That you must know as many programming languages and frameworks. One year into my professional journey my top key takeaway has been that design patterns and paradigms are the most important thing. All code is the same as long as you know the fundamentals of programming, can read docs and be willing to spend your day 'crying' while searching error messages on Google. I was convinced that language/framework A is the best tool and you can't achieve this on language/framework B. Today I'm open minded about the best tool for the job and also being in a software development agency start up for 6 months, I have been forced to get out of my shell and work with tech I once considered unworthy or languages I thought I'd never work with professionally .
Miranda is a technical writer and product lead at VMware as well as founder of Books on Code, which is a platform for programmers who love to learn through technical books.
Location
San Francisco, CA
Education
MA English Literature
Work
Senior Technical Writer at VMware (previously Pivotal)
That you know everything. It's impossible for us to know everything - that's why we have Google. Don't feel like you're expected to know everything all the time, knowing what to Google is the most important thing.
Nah, ill just reinstall my system, invent new aliases, try out 3 new editors, find a theme, etc. that should keep me busy for a week. Much more fun than doing something with business value. /s
Gotta love this. Real story, i met a guy that started programming under the wing of someone who constantly fiddles with editor, for years. I knew exactly how it will go. Ive been meeting him every couple of months (conferences, eventually working together in the same company) and asking whats up, what he learned, how his stuff is looking.
Every time he had something new. New editor, 10 shell scripts to increase productivity, new laptop with great shortcuts on touchbar.
Needless to say, he was fired from my company because he couldnt deliver anything.
Beware juniors - dont waste time. If it works and doesnt get in a way - stick with it until it does. Then fix what is itchy, and move along. Otherwise your resume will contain more about buzzwords than results. And this is not a good thing.
As a full-time student having jumped into the programming world several months ago, I can really say that regardless of where you are in your learning path, we should be helping each other up, not breaking each other down. I can't say how many times I've seen the worst of people on StackOverFlow. Honestly, I think we're all here to learn and further our common goals and our industry- let's do it together. Rudeness has always been a major pet peeve of mine, as I'm sure it is for others!
Imposter syndrome may always stick with me but I'm putting mental health, physical health, social awareness, and self-efficacy first before I boot up my computer each morning.
Latest comments (64)
You are suddenly an IT guy who will always be able to fix any Facebook or printer problems
fix a broken computer parts.
That the demand for web developers is high.
That everyone makes an assload of money. Not true.
That you must know as many programming languages and frameworks. One year into my professional journey my top key takeaway has been that design patterns and paradigms are the most important thing. All code is the same as long as you know the fundamentals of programming, can read docs and be willing to spend your day 'crying' while searching error messages on Google. I was convinced that language/framework A is the best tool and you can't achieve this on language/framework B. Today I'm open minded about the best tool for the job and also being in a software development agency start up for 6 months, I have been forced to get out of my shell and work with tech I once considered unworthy or languages I thought I'd never work with professionally .
That you need to work for companies that make you work 60-70 hours a week to make ends meet.
Just developer stereotypes, like an assumption that I don't have soft skills and would be happy spending my life coding in a dark basement.
I think it's so interesting how a job title completely changes how you're seen. Going from marketing to development was like whiplash.
I always thought that you need to be skilled in order to get a good job, but sometimes you just need to lucky.
That you know everything. It's impossible for us to know everything - that's why we have Google. Don't feel like you're expected to know everything all the time, knowing what to Google is the most important thing.
That you should always be coding. Burnout is a real thing, it sucks, and it can be prevented.
Taking breaks, don't code all weekend, have hobbies outside of code. All good things to help prevent burnout.
medium.com/always-be-coding/abc-al...
That we have unhealthy habits, we eat junk, we this, we that...
NotAllCoders
Nah, ill just reinstall my system, invent new aliases, try out 3 new editors, find a theme, etc. that should keep me busy for a week. Much more fun than doing something with business value. /s
Gotta love this. Real story, i met a guy that started programming under the wing of someone who constantly fiddles with editor, for years. I knew exactly how it will go. Ive been meeting him every couple of months (conferences, eventually working together in the same company) and asking whats up, what he learned, how his stuff is looking.
Every time he had something new. New editor, 10 shell scripts to increase productivity, new laptop with great shortcuts on touchbar.
Needless to say, he was fired from my company because he couldnt deliver anything.
Beware juniors - dont waste time. If it works and doesnt get in a way - stick with it until it does. Then fix what is itchy, and move along. Otherwise your resume will contain more about buzzwords than results. And this is not a good thing.
Sorry, I have to disagree... I cannot write code if I have to look at loading bars that dont resemble nyan cats... ;)
As a full-time student having jumped into the programming world several months ago, I can really say that regardless of where you are in your learning path, we should be helping each other up, not breaking each other down. I can't say how many times I've seen the worst of people on StackOverFlow. Honestly, I think we're all here to learn and further our common goals and our industry- let's do it together. Rudeness has always been a major pet peeve of mine, as I'm sure it is for others!
Imposter syndrome may always stick with me but I'm putting mental health, physical health, social awareness, and self-efficacy first before I boot up my computer each morning.
that 90% of the startups FAIL
forbes.com/sites/neilpatel/2015/01...