10 years of advice in 5 minutes
This is an email I wrote for young Dragos. Who, as a Junior developer, was constantly frustrated, afraid of failure, and thinking to quit. Ten years of experience writing code and training other…
Dragos Nedelcu
Apr 23, 2024 · 3 MIN READ
- In the beginning, stick to one tech stack and one framework. Once you master one technology, it is easier to master others.
- Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals.
- No matter how much you know, you will never make it if you don’t believe in yourself.
- Negotiate your salary—every single time. Being a developer is a hard job. Make sure you get paid for it.
- Interviewers that are mean to you are mean to everybody.
- Don’t take code reviews personally. They are criticizing your code, not you as a person. Fix what’s broken and move on.
- Confidence comes from competence, but it also comes from clarity. Knowing what you don’t know will make you more confident, even if you still don’t know it.
- You get motivated by getting things done, not by watching motivational videos. If you are feeling down, get busy—close tickets, solve bugs and get sh**t done.
- Technical interviews are hard. But they get a lot easier with practice. Keep on practicing.
- The best-paying skill you can learn as a developer is passing technical interviews. Keep on practicing.
- Be ready to fail a lot.
- You are better than console.log. Learn how to debug your code correctly. It will pay off.
- Every company has a different definition of Senior developer, but all Senior developers are more or less the same. They can get stuff done. If you want to get to Senior, get good at getting things done.
- AI will change software development, but it won’t replace it. LLMs are a dead end. Your job is safe. Don’t let the noise distract you.
- Be kind to Junior Devs even when they piss you off. They are doing their best.
- Algorithms and Data Structures are not how you will most likely get your first developer job. Not even the second. Focus on being able to build things instead of memorizing LeetCode problems.
- Work smarter, not harder. Plan your weeks and days. Eliminate distractions.
- Sleep well, eat well, and move often. Manage your stress. Close the laptop after 7 p.m. Developers burn out because they don’t set boundaries.
- Think long-term in everything you do. The skills you learn and the people you work for.
- Most Tech Twitter is garbage.
- The only job security you have is your employability, a.k.a, how fast you can get a new job.
- The fastest way to increase your salary is by switching jobs. It is also the hardest.
- The easiest way to earn more is to ask for a raise.
- Don’t threaten your boss when asking for more money. They will never forget it.
- Technical books are overrated. Don’t feel pressured to read a particular book because everyone talks about it. Most haven’t read it, either.
- Stop looking for shortcuts.
- Quality over quantity in everything, from the code you write to the projects you build to the people you surround yourself with.
- Optimize for earning, not for learning. Don’t get fooled by “we don’t pay well, but you will learn a lot.”
- Blogs are overrated. Some of the best developers I know don’t have one. And they will never have one.
- You will become who you are surrounded by. Surround yourself with people you admire.
