itself.
If you need to show any algorithm or scheme and point to the “dark”, problem or weak points, then try to use special tools for the image (for example, UML), this will allow you to effectively demonstrate the subject of the question.
3. Constantly evolve
We are all witnesses to the stunning pace of technology development. It is especially true for our field of activity. Remember that a lot of what you’ve studied at the university, unfortunately, can very quickly become outdated, become irrelevant. Fortunately, this does not apply to fundamental technical sciences. Be prepared for the fact that you constantly have to comprehend something new, to understand the latest innovative technologies and explore new trends all the time that you will act as a software developer. Remember, the younger generation is on the alert and creates competition. It is important to understand that in order to effectively and quickly master technology, you need to constantly train the learning skill itself and not let it atrophy.
4. Do not be afraid to learn to evaluate
At first, I had a peculiar fear of evaluating the task. And with varying success, I sometimes missed or hit. I can immediately reassure you that this part is not so simple. There are many complex methods developed by more than one generation of specialists, and this is not only in IT. It seems to me that I pretty scared you. Well, never mind, catch a couple of rake shots, treat beer to more experienced colleagues to find out their know-how, and you will have the basic skill of task optimization. Over time, gaining experience in solving various problems, the picture will be very clear, for example, you can easily understand that it will take 6 hours plus 2 hours for risks to implement the jQuery whistle-puff feature. So this is something that you will learn over time, gaining more experience.
5. Do not forget about the whole picture of the system.
When developing the next class, implementing a pattern or fixing a tricky bug, do not forget about the whole picture of the created software. Sometimes it happens that as a result of overly enthusiastic work on a certain section of the code, the visibility of the project is narrowed, which leads to potential conflicts in the code, ridiculous errors and provokes bottlenecks in the system.
Try to train your overall vision through class diagrams (or key parts) printed on paper, algorithms, complex data structures, and other essential components. This will help in case of confusion to quickly refresh the general idea and return to a healthy rhythm.
6. To the best use ready-made solutions
Probably, nowhere more often than in IT, people “re-invent the wheel”, and there are advantages as well as disadvantages. It is important to understand that if there is enough time, the task is not difficult, and you have a good idea of what to do, you can write your own implementation, which will harmoniously fit into the overall style of the project. It will at least give you an understanding of the processes from within, and of course, the practical experience. However, if time is running out, or the task is successfully solved by complex tools, for example, the popular framework involved in the project or some component from the library, then it is more efficient to use the ready-made solution. Keep in mind that there may be situations when in the future you may need to optimize or expand your chosen solution.
7. Appreciate your work
Do not approach the task as a favor, otherwise, you will only be harmed. Appreciate what you create. Do not take a couple of minutes to complete the code, according to generally accepted standards in the company or team. Scrub your result, be pedantic, cultivate this habit in yourself, if it is not already there. For example, if you have “moved out” the interface element a few pixels to the right, then take the time to fix it, returning it to its place. Be sure to check and run the result of your activity, do not shift everything onto the shoulders of the already busy quality control engineers. As a result, you will definitely be noticed and appreciated, and that’s all because you value what you create.
8. Do not be lazy
Comments on the hub, watching videos on YouTube, and other things during downtime at work is not bad, but it is much better to do something useful for both yourself and your colleagues. Have you read about an exciting technology that could potentially be applied to a project? Try it in practice – load the tests in the sandbox, compare the results with already used similar technologies, or write “hello world” in the form of an engine for a blog or another trivial (but not too) task. It’s also good to create something of your own in your free time: whether it is a simple Greasemonkey script for your favorite web resource or an original thought for a startup. In any case, a huge plus after all this will be maintaining a working tone and, as a result, good results in solving new problems.
9. Be able to express your thoughts correctly
Try to state your thoughts concisely and clearly. No wonder they say that “brevity is the sister of talent”. If it is tough for you, and your speech is always “too wordy”, then do the following: write down a thought on paper, try to identify the basic thesis carefully and, through the gradual deletion of “superfluous” and “embellish” words and phrases, clear it. Treat it like a game – with excitement, enthusiasm and interest. You can also train using Twitter, as it has restrictions on messages.
10. Do not limit yourself to your role.
First, you will be engaged in the implementation of tasks. And sometimes it will seem to you that the manager is wrong, the customers are stupid, and the team leader is a tyrant and usurper. Often this is just an illusion that can spoil relationships in the team and even tarnish your reputation. To understand their motives, try to put yourself in the place of a person, think about how you would act in their place, having a number of limitations and responsibilities. Most often, you will understand, otherwise, you are just out of luck, and then make an effort for productive communication. The same applies when you grow up and change the role of a developer to one that was previously incomprehensible. In this case, just remember yourself, and try not to put pressure on the already tortured programmer.
Afterword
I know that some will call me Captain Obvious. But as practice shows, unfortunately, not everyone understands things described above and, as a result, harming themselves and their colleagues. But this could have been avoided.
