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.
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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.
When a majority of your day is spent on a computer where you work does not matter as much as how you work and how you communicate. In this episode we talk with Kellie Walton(@roundoctagon), Director of Client Services & Strategy at Isovera about working Remotely. Kellie outlines the benefits and challenges she's experienced working with remotes team. During our conversation we talk about tools and methods that are helpful for maintaining communication, support and camaraderie amongst remote team members. We also discuss different forms of remote work and how developers can start to introduce the practice at their company. Which in turn, Build up the behaviors that will grow your communication abilities that will aid in your long term career growth.
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!
Central to being a successful developer is establishing tactics for communicating ideas, needs and tasks with other people. In this episode we talk with Heather Staudt, UX Product Manager at BioRAFT about communication. Heather outlines the importance communication plays on her team to correctly understand and explain development tasks and needs. We discuss why communication is an imperative part of any team, methods for to how to best communicate with others and things to remember when attempting to communicate technical details to less technical people. Having your code communicate with computers is important to your day to day success, but being able to communicate to the people you interact with is imperative to your long term career success.
To progress in a development career requires motivation. An underlying personal need and goal to push your self to improve and grow. In this episode we talk with Nathan Dentzau (@nathandentzau), senior developer at Oomph Inc about being motivated. Nathan shares how he's motivated himself to grow in his career as a developer. We discuss where to find personal motivation and how to look to others for support. You have one career in development and its up to you to make it what you want.
Being able to adapt and alter approach due to changing requirements, technologies and methods is an important part of growing and thriving as a developer. With out doing so, there is risk of getting stuck or bottlenecked in your career. In this episode we talk with Brian Perry (@bricomedy), Senior Front End developer at HS2Solutions about learning how to adapt as a developer. Brian shares the methods he's learned from being an improv comic and former projet manager and how they have helped him be able to changes and grow in development. We discuss methods developers can use to adapt to changing project requirements, teams and technologies. Explaining how doing so will grow your career in ways you cant foresee.
Networking plays an important part in a career in development. Connecting with other people can provide opportunities for personal and career growth. In this episode we talk with Chris Free (@chrisfree), Partner and Creative Director of Chromatic, about the value of being able to network with other people. Chris shares how his career is partly the result of the people he has surronded himself with and how it has benefited his own growth. We discuss why networking with others is vital, the values and opportunities it provides, and go over a few methods for building those personal connections.
As a developer it is common to focused on only the What and How of what you are developing. Those helps you plan a solution, but they do not allow you to understand if you are delivering the correct value. In this episode we talk with Dwayne McDaniel (@McDwayne), developer advocate for Pantheon about the importance of understanding the Why of your development. We discuss why it is important to know the goals of your project. How doing so allows you to deliver the correct product and results. Further we talk about how that allows you to deliver value to your clients and your development career.
A career in development is full of challenges. However it can be easy to slip into a cycle of development stagnation, approaching every problem the same way, with the same tools. In this episode we talk with Mark Robert Henderson (@hackforthesea), a lead developer at CUASHI and organizer of the Hack for the Sea hackathon about the values of finding ways to challenge yourself as a developer. We discuss how challenging yourself allows you to grow as a developer, as well as, some examples of ways to challenge yourself.
Your development career is not an isolated part of your life. It affects and is effected by the other parts of your life. In this episode we talk with Chris Albrecht (@chrisalbrecht), Senior Developer at Lullabot (@lullabot) about why it is important to maintain balance in your life as a developer. In our discussion, Chris outlines three aspects of your life to balance beyond "work/life". We talk about how doing so allows you to maintain a "Happy place" that allows you to be the best developer and self that you can be. Chris shares his own personal journey to become balanced and share tips for how to do so yourself.
Technical leadership is not a specific role, it is a mindset. In this episode we talk with Adam Bergstein (@n3rdstein), V.P. of Engineering at Hook42 (@hook42inc) about what it takes to be a technical leader. In our discussion we tak about behaviours and traits that technical leaders embody and exhibit. Adam shares his personal journey of becoming a technical leader. Explaining how developers of any level, from junior to senior, can become leaders themselves. You have the opportunity to embody these traits to grow your development career.
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