Best Piece Of Advice For New Developers
November 2, 2022 • 0 minute read •
I've been working with a lot of new developers lately, and I keep seeing the same issues reoccur. So here's the advice I would give to myself if I were a new developer or if I were to start afresh right now.
First, Patience
You have to be patient. I see many people who start and expect to be done in one or two weeks. They want to learn HTML, CSS and JavaScript in one month and get a job immediately. But it doesn't work that way.
You have to be patient. A lot of people think they don't have time. You see people at 20 years old who think they don't have time. At 25 or 30, they're like; it's over for me.
Even many teenagers are already in a hurry, putting so much pressure on themselves, thinking there's no time. They feel they have to get everything done "right now". These people make calculations like "I want to become a graduate, get a job so that at 23 I'm set for life."
It doesn't work that way. And it's the same thing with the software development world. You have to be patient. Don't compare yourself with people who have been doing this for 5, 10, or 20 years.
You look at these folks and say to yourself, "how am I not at their level yet? How am I not earning the same amount of money as these people? How am I not able to build the kind of things they are building? I have to get to where they are right now! Right now! Right now!"
Well, that doesn't make any sense. Stop comparing your progress with the lives of other people. You did not start at the same time, and you're not going to the same place.
You have to realize that when it comes to software development, you have time.
So use patience to your advantage. The person who stays patient and learns how to focus will end up being faster than those who want to rush everything.
If you're trying to rush everywhere at the same time, you'll end up getting nowhere.
For example, suppose you're into web development, and instead of rushing things, you decide to patiently learn concepts one step at a time and make sure you understand what you're learning, you'll end up being much faster than those who are always in a hurry to skip the fundamentals and look fast.
These are the people who end up going to the internet to copy code they don't understand. They will likely remain at the same level in the next two or three years.
The patient one is usually the fastest, and patience is alwyas likely the quickest route.
Learn to value other people's time
Many people feel like they're entitled to other people's time. If you value your own time, you've got to value other people's time too.
A few years ago, I came across a new developer's post, where he was talking about senior devs and was saying things like "senior devs are rude", "they don't care", "You send them messages, they don't even reply," and all sorts.
Reading his post astonished me because feeling entitled to a person's time or ears is not right. I spoke with this new developer over the phone and made him understand that no one owes you anything.
If you know how much time people spend learning, or the struggle and challenges they go through, you're not going to feel like you're entitled to their time because, if someone did that to you, You wouldn't be happy. So, relax.
You have to value other people's time. If you send a message to someone and they don't reply, that's okay. That person is probably busy or doesn't want to talk to you, and that's still fine. No one owes you anything. You have to move on.
Don't start saying; I hate this person because you don't know the number of people in that person's inbox or what's going on in that person's life.
You have to relax and understand that no one owes you anything. Understand that you have time, and you have to value other people's time. These are realities.
Learn to reach out to people
Learn to reach out to people. Don't reach out to one or two persons and say, "I reached out, and no one was answering me."
If you want to reach out to people, reach out to many and keep reaching to more (not the same people) until you get a response from someone. Don't hold any grudges if you don't get replies from any of the people you reach out to. It's still okay.
Just keep reaching out to different people if you have issues, need help, or have problems. Eventually, you're going to get a response.
Always remember that no one owes you anything. Put in the hard work and stop making excuses. You don't need a personal mentor to be successful. You don't need a "godfather". Just focus on yourself and your growth. Build projects, solve challenges and make a deliberate effort to be consistent.
Ask for help from as many people as possible when you're stuck, and make good use of the resources and communities available to you. You'll be fine.
These are the things I felt like sharing with you. Please take them to heart. I'm always rooting for you!
