10 steps to becoming an advanced programmer

What

The career of a software engineer goes through the following stages: junior, intermediate, and finally senior. This article mainly talks about how to become an advanced software programmer through 10 steps.

Why

Get paid more! Because your salary will increase as your level improves

enhance your career. After becoming a senior software engineer, you can move towards positions such as architect, team leader, CTO, etc.

Experience greater challenges. As you grow, so will your influence.

How

Software engineering is hard. This industry is constantly changing, so you have to keep up with it. You have to continually invest time and energy because there is always more to learn than you can absorb. Many novice engineers don't even realize how much they have to learn and how much effort they have to put in if they want to climb to the top of the industry. But don't worry, below I will point out a "clear path" that will help you become a senior software engineer.

Step 0: Choose your path and stick to it!

When you do something, do it well. ——Doug McIlroy "Unix Philosophy"

I really can’t stress this point enough. It’s important to choose the specialization and technology stack you’ll be working with. Be persistent and don’t get distracted. As for what you should do, please see below:

Choose a major. That's what you want to do. For example: web development, mobile development, DevOps, etc.

Choose practical techniques in your major. For example: If you choose web development, you need to consider between Ruby on Rails, Python, Django, JavaScript and MEAN, etc. If you choose mobile development, you need to choose between iOS and Android, etc.

Keep going until you master this technique.

I don’t mean that you don’t have to be familiar with anything other than your main major. The kind of first-class software engineers usually know a lot about other programming languages ​​​​and technologies. Of course, first of all, they know their own main major very well. After you decide on your main major, the next thing to do is to study, read all the relevant books, and practice various necessary skills. This may take many years. But don’t be discouraged. Overcome difficulties one step at a time. Only through quantitative changes can you achieve qualitative changes. Regarding technology, my recommendation is: Ruby on Rails is to web development, iOS is to mobile development. This is my valuable experience telling you as a person who has been through it. However, I still want to add that everyone may have different tastes, and my experience may not be suitable for you. You can choose other technologies, but in this case, the books you want to read may be different from my recommendations.

Step 1: Lay the foundation

"The Pragmatic Programmer" is a good starting point for us to master the software. The book summarizes high-level practical exploration. It doesn't matter what language/technology we use. No matter which technology stack you choose, the main principles are the same.

Step 2: Master your programming language

Which programming language you will need to face every day in the future depends on the technology you choose today. But programming languages ​​always have priorities. For example, Ruby on Rails developers primarily use Ruby, and AngularJS developers spend most of their time working with JavaScript. Determining a programming language and mastering it are crucial to your career development. Because you’ll be using it every day from now on! It is recommended that you read the relevant books first.

"The Swift Programming Language" is for Ruby developers, and "Programming Ruby" is for iOS developers.

Step 3: Learn the framework

Choose one and study it:

For Rails developers - "Rails Tutorial" by Michael Hartl

For iOS developers - "iOS programming: The Big NerdRanch Guide"

Step 4: Master a Text Editor/IDE

Pick another one and master this tool relentlessly. If you choose VIM, then become its master and let it go east.

Step 5: Use a version control system

I recommend using Git. Here are my favorite resources: Pro git – a free online ebook that explains every aspect of git in detail.

Step 6: Do test-driven development

Add TDD to your technology stack. Make it a habit to do TDD every day. High-quality code comes from good testing.

For Ruby on Rails developers - "Rails TestPrescriptions"

For iOS developers - "Test Driven iOS Development"

Step 7: Make refactoring a habit

As you continue to add more features, the code base will become more and more complex. To keep your codebase manageable, you need to refactor. If you don't refactor, you'll quickly run into a dilemma - making even small changes is difficult, bugs are inevitable, and no one wants to deal with this messy code base. Refactoring can make your job easier. Without further ado, get into the habit of refactoring. The following good book can teach you how to do it: "Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code" by Martin Fowler

Step 8: Learn the software architecture

Based on the stack you selected above, learn the relevant architecture. I recommend the book "Patterns of EnterpriseApplication Architecture" by Martin Fowler.

Step 9: Show the power of the command line

The first feeling when you first come into contact with the command line is that it is daunting. However, once you learn how to use it, it will greatly improve your efficiency in performing some basic tasks. And that in itself makes you a better developer because you can achieve your goals in less time. Then you can move on to the next level. Use the shell to automate common tasks and build your own dotfiles. If you use a mac or Linux distribution, learn the shell. The following book written by Mark Bates is quite good: "Conquering the Command Line"

Step 10: code code code!

Only by constantly practicing the knowledge you have learned can you truly master it.

Summary

As we all know, becoming a senior software engineer is very difficult. This requires a lot of time and effort. Different people learn at different rates, but on average, it takes about 10 years to become a reliable senior developer. The various investments you make will eventually bring you huge returns. Software engineers have a bright future, as demand in the job market remains high and salaries are increasing based on experience. This is a rapidly growing and relatively new field. Software engineers face challenges every day: challenges that change people's lives. Come on, fellow software engineers, take the challenge of becoming a senior software engineer first!

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