We all want to be programmers, and many of us who are already programmers want to get better at what we do. Programming is one of the most exciting things you can do right now. And it’s also better to get better at something, especially programming. It helps you think in other ways and solve some problems much faster.
No matter your level of experience, whether you're a web developer or a computer science engineer, junior or senior, there are always some signs of good programmers that set them apart from other developers. Keep reading this article, and you'll know if you’re a great developer!
I tried to explain the unusual characteristics of a truly excellent developer. There won’t be something like “Good programmers love to solve problems." I wanted to talk about some details that not many people are discussing!
1. You Have Right Soft Skills
First of all, every great developer should not only be able to code. It’s also crucial to have specific soft skills that will help you achieve much more. I’m talking about being cooperative, knowing how to talk to others, managing your time, and being able to focus only on one thing. These are the most essential skills that not every developer, every person should have.
You should understand that programming isn’t about coding; it’s about creating something. Usually, you won’t be able to create everything from scratch alone, especially without knowing how to do it. You need to describe the goals of your product, find the right team, and communicate with it. You also need to motivate your co-workers and work on one thing together.
Soft skills also include critical and creative thinking. And as we all know, they are essential for real programming success. You can't solve any difficult problems without them, and you'll eventually stagnate.
By doing so, you’ll definitely achieve what you want and build a great product. So having at least several of these soft skills is amazing. You can’t be a great developer without being a great person!
2. You Can Find Information, Even If Nobody Can
Programmer isn’t a job; it’s a mindset. Always remember this quote. It makes your brain work in a different way. Programming teaches you to think in an algorithmic way. By knowing how to do it, you can accomplish different tasks in the most efficient way possible.
Just imagine a situation. You’ve just learned a sorting algorithm. After understanding it and practicing for a little while, your brain tries to implement it in your usual life. If you needed an hour to sort books on a bookshelf, now you only need 15 minutes. It has increased your productivity and the speed at which you can accomplish specific tasks.
The same thing happens when you want to find something. It can be an answer to your question, a solution to a problem, or anything else. If you know which algorithm to use for this specific task, then you’ll do it faster and better. If you know where to find information and how to do it right, you’ll also accomplish everything faster and better.
To summarize, if you’re a great developer, you’ll definitely find the right information, even if anyone else can’t!
3. You’re Surrounded By Like-Minded People
Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are. That’s also a crucial quote that you should consider remembering in your life. You can’t be a great developer if you’re not surrounded by great developers or at least like-minded people.
Jacque Fresco once said — “The environment shapes the person." I fully agree with this and have experienced it myself. If you don’t know, I’m currently living in Kazakhstan, which is not the best place to build projects and create startups. However, once I started talking with very intelligent guys in these spheres, I started to see some changes.
We started discussing ideas and projects that could reshape the entire future. It gave me a definition of like-minded people. Each of us knows something that nobody else knows, and it’s very important to share this information with each other.
I’m better at UI/UX design; someone else could be better at the back end; someone at marketing. Imagine building a team of professionals and working on something together every day. Isn’t that amazing?
4. You’re Not Afraid To Share The Results
It can be sharing results with friends and relatives, or even sharing them on social media. You can also upload your work to GitHub and share it with others.
Firstly, if you’re doing so, it means that you know that your program works as planned because you definitely won’t publish a script that just doesn’t work. And secondly, you can get a bunch of feedback from other experienced developers.
Many beginners are shy and afraid to share their results because they think that everybody will think that they’re doing something bad. It’s the absolute opposite. If you want to become a great developer, you need to have a lot of feedback. It will point out your weaknesses and explain to you what to do next!
5. You’re Coding On Purpose
Last, but not least, you’re coding on purpose or have some kind of plan. We have all met someone who wants to be a programmer, either because someone told him to or because they have huge salaries. one of the dumbest things that I’ve ever heard.
If you’re a great programmer, you chose this path yourself. not your friends, not your parents. and you’re doing it on purpose. Probably because you want to build something that will revolutionize the world or because you just want to become a millionaire by selling some software.
It doesn’t matter what your goals are, you just need to have them. And if you don’t, then you need to spend most of your time identifying the right one. The right goal will help you achieve everything quicker and focus on the most important things.
You also need to have some sort of roadmap. Nothing comes immediately. You need to figure out which way to go and understand different parts of your journey. If you want to become a senior blockchain developer, then you first need to analyze the whole niche. Then write step-by-step instructions for exactly how you’ll achieve it. For instance, you can first learn Solidity, then find some libraries for your specific task, then build a website if you need to, and so on.
Conclusion
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Top comments (1)
Ah these are some great insights! As we were building Adadot.com we found out there was another characteristic of good developers. They were great collaborators. Specifically they were offering solutions to the rest of the team. It probably fits well under "Soft Skills" but I would say it can also be a category of its own