In episode five of the Developing Up podcast we focus on six ways to be a productive developer. We first establish the benefits of productivity and how it impacts your career growth. We then touch on the important distinction between being productive and just being busy. Finally we share six productivity tips to use throughout your career.
Six tips for being a productive developer:
Notes from this episode:
Previous episodes mentioned:
In the season two finale we take a listen back to all of the advice shared by our guests. While each piece of advice focuses on a different non-technical aspect of a career in development, they all share a commonality. Each one is a result of mistakes made, lessons learned and the experiences of each guest. Offering valuable insights that you can use to reflect and grow in your own development career. Also, bloopers!
There are any number of ways development teams can work together to make sure they are improving as a group and as individuals. In this episode we talk with Tracy Lee (@ladyleet), JavaScript developer and CEO of ThisDotLabs, about the benefits of process, abstraction and mentorship. Tracy talks about how her team uses the "P.A.M stack" to support growth and improvements for all developers. We discuss how a team can setup a process that works for them, how to abstract out and share domain knowledge between developers and what a supportive mentorship culture can do for individuals and teams. When you and your team have a process that works for you, are able to share knowledge and provide a learning based culture, everyone will have an environment to grow in their development careers.
Development is not a individual activity, it is a team activity. To grow your development skills and knowledge you need to be able to work collaboratively with other developers. In this episode we talk with Ben Orenstein (@r00k), co-host of The Art of Product Podcast and co-founder and CEO of Tuple about pair programming. Ben talks about how pairing with other developers early in his career helped him grow. We discuss methods developers can use for implementing pairing and the benefits it has for individuals and teams. When you are able to learn from and teach other developers, you'll find that your own development capabilities grow in new ways.
Progressing in every aspect in a development career requires being pragmatic. It means to be engaged in what you do and approach things in a sensible and realistic way. In this episode we talk with David Thomas (@pragdave) and Andrew Hunt (@PragmaticAndy), two people who have literally written the book on being a pragmatic programmer. Dave and Andy share why they went back and revised their pivotal book The Pragmatic Programmer and what has changed in the world of development in the 20 years since its initial release. We discuss what it takes to be an engaged developer and why it is important to do so. Dave and Andy provide their insights on the responsibilities developers have to their work and how to grow from it. Being engaged and growing as a developer requires approaching your career in a pragmatic way.
Listeners of this episode receive a 35% discount when purchasing The Pragmatic Programmer* by using the discount code "DEVELOPINGUP" at checkout.
*We are a participant in the Rakuten Marketing Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to affiliated products.
The core of having a career in development is focused on writing code. To grow and improve in your career, means improving on the code that you write. To do so, requires insights and feedback from those you work with. In this episode we talk with Angie Jones (@techgirl1908), a developer advocate, about the benefits of code reviews. Angie provides her insights into what developers and teams can do to have meaningful code reviews that look beyond just syntax issues. Our conversation focuses on helpful mindsets to take when participating in a code reviews, roles developers of all levels can take on and how ultimately reviews help developers improve. Growth in your development career requires improving your technical capabilities and code reviews are one tool to do so.
For a majority of developers your career is not going to take place at a single location. In how markets and technologies change it is likely that at some point in your career you will need to be prepared to make a change. In this episode we talk with Gus Childs (@guschilds), a Front-End developer, about navigating career transitions. Gus provides insights from his own experiences on how developers can prepare for making a job change. During our conversation we talk about important steps to evaluate your current work environment, how to prepare for a transition and what to look for in new opportunities. You have one career and many jobs will be stepping stones in that career, so make sure you are taking the right steps.
To be able to take risks, learn and grow in your development career you need to have trust. Trust in your co-workers, teams but most importantly trust in yourself and your capabilities. In this episode we talk with Ali Spittel (@aspittel), Software Engineer and co-host of the Ladybug Podcast about building trust. Ali shares her thoughts and experiences from being a developer and teacher about how to establish and grow trust in yourself and others. During our conversation we talk about ways to over come imposter syndrome, keeping track of accomplishments and how groups of developers can build trust together. Trusting yourself and your peers is the only way to be able to confidently take risks and challenge yourself to grow.
An important aspect to growing a career in development is the ability to communicate technical details to less technical audiences. Improving your ability to communicate clearly is hard to do if you only practice in high-pressure situations. In this episode we talk with Karl Hughes (@karllhughes) CTO at The Graide Network and founder of CFPLand about the value becoming a public speaker has on a developers career. Karl shares insights he has learned from interviewing dozens of technical speakers and his own personal path in public speaking. During our conversation we talk about how to get into public speaking as a developer, how to figure and plan a talk and how to apply the skills gained from it into your everyday development career. Being able to clearly communicate is a mandatory skill to progress in your development career and public speaking is an effective way to get better at it.
As a developer you are responsible for all of the code you and your team write and implement. If that code is not secure it can cause problems for your projects, your company and your career. In this episode we talk with Doug Bryant Jr (@cybergent_101) an IT security Analyst and host of the Intrusion Diversity System Podcast about the role security plays in a developers career. Doug shares his experience workin in cyber security and with developers. In our conversation we discuss what can happen when developers are not security minded, how to keep security in mind during development and what to pay attention to before writing secure code.
You are the only person who can take control of your career in development and make it what you want. In this episode we talk with James Hickey (@jamesmh_dev), a .NET developer about the concept of career ownership. James shares his journey into a career in development and what he needed to do to shape his career direction and opportunities. During our conversation we talk about why taking control of your career is imperative to grow as a developer, methods you can use to find a direction in your career and ways you can set yourself up for career success.
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