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If I knew then what I know now

Ted Hagos on October 05, 2018

Yesterday, there's a discussion (here at dev.to) on "What is your best advise to a junior software developer". Article No Longer A...
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Judith

Awesome post! Its hard to decide the top answers, because there are soooo many things I would tell myself that I didn't know when I began programming. Here are some:

  1. Don't sweat the small stuff. You are not the first person to make this mistake (whatever that may be) and you will not be the last.
  2. Do yoga! You'll thank me when you don't get bursitis or backaches. And the more circulation you have the more blood that goes to your brain.
  3. Find a programming path you enjoy and stick with it. Be an expert at one thing at least - and believe in it. Have a reason why you do that particular job.
  4. Take mental breaks
  5. Learn from the best.
  6. Read a lot.
  7. Teach yourself the art of total concentration
  8. Talk to the rubber duck - its the only way to get from point "A" to point "B" without going on tangents that waste time.
  9. There is no shame in not knowing something.
  10. However far your special skills and knowledge take you remember who you are and what it took to get there. Namaste!
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Herb Wolfe

I definitely wish I had done 2 and 3.

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Judith

never too late my friend!

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Ted Hagos

I love #1 (liked the book too)

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Judith

me too! also, my grammy once told me "worry is a wasted emotion."

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Ben Halpern

I loved this answer

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Ted Hagos

Thanks Ben

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Andreas Møller

Invest in Bitcoin

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Anthony Bouvier

I do career panels every once in a while and get asked a variation of this question.

One thing I wish I started earlier in my career was networking.

Get out there to coding meetups, cons, presentations, etc. Make connections. You are more likely to land a new gig through your network than you are through a recruiter or hunting it yourself. Same goes for when you become a hiring manager -- you'll never have to use a recruiter or post-and-wait websites.

Plus all the things you learn is a bonus.

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Ted Hagos

Agree 100%. I forgot to put this one. Also, hackathons.

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Nick Cinger

Great advice!

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ItsASine (Kayla)

7b. The math nerds you remember from school don't understand machine learning either.

I say as a master of math without a lick of ML knowledge despite reading up on it :P

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Bret Williams

Re #5: You'll pry my coffee from my dead, frozen hands! :-)

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Shing Wong

Not there yet, but sounds like great advice. When I get my first developer job, I'm going to print this out, frame it, and hang it on the wall above my monitor.

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Lukas Lotz

I always try to answer or explain things like I wanted have them explained when I was asking this. That's how trainees skills grow faster.

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Daniel Selinger

Emphasis on 9 to 13 :-D

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Joel

Love point 12!
That's what it means to be dependable.

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Biniam Haddish

Great stuff if you could clarify number 5

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Ted Hagos

It's just a tongue-in-cheek advise on food choices. I just wished I drank less caffeine (hypertension and all) ate less pizza and chips (probably why my triglycerides are so bad). I still eat and drink these now, but in moderation.

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Adam Jennings

Great advice! Thanks for the post!

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Ramiro Rodriguez

That's great advice. I'm glad I read it 😀