Should Developers Put Themselves Out There?

"Should developers put themselves out there" - the short answer is, no.

Do it if you want to and if you see the value of it, but not because someone tells you to. Let's stop driving each other crazy telling one another what we "should" do.

I'm seeing way too many silly posts on dev.to along the lines of "why EVERY developer SHOULD blog ..." or "why EVERY developer SHOULD do open source ..." and so on - that's just nonsense, you can advise people about the pros (and cons) of blogging or whatever, but stop declaring what people "should" do.

You wanna blog or speak, that's fantastic, you don't wanna blog or speak, also fine. People may have busy work lives, or busy personal lives, and might have no time, energy or interest to blog or whatever else in their spare time, or might simply have different goals in life.

Let everyone decide for themselves what they want or don't want to do - let's stop assuming that we ought to be like this or do like that, just because we're "devs".

Developers should do something to put themselves out in public. It will help them learn and could help them in a job search.
I'm an introvert so writing is a better way for me to put myself out there. I'm currently looking for a role and hope my writings will show my communication skills and give me more to talk about in an interview.

Hi, Ayu!

"Not everyone is extrovert" yes, definitely agree with you. From my perpective, the short answer is "they shouldn't, but it's recommended".

Based on my experience, I wrote articles and posts because I love it and just want to share what I know to everyone else. No schedules and specific topics to indicates "these all are not commercial contents".

The pros is I got better SEO for my website and some ppl are notice me on LinkedIn. The cons is, sometimes, I feel uncomfortable to be a center of attention.

Beside of it, write an article is good because you can help other ppl and it's awesome to grow the better community.

But, as a footnote, for all introvert ppl out there who won't be a center of attention, write some posts or articles. Don't wish for view, monetize, etc. Your HR will always observe you and want their employees has contribution for other ppl.

Yes, most definitely! Whether it's on a professional social media account, a blog such a dev, github, etc. YES!

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I think almost everyone should push themselves a bit outside their comfort zone and do a little writing, a little learning in public. If it brings more stress than value, at least you tried. Most people end up happy they did.

• I say almost, because if it's just not for you and you're sure. It's not for you.

Hi Ayu 🙂

I definitely think it’s personal choice, I have friends and colleagues that both like to keep to themselves or put themselves out there, I definitely flit between both.

I’m quite an introverted person and I find socialising in person quite hard. So I started blogging for my own benefit like yourself as sometimes it’s nice to just write about your thoughts or what you’ve been up to and eventually people started commenting and found some of the stuff relatable. That was a bit of a turning point for me. I still write for myself but now I feel if it helps someone else it’s a great joy and I’ve spoken to some interesting people and learnt a lot from them.

I personally love reading other peoples stories or looking up random articles on things because I feel I learn a lot and it keeps me open minded. I’ve also tried putting myself out there more and commenting and speaking with other developers as I’m still early in my career so it’s lovely to connect with like minded people, I find it easier to speak to people online than in person sometimes 🙂

I don’t think people should be pushed to get out of their comfort zone, as everyone has different experiences but it is something I would recommend and then it’s up to the individual 🙂

I started blogging, podcasting, videos, and now live-streams because I had serious problems with putting myself in public spaces. Even when it wasn't in person.

By forcing myself to do the very things I feared, I overcome them and now feel way more comfortable and confident in myself and my skills.

To all, I recommend putting yourself out there, yes it will be painful but you'll grow more than you ever imagined.

Especially in safe welcoming environments like dev.to

I needed to put myself out there online to learn and get support because I was learning to code as the pandemic revved up... but your post makes me think -- is this something that is encouraged for all developers, or just the ones that have more to overcome? I don't know.

I think, as Austin Kleon encourages, that everyone at least needs to be findable online. Do we need to be obsessed with creating content for likes? no. But being findable and showing your work is important for creative professionals, including coders.

I discussed this with a super senior engineer (backend), and he said you're asking all those silly questions, if employers see this online they might find you not "capable". Once it's there it's forever. I said well... everyone started with asking silly questions, especially if you start from a non-stem background or completely switch career. But your solutions, what you've learnt can help those struggling and shy people who dare "not" ask silly questions. If we want to be inclusive, we should allow all the silly newbie questions to be asked.

That said, I don't think this should be compulsory. Doing this, especially on a regular basis, can be challenging, you must see if your lifestyle fits into this. Maybe tech is just where you get money, that's totally fine. You should dedicate the rest of your time to what you like most, perhaps it's growing plants in the garden, far away from the keyboard.

So only do it if you:

1. truly like writing and sharing
2. you need this to land a job (we all need to eat right)

Personally, I don't want to push them. I'm an introvert, but I love to share my knowledge, that's why I learned to blog and write. From my writing, I got many chances to learn from others. In addition, I love to write. :D