Top 5 tips for entering developer professional life
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Table of Contents
Top recommendations for novice developers
The IT industry is growing and thriving. An ever-growing diversity attracts people of all backgrounds who want to try their luck in the industry. But how to succeed in entering development, design, and the IT industry in general? How do you survive your first year as a professional nerd?
Whether you are a developer or designer, self-employed as a freelancer, or in your first permanent position, you have to learn a lot. Guys on seclgroup.com know all the minor details about the field. So, they shared their experience with us.
Plan well
Before entering IT, the most important question is whether you can imagine a longer-term future in the industry. Of course, good job opportunities attract everyone. In the end, however, it’s not the only thing that matters. Switching from another industry is always associated with a lot of effort, which should, therefore, also be worthwhile. So if you cannot imagine yourself in IT in three years, it is not the right option.
But how good are the job opportunities for career changers? The chances of getting a job have so far been good. But increasingly complex systems are increasing requirements. Specific expertise is required, which employers are more likely to find with fully trained workers.
But remember that anyone who can bring knowledge and skills from their previous profession into the new field of activity has a particularly good chance of finding a job in IT.
Freelancer: is it so enjoyable?
Working freely, accepting exciting orders exclusively, and earning money in beautiful places: sounds amazing, right? But career starters often find it difficult to assert themselves on the market as freelancers and build a customer base. So, at the beginning of your career, you may face the necessity to take boring and really simple orders. After a while, you will develop a good reputation, but it requires time and effort. You should understand it at the very beginning.
Additional costs
All extra costs incurred in free working life must be taken into account. Experts recommend going to the tax consultant early on, for example, to seek help with the tax return. However, this will cost you a penny. Also, where are you going to work as a freelancer? There are costs for the stay in cafés and coworking spaces, and those who work at home must ensure a suitable workplace.
Of course, a fast Internet connection is standard today. But is your small laptop suitable as the sole work tool? You must take all this into account.
The first permanent position: get out of the lecture hall
After university, here comes the reality check. Most computer scientists will have already gained experience in the “real world” through internships, part-time jobs, and their projects and thus do not enter professional life completely unprepared.
Debugging and working with another person’s code are among the most frequently named skills developers have to acquire in the first year laboriously. Of course, many people already have some experience here; however, large, complex projects to which you have not contributed much are often not part of the standard in training. So it’s worth practicing here. Hardly any developer can avoid code reviews, solving problems that he did not cause himself, and editing code from colleagues in general.
Another talent that is only partially promoted at university is independent and targeted learning. Can you learn a new programming language or how to use a new framework yourself? If you do, it’s great. If you don’t, develop this skill: it will greatly help you in your professional life.
Find mentors
No matter how you want to enter the IT industry, a few basic tips apply equally to every career starter. Every inexperienced developer or web designer is recommended to find an experienced mentor who can be asked all the questions. A mentor can help avoid certain mistakes and help find a faster connection in the company or build a network of potential customers.
Unfortunately, it is not always easy to find a suitable mentor. He must have enough experience to recognize mistakes; he needs a certain sensitivity in dealing with people and, of course, must have enough time for this kind of cooperation. Sometimes the right contact persons can be found in relevant communities; in some cases, a colleague from the same team takes over this role. So the search can be quite complex, but in many cases, it is worthwhile.
Make mistakes
Although cooperation with a mentor can help to avoid certain mistakes, overall, mistakes are part of starting a career and are quite normal. Even employers expect their new employees to do things wrong! In this respect, it’s not bad if something goes wrong. The only important thing is that you try hard to find a solution and not repeat the same mistake. This shows that you can learn and reflect on your behavior. Freelancers do not have to be perfect in dealing with clients, either. As long as they meet the deadline and fix their mistakes, it is also normal here that something does not work out as planned. You shouldn’t be afraid of mistakes at the beginning of your path.
Conclusion
So, starting a career brings a lot of stumbling blocks that need to be overcome. But that’s quite normal. It is not easy for anyone to start a new job; even experienced developers often have problems of different types. In this respect, it is therefore worth looking at the web tips for getting started with the developer job so as not to make every possible mistake yourself. It will be easier when the first steps are taken!