Starting out as a Software Developer? 10 things you can do to make your journey more interesting and hitch-free.

Measuring programming progress by lines of code is like measuring aircraft building progress by weight. – Bill Gates (co-founder of Microsoft)

There comes a time when you are tired of hearing the developers talk about new technologies and how excited they are about how they would love to use and implement it. When you are tired of the difficulty of differentiating between Java and JavaScript also why anyone would love a venomous snake. When you are tired of being intimidated by how cool developers are. Whether it is for the money or for the joy it gives you when you learn it, or for the passion, or because you fancy stickers even if it is because you like the meetups, or whether it is a requirement to advance to the next stage of your career or you have even started and you are discouraged. Whatever it is, these are 10 things you should take note of to have a great headstart as a starting out software developer.

• Learn to learn.

You must have heard this quite a lot but apart from the fact that you should learn. The manner in which you learn is most important. A great developer develops the habit of learning because it never stops. It is as important to learn while starting out as it is when you become a full-time developer. Because technologies to use are endless, and these technologies get updated more often than not. A starting out developer who loves to learn has an edge over his counterparts. And in learning, when you practice what you learn you know how to learn what to learn

• Get a mentor

Even as much as experience is the best teacher to learn from, you also need a mentor. It doesn't have to be your experience. A good mentor will help you cover more ground and will help you avoid likely mistakes as much as possible.

• Keep Yourself updated

It is good to learn on daily basis but it is better to keep yourself updated about the changing nature of technologies that you use Read your docs. A good way to do this is to read the documentation on that technology you are interested in. The list is endless.

• Be intentional about your choice of technology

Aim to become an expert in a couple but competent with many.

You will be tempted to want to try out technologies because of how awesome they are and maybe the excitement that learning a new technology brings, but nonetheless, it would be better you stick to one technology primarily and move on to the next when you have achieved a certain level of mastery. That takes uttermost discipline.

Research skills carefully and know which will most rather help you achieve what you want to achieve but has a lot of support as well. There are tons of them.

• Communicate

As with every part of life, communication as a developer has as much importance. Communication is key to working with a team of developers as much as it is when learning how to code. Know how to structure your messages so you will be understood, because communication is only complete when it has completed its cycle. It leaves the gets to the recipient who understands it well.

• Ask Loads of Questions

Learning is important and in learning asking a lot of questions helps you learn a lot about a particular topic. Nobody knows everything so you are not expected to know everything. More so, you have to be honest and ask questions about things you are not really familiar with.
A great developer will always be glad to help. Because there are a lot of people willing to help.

• Learn How to use Google

When you ask questions about things you do not understand, Google is a very reliable source to improve your knowledge base. You are not expected to know everything if you were there will be no need for Google in the first place. Even the best developers check Google from time to time. But in that, you should search google better to get the most out of what it has to offer. The resources there are endless. as the famous saying "You are a google search away from the solution to your problem"

• Time Management

It takes discipline to achieve anything, mostly in the discipline of time usage. A good time manager will most likely make an awesome developer. This cannot be overemphasized enough as it does not really matter how much time you spend sitting in front of a computer but how much you can dedicate to actually learning every day for a particular amount of time that will really affect how much of a good developer you will most likely become.

“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” – Steve Jobs

• Be optimistic

Have a positive mind. It does more good to you as much as learning and becoming conversant with code. Believe so much in yourself because there will always be more to learn and imposter syndrome does not really go away.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs

• Consistency

The success of anything is in the commitment to its actualization. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, a line of code a day does even more.

You can as well join developer forums online and on social media. There are a lot of people waiting to help you. You are not alone.

Good luck!!!

Are there more things you think I left out? Put it down below in the comment section.