Practical Advice From A Software Engineer To Help You Advance In Your Career
Many a time we think, ‘Oh! I should have done things differently’ or ‘I should have done it early in my career!’
Well, for those who are fairly new at the game, as in junior or mid-level developers, this one’s for you.
Write a work log
A list of tasks you accomplished to
Remind yourself of all the things you have done
Keep track of projects, responsibilities, and critical numbers
Move away from your comfort zone
Simply because the comfort environment is not suitable for innovation and evolution. Start
Mentoring people, so they get into the comfort zone of what you excel at
Look for something new to do outside of your comfort zone
Be curious about other teams and projects
You don’t have to endorse additional responsibility but when you get into the nitty gritty, you
Get a better understanding of the product
Understand why you need that particular service
Join the support team
Only if you can give time if something goes wrong during and outside business hours.
You learn a lot about behind-the-scenes of the product
You feel empathetic, as you experience the weight of responsibility of your coworkers
Write articles, blogs, stories
One of the most important skills a developer should have is writing as you write codes, messages, emails, documentation, RFCs, meeting notes…
It helps develop your personal brand
Helps you to know more about the subject/ topic as you dig deeper
Above are the things advised you to do early in your career. And now here’s the list of things that you can do differently 😛
Introduce new concepts but don’t avoid opposition
Do not let your emotions take control as when conflicts become visible, it divides a team
Interview for different companies from time to time to gain exposure and experience
These advices work equally well for non-tech people too :D
One last piece of advice- Stay in touch with people who inspire you in their work. They may help you become better at your work.