So you want

to be a dev?

Imposter Syndrome

Yes, let us talk about that first

Why ?

- People are fundamentally insecure about their ability when it hasn't yet been reinforced by an external factor

 

- You're entering into a career where you get paid equivalent to what one would have studied 3-4 years for after 3-4 months

 

- Your parents didn't praise you enough as a kid (sorry)

I feel too old..

- News = Exceptions

 

- Take 65 - Current Age = Alot of years to have pigeoned hole yourself into your Supposed-To-Be job

 

- This is the 21st century

This is too hard..

- It is supposed to be hard to get over

 

- If you really want to, think of it as job security

 

- Only those that really want it will work on it

Everyone has an Opinion

Everyone

Which is the best framework?

- None

- One of them

- All of them

 

 

 

 

=> This is also my opinion

 

Conclusion: Withhold judgement, then form your own

Which is the best language?

- None

- One of them

- All of them

 

 

 

 

=> This is also my opinion

 

Conclusion: Withhold judgement, then form your own

Meet people

Most of them don't bite

Meetups

In the beginning, GO TO MEETUPS.

Introduce yourself and help out. Give back. Have fun.

- www.webuild.sg

- www.thelist.sg

 

BUT being at every meet up and wearing cool t-shirts will do nothing for your dev skills.

 

Talks are best at providing an initial exposure to topics and reducing your mental barrier to entry, but beyond that you have to DIY.

 

Special note: Ladies

Please don't confine yourselves to ladies only initiatives

 

Why confine yourself to learning from only a portion of devs?

 

Women-only meetups = social support networks

Usually great for starting out only..

 

Don't stifle your own growth

 

You are better than that, you are not only a woman, you are a dev!

 

Interviews

Comes in all SHAPES and sizes

Types

- Timed logic test (I can't help you there..)

- Soft skills (Can't help you there either...)

- Short programming assignment

- Long programming assignment

- Discussions

- Whiteboard test

- On the spot debugging

- Theoretical interview

Master your CSS

ERGONOMICS

Get it right...

Picking the right fit

Know what you want

You make your own choices

Coding sweat shop

Relaxed work environment

High pressure startup

High pressure pretend-to-be-startup startup

Consultancy

Corporate gig

Freelancing

Do it for the right reason

Why are you even doing this?

Cool = Fail

 

Cool cannot take you through sleepless sprints and tension in the office during stressful period

 

You have to be interested to keep learning

Self-Management

Uh huh..

Don't count on someone to

This is not the corporate world..

- Your bosses might be your age or younger

- They are busy GSD

- They might not know any better

- They are still learning through trial and error

- They might be devs-turned-reluctant-managers

 

=> Steer your direction

Prioritise your work

Estimating time for task

In development, estimating time needed is tough...

 

Debugging = ? minutes/hours/days

 

If you learn how to estimate accurately, tell me.

Misc Tips

Oh really?

Please (Tor long!)

Comment your code!

Organise your CSS

Standardise your naming conventions

Maintainability

Keep Learning

Web Development is the easiest step in programming...

Stay Humble

+ Good Luck! :)

So you want to be a dev?

By Min Ong

So you want to be a dev?

  • 883