Accelerate Your Software Development Career by Taking These 3 Actions

If you are reading this, you are probably someone like me who wants to create an extraordinary software career. Speaking for myself, I can say that I really want to contribute to software projects that will have a positive impact on millions of people’s lives.

However, before I am able to do that, I will need to be exceptionally good at what I do.

Or extremely lucky, but I don’t want to count on luck.

In this article, you will find some of the actions that have benefited my career the most. Most likely you will also be able to use some of these things to accelerate yourself on your way to the top.

If you are currently a student in computer science or something similar, and also trying to break out into the industry to land your first job, then you will find great value in this post.

Tip 1: Teach What You Have Learned to Others

This is an extremely beneficial thing to do — and also the easiest to get started.

An easy way to start is to write online articles just like the one you are reading right now. It is simple and free to sign up on Medium, and you can post your first piece in less than an hour.

If you are a bit hesitant and nervous that you are not qualified enough to write online, then I completely understand you. However, I want you to forget that and simply go for it. The hardest step is the first. Trust me. I was also very hesitant in the beginning, and I procrastinated for a long time because I was scared of how people would react to what I wrote.

However, once I got the ball rolling, I realized that it was not so scary at all. All of the things that I worried about were not true.

Also, remember that in order to teach something to someone you only have to be a single step ahead of them. You do not have to be a senior developer in order to help someone out. This is how I got started writing. By learning one thing, and then explaining it here in my own words.

If writing is not really your thing, you can also create videos and upload them to YouTube or somewhere else. Maybe you could even create a small video course.

Once you start to have a lot of experience in a subject or technology, you can also begin tutoring or teaching people in real life or online.

Whatever method suits you, the most important point that I want to get across is that you can learn so much by sharing your knowledge with others. It really elevates your skills to a higher level. Also, if you create something that you share online, you have the chance to grow an audience and get noticed, which might lead to some hidden opportunities.

Tip 2: Find Someone To Work for Either Paid or Voluntarily

The second thing that has helped me develop my skills and boost my career with a double jump has been to start working for and with others.

You probably have ten different projects on your laptop that you have started but never actually finished. It is very common for new developers to try out a lot of different things, and once it becomes difficult and the bugs start to show up, they give up.

I am no stranger to this, and it is something that I have been guilty of multiple times.

One of the reasons that we try to make these projects is often that it will give us more experience, and we use it to grow our skills. However, if we always quit once the problems start to present themselves, then we never actually get further than being able to do a hello world project in ten different languages.

One way to make sure that this pattern stops repeating itself is to decide to program something for others. If you have a boss or a company that you are obliged to deliver working and running software to, then you cannot just give up when the situation becomes sticky.

This will force you to actually find a solution to the problems at hand. And in doing so, you will for sure grow your skills every single day.

If you are a new developer, then it might not yet be possible to find a paying position where you can grow. Simply because the companies want people who can quickly generate value back to them if they pay them a salary.

This is where the beauty of voluntary work comes in.

In my experience, doing voluntary work has always paid back in plenty for me.

My advice to you is to go out and find someone you can create software for. Offer to help them ten hours every week. If you have enough experience already, then this could be a paid position for you. If not, then you can offer to work for them for free for the first three months, and afterward, you can discuss the topic of salary again.

Don’t be scared of doing this. It is one of the most effective ways of improving your skills, and your learning will skyrocket!

Tip 3: Find a Mentor That Can Help You

My third useful tip is to find someone you can learn from.

By having someone else teach you things, you can take a lot of shortcuts in your career and development.

The value of this is that they have already made a lot of the mistakes that you and everyone else will inevitably make. Because of this, they will be able to quickly point you in the right direction when you get stuck, but also they will know what to challenge you with in order to maximize your learning.

You might be wondering where you can find such a person. If you are lucky, you might already know someone who has more experience than you. Maybe you have someone among your friends or family.

However, if you are not one of those people who knows a developer, I recommend that you search online for coding communities in your local area. Most likely there will be a community nearby with people who enjoy helping each other.

If you are a student, you could try to reach out to some of the other students that are further in the program than you. Your school might already be facilitating some study groups or mentoring programs. Have a look at it, and I am sure that you will find something useful.

When you find someone that could be a good mentor for you, ask them if they would mind helping you out a couple of hours a week. Write down your questions and sticking points during the week, and then ask your questions to your mentor. By doing this, you will learn more quickly and progress your skills faster than usual.

Preferably, you should take all of the three actions above. If you do, I can guarantee that you will speed up your progress. However, by doing just one of the things you will also be taking much bigger steps than you otherwise would.

Thanks for reading.