Today I passed my final project review for Flatiron School and I feel more like a software engineer than ever! But there are still a boatload of things I need to learn and even more I don't even know exist yet. That's what is so exciting for me, that there will always be something new to learn and I will never be bored!
There are a few tips I think I would have benefitted from getting (or listening to) when I was starting out so I'm going to share those with you. Feel free to let me know if you have any to add!
Git Commit more often
This is still an issue for me and I have it on a post it note on my monitor. It is easy to get caught up in the coding and forget to do this, but don't! Just do it!
Don't copy/paste, type it yourself
Even if you type it word for word, it will help you understand it better if you type it. Think through what you are typing while you do it. It really helps!
Comment your code as you write it
This is still a pipe dream for me, but it sounds like a great idea! And I find myself wishing I would have commented things when I look at my code later so I'm working on it!
Google is your new best friend
There were lots of times during bootcamp when I felt like something just wasn't making sense. I wasn't understanding the way it was being taught. So I googled the hell out of it until I found someone who explained it in a way that I understood. The probability of an explanation better suited to you being out there is pretty high, so just keep looking.
VS Code has some awesome tools, USE THEM!
My son and I spent hours one night watching videos on the best tools for VS Code and it was time well spent! There are some pretty amazing tools out there to help with anything from formatting to debugging to beautifying. Take the time to find some that work for you and implement them. It's worth it!
Just Keep Swimming
Even when you feel overwhelmed or frustrated, just remember to keep going! Everybody feels that way sometimes. Reach out to someone in the community, read some blogs or listen to some podcasts but don't give up. It can be a long, difficult road sometimes but it's going to be worth it - I just know it!
Thanks for reading, hope you all keep swimming along in this journey! Let me know what tips help you or what things you need to work on. Reach out if you are struggling and I'll remind you just how awesome you are!
R
Top comments (0)