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I’m going to say a number of extreme things about Devs in this article to get your attention and get you ...
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I love the idea of having skin in the game. That ratchets up the pressure right where it needs to be to optimize for learning through action. I try to live in this space as much as possible.
This article reminds me of a couple concepts:
Thanks so much for reading my article and for the kind and interesting response.
I’m following you here on dev.to and I’m really glad because I’ve learned two new things from you just today :
Absolutely. First of many, I hope!
Nice article – thanks for sharing (and alerting me to it).
Maybe it’s just experience of being in a few development environments, but I didn’t think the statements here were particularly extreme.
My first thought was that it helps to be able to code, but it’s not a necessity these days – there are quite a few no-code platforms to build apps (or prototypes) with. Going through the motions of coding things helped me with thinking in slightly different ways though.
I agree with not needing to know all the details of a programming language. I feel that a good understanding of some fundamentals along with learning to search documentation will go further than knowing all the ins-and-outs of a particular language (even if that’s humanly possible). Being comfortable with searching documentation will help when learning new languages too.
The Hammer concept is an interesting one. I’ve been in some environments where I’d learn of requirements by talking to people, and then refining the Minimum Viable Product based on feedback. I’ve also been in places where I’ve been expected to build things with less scope for creativity. While the latter is more ‘hammer-like’, I suppose someone is a hammer in any case where they report to someone.
I agree it’s important to do some exploration too. I started writing ~6 months ago partly to improve my communication skills, partly to see if I actually understood what I thought I did (after all, it’s only possible for someone to teach if they understand the subject). But side projects can also have you exploring areas you might not otherwise look. My first ‘real’ project was Working Files List; it helped me to learn quite a few things, including how to build Visual Studio extensions.
Wow, thanks so much taking the time to read my article and comment.
I 100% agree when you said, " I feel that a good understanding of some fundamentals along with learning to search documentation will go further than knowing all the ins-and-outs of a particular language..."
Great stuff. Thanks for the interesting discussion.
Back when I was learning to program, we had a group-project in the second year of my course. All students were assigned into groups of 5-6 people and we had to build something. Coincidentally, a new student was assigned to the same group I was in.
I remember thinking he had amazing programming skills. One day I spoke to him and asked how it was that he seemed to know everything about Java (the language we were taught in) - he must have had so much experience working in Java (or so I thought). As part of his reply, he told me that he'd let me in on a secret (and I paraphrase): the 'best' programmers aren't the ones who learn the entire language API by heart; it's the ones who know how to look up what they need.
I admit to not fully understanding what he meant at the time. I think I do now though.
Unfortunately you HAVE to be a hammer to land a job! I guess once you become a seasoned developer you start caring less about the stack and more about the solution but until then you gotta be good with one hammer.
Yes, we definitely do have to be hammers so that we can be used by others to accomplish a purpose. We just can't lose sight of the fact that to grow we have to be something more than hammers too. 👍🏽
Super motivating article for someone like me who comes from the design world and has been venturing out into web development. Sometimes it's super overwhelming (and honestly frustrating too), since there are SO many things i don't know yet. But as you said in your article, you learn as you go by building stuff you'd actually want and need. Couldn't agree more:)
Thanks for your encouraging comment. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my article and comment. You are on the right path learning as you go. Keep on going and you'll make it to your goal. We just keep on stacking on the skills and soon enough we can build pretty much anything. 👍🏽😊
Could not agree with this more.
Thanks for reading my article and commenting. I appreciate the encouragement.
Tools used to make a ton of money. I think now, that's not the case.
It's what you're saying, engineers learning product, marketing is going to be the next wave simply because... that's where the money is.
Thanks for reading my article and commenting. You make a really great point.
You're right, Devs have to know more than ever and definitely need to know how the software they develop makes the business they're working in stronger.
This is a very great content!
It's great. Creating our own app based on our experiences is important. Eventually, what others can see is our apps.
Thanks for reading my article and commenting. I really appreciate you taking your time.
I love this article. It's so incredibly important to understand the bigger picture and to become a solutions provider instead of just an expert at one particular programming language or tool.
It is a sign of maturity to understand that building something is the goal. Not just becoming a master of the tools.
Great article!
Thanks so much for taking the time to read my article and comment. I really appreciate it.