A Software Developer’s Journey to Nodewhere
By Jordan Kimura
You’ve added the sought-after programming languages to your skill set and are ready to apply your knowledge on the job. Now what? That was the topic that Shawn Bullock, Technical Mentor and former Software Architect at Experian, went in-depth about with the LearningFuze community. In his current role as a programming instructor and in his former role as a software architect at Experian from 2007 – 2014, Bullock continues to play an integral role in giving guidance to developers and converting design ideas into viable technology.
Software development has come a long way from floppy discs, cassettes, the introduction of the Internet and Internet Explorer, Open Source Code and the vast variety of programming languages around today. In order to keep up with what employers are seeking in today’s competitive job market, Bullock offered key words of advice.
- Be patient through the interview process. Create Open Source projects to build your portfolio, reach out to mentors/friends and learn from each interview.
- Get comfortable with a chosen coding language. Whether it is JavaScript, PHP, HTML/CSS, MySQL, React JS, LAMP, MAMP or other programming languages, it is important to hone in on one that you would like to focus on and know it well.
- Find mentors and peers. Be in communication with linkages (such as the LearningFuze community) to help you learn and grow in your development career.
- Continually challenge yourself. As new technology and languages come out, stay interested in learning since technology is rapidly changing and evolving.
- Cultivate the characteristics of a successful developer. What makes you attractive to employers are the ability to learn quickly with a constant desire to improve, good team communication, the aptitude to make qualified decisions and always striving to improve the system whether it be through form or function.
Become a leader. Now you may be beginning your development career but eventually you may want to strive towards the role of lead developer. A true leader of a technology team is not only technical, but also responsible, motivated, inspirational, trustworthy and is able to get along with and inspire others.
