How do I improve as a software developer ?

#beginners #devops #programming #discuss

The most common question I get asked.

More often than not the answer is simple:

Spend more time writing code
Keep up with the latest trends (YouTube/Twitter/

dev.to) Just as an example.

Experiment and deep dive into specific tools/ frameworks/languages
Actually read documentation (before you start coding

and again once you've built something to help solidify

your understanding)

There are no shortcuts in this industry. Time, trends and docs are the simplest things that will elevate your skills and accelerate your career.

Anything that I missed?

Top comments (6)

Keff • Jun 28 '22

I mostly agree, practice is key and appliying and implementing what you learn will also help. One thing I don't agree on is the trend point, I don't think it is a good idea for begginers to get hooked up with trends as they change too frequently and they don't add that much value to your basic skillsets most times. I'd say stick with the basics and well established tech and then once you have a good experience with that start to play with trendy stuff...

Otherwise as a beginner you might feel like you're always behind and wont be able to keep up with trends, hell not even professionals can xD This will have a negative effect on your mental game, possibly demotivating you.

Abderrezak Zemmit • Jun 28 '22

Right 👏👏❤

Nik F P • Jun 29 '22

This is a subject I danced around in this post, which was geared toward beginners and hobbyists. I think beginners should be loosely following new trends, but not jumping on to every new thing.

If you hear about it once, make a mental note and move on.
If you hear about it all the time, but don't know you need it, look into it briefly in your spare time. If you don't need it, move on.
If you hear about it all the time, look into it, and find out you need it, go down the rabbit hole and learn it.

I also think it's good to explore just a bit to find where you are most comfortable. The fundamentals are never really lost, so when you start learning your second and third languages you will be a mile ahead of true beginners in the same language.

And build things or get involved in things that make you happy! One of the quickest ways to improve is to work on things you like.