Tag Archives: student

2014 Developer Learning Guide: Part 3

Career, Learning, Software Career, Software Development, Software Engineering, Training, , , , , , , , , ,

This is the 3rd and final post in my series on continuous developer learning. I recommend you read 2014 Developer Learning Guide Part 1 and Part 2 if you haven’t already.

When I started writing about this subject, I thought I would cover all of the options in one post.

I.

Was.

Wrong.

One of the wonderful things about learning, is that there is a lot to learn about it! I’m in the process of recording a new podcast with a friend of mine and one of our first episodes will iterate just exactly why we believe continuous learning is so important. Stay tuned!

Now, the finale…

In-Person (Larger Groups/Formal Training)

Hackathons/Hack Nights

Hack-er
Um… wrong kind of hack!

This is one that I need to get more involved in. I’ve heard great things about hackathons. I only attended my very first one a couple weeks ago and it was a good experience (all WiFi issues aside).

Additional personal experience is more related to startup work even less formal than these events. There have been a couple of times I’ve tried to put together a quick app or program in a short amount of time using the MVP or “Minimum Viable Product” approach from The Lean Startup. I found that I learned a remarkable amount in a short amount of time.

I learned even more when I did this together with some friends who ranged in skills from entrepreneur to systems admin to programmer to business development.

Code Camps/Large Conferences

I’ve considered writing an entire post about these. There is nothing like being surrounded by others who are looking to improve and be awesome at what we do.

This kind of event can run from half a day to a full week. They tend to be a little heavier on the pocketbook, but you can find lower cost options as well. If you live in an area with a very active tech community, you will probably have many great local options that at least save you on the travel costs.

Conferences really get the creative juices flowing and keep you fired up about your work. Most major tech companies have at least one developer conference per year (Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft).

WWDC

Employers with a decent training budget send their developers to 1-2 larger conferences per year (almost never 3+).

I try to mix it up like so:

  • 1-2 out of town conferences. I enjoy travel and this is a nice opportunity to get out of the state for a few nights.
  • 2-3 local conferences. To help keep the budget down.
  • As many code camps as I can reasonably attend.

Why so many? There are a lot of topics I’m interested in and it just so happens that they are all related to my work. This year, I attended an AngularJS conference (ng-conf), an Agile conference (AgileRoots was amazing), Utah Code Camp, and DevFest Family. I’m still planning to attend a large UX conference and a more hard-core software engineering/architecture conference.

I’ve also found it extremely valuable to speak at some of these events. No one learns more than the person who stresses over getting in front of a bunch of smart people to tell them about something!

On-site Training

This type of training is great when you have a team that all needs to get on the same page.  Schedule a trainer to come out to your company on your schedule. I will turn you loose on Google for this one… do a little research and you will find many companies offering this type of service.

My experience here is positive. On-site training sessions can be highly valuable just make sure you get a great trainer. Interview them first or suggest a trial session.

Costs, I’m not super sure on but what is published online is $1000-5000 per session. If you think you will have an ongoing need for this, negotiate a better rate.

Certifications/Degrees

Certifications are highly valuable for IT people although they are not be as well recognized in development circles. I have a former boss who refused to interview candidates with Microsoft’s developer certification on their resume…

MIT
MIT. Yes, I know there’s a TARDIS on it.

Advanced degrees are valuable if you are specializing in certain areas of our field. Machine learning, concurrent programming, and human computer interaction are all excellent examples.

Both certifications and advanced degrees become considerably more valuable if your company is willing to pay for part or all of the tuition. Without that, I would probably avoid them because your return on investment may not be very good.

Conclusion

As you can see, the options for learning run the full gamut of price, time, and commitment. The great news is, even if your company has little or no budget for training, all you need is a couple committed developers to get started with the less expensive (free) types of training. Even better if your company agrees to a budget or commits to learning in other meaningful ways (time/food/support).

I recommend that you seek out employers who understand and value learning. I have and I couldn’t be more glad.

Remember to read 2014 Developer Learning Guide Part 1 and Part 2 if you haven’t already. Follow me on Twitter (@dubmun) for comments about development and other shenanigans.

Image credits:
Egg seller
A visit to Amsterdam always, always involves coffee
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bbcamericangirl/

 

So You Think You Want To Write Code?

Career, Family, Kids, Software Career, Software Development, Software Engineering, Training, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,

Intro

I had the opportunity to present a couple of sessions at the inaugural Dev Fest Fam conference today.

I’ll predict your next question: “Is this what has been keeping you from posting  the sequel to 2014 Developer Learning Guide Part 1?” The honest answer is no. I’ve been busy, it’s true, but I want the next installment of this post to be very good so I’ve been particular about publishing it until it is 100% ready.

#DevFestFam

http://devfestfam.com/#sessions

This conference is a fantastic idea! It was put on by a couple of local Google User Groups and hosted at Utah Valley University. For a first time conference, it was great and I have the feeling it will only get better. The beauty of it, was that coders/programmers/developers/engineers were to bring not only their spouse or significant other, but also their kids.

I took 3 of my own and they LOVED IT. My 10-year-old daughter coded all night long until it was time for her to go to bed after we came home! So cool!

My first session, “So You Think You Want To Write Code?” was a big hit and well attended:

session attendance
Almost a full house!

 

The second was at the end of the day and was titled: “Websites for Smarties”. It was a beginners hands-on-session teaching the basics of HTML. I used w3schools and Google Sites  as resources for teaching. I won’t post more on that here.

So You Think You Want To Write Code? Resources

The slides from my session “So You Think You Want to Write Code?” at Dev Fest Fam 2014 for kids age 8 and up.

 

The videos played:

 

I also handed out a flyer with the following information.

Online Resources
Code.org – code.org
Codecademy – codecademy.com
Pluralsight: Free Courses for Kids – http://www.pluralsight.com/training/Kids
Kids Ruby – kidsruby.com

Languages/Platforms
Scratch – scratch.mit.edu
Hopscotch – gethopscotch.com
Alice – alice.org

Other
BOOK: Snake Wrangling for Kids – http://briggs.net.nz/snake-wrangling-for-kids.html
GAME: Hakitzu Elite: Robot Hackers – Google Play and iTunes
MORE RESOURCES: http://happynerds.net/

2014 Developer Learning Guide: Part 1

Software Career, Software Development, Software Engineering, Technology Career, Training, , , , ,

Background

This is part 1 of a now complete series of blog posts. Be sure to read 2014 Developer Learning Guide Part 2 and Part 3.

I originally wrote on the subject of developer training in 2010. It was with the idea that I would convince management of the importance of training technical employees. I wrote an internal document for my boss and we implemented a couple of the ideas. My boss was understanding although his boss was less so and that limited some of our options. One year (and one move to Texas) later and I was back in the same boat; I was handing a document off to my boss and trying to convince him of its validity and importance. We eventually started some great traditions at that company and I ended up publishing my Guide To Developer Training For Managers on my blog around the same time. As I started looking into moving back to Utah in late 2012, I was despairing that I would forever have to sell leadership on the value of developer training every time I came to a new company… can you say facepalm?

facepalm

It occurred to me that I might be taking the wrong approach. As I ramped-up  on interviews I noticed that a couple of companies stood out because they already had begun to establish a culture of learning. I’m happy to say that I chose one of those companies and today I enjoy a work environment where leadership not only “gets it” but is an active promoter of learning and training. Ideas that are brought up to improve training are not only appreciated but are also seriously considered. And I don’t even have to write a long and windy proposal first.

What a difference!

I’m still going to talk briefly about a few of the reasons developer and technology employee learning is important. Convincing managers will no longer be the major focus of the article. As you may have noted from the updated title, I’m refocusing to list learning options that are possible, valuable, and current. I’ll also post an updated list each year.

Importance

The anecdote I’ve heard several time goes like this:

Decision Maker 1: What will happen to our company if we train our technology employees and they leave to find better jobs elsewhere?
Decision Maker 2: What will happen to our company if we do not train our technology employees and they stay?

Two varying points of view obviously.

On a team where learning is not important, developers tend to stagnate or move on. Will the best talent stay in an environment like this? I’ll spare you the A, B, and C-Player talk. It should be sufficient to say that a lack of learning isn’t healthy for development culture.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the developer to seek learning and the best developers know this. Are the best developers going to be working for companies without a great learning culture? That scenario seems unlikely to me.

Learning Options

What if I told you that a classroom isn't always the best learning environment?
Developer training doesn’t necessarily begin or end in the classroom.

There is a wide spectrum of cost among differing methods of learning. A good mix assures plenty of coverage without completely breaking the bank.

This list is meant to be only as inclusive as I could make it given my current knowledge. Please leave a comment or contact me if you know of options I’ve missed.

Online/Print

Videos

This is usually one of the best places to look for technology-specific and implementation-specific training. There are multiple options and they are growing all the time.

Free – YouTube, Vimeo, Egghead.io, Channel9, etc.
The quality of free videos varies. The only advice I can give, is to avoid wasting time with something that doesn’t seem valuable pretty quickly.

Subscription – Pluralsight, Wintellect Now, Lynda.com
Subscription-based video training tends to be pretty well curated by the company selling the subscriptions. They rely on ongoing subscriptions for revenue so new high quality content is constantly being released (or the model is not successful). Pluralsight (http://pluralsite.com/) in particular has an enormous and constantly updated library… and no, we aren’t affiliated. Pluralsight has purchased several of the smaller players to help build out their library over the past couple of years. Subscription may cost as much as $499 per year, and is a good return on investment if you learn well this way.

Purchase – Udemy, Cleancoders.com, etc.
These tend to also be of higher quality than the free options in my experience. There are some great sources out there… but you may have to hunt for them. Word of mouth has been valuable to me here.

Social Media/Blogs/Podcasts

If you enjoy this blog, follow me on Twitter.
If you enjoy the blog, follow @dubmun on Twitter.

There are a wide variety of options here. Find people who talk about things you are interested in and subscribe to their blogs or follow them on Twitter/Google+. In my experience, many of the thought leaders in the developer community are on Twitter. This has the added benefit of allowing interactions if you have a question about someone’s latest tweet or blog post.

Podcasts can also be very, very good as long as they aren’t too sales/technology focused. Choose wisely. I find them particularly useful for long commutes. HerdingCode (http://herdingcode.com/), Ruby Rogues (http://rubyrogues.com/), and Writing Excuses (my SF/Fantasy writing guilty pleasure) are among my personal favorites. A good podcast app is a must as well… downloading all the episodes manually can get tedious.

This is where the cutting edge lives and breathes. If you want to know what is really happening you should be reading and hopefully contributing to this kind of content.

Open Source Repositories

This is the section for Github, Codeplex, Google Code, and Sourceforge. Github is definitely the current leader and you can find awesome and interesting code in any of these repositories.

Looking at how other people code is a great resource for learning. Additionally, submitting a pull request to an open source project can be the fast track to learning (albeit a potentially humbling one). Humility is a good thing, it lets us know where we can improve.

Books

I’ve heard a lot of varying opinions on books as a training resource. Yes, technology-specific books are often outdated before they are printed. I generally avoid the latest C#, Java, Clojure, Javascript, etc. books (with a few exceptions). The flip side of this is… if you do choose to read tech-specific books, be sure to get the latest version.

What a library!
Some options here…

My thought is that when you are really looking to deepen your knowledge on something specific, books are a great resource.

There are also many classics that are as close to timeless as you can get in this industry. I highly recommend books like The Pragmatic Programmer, Clean Code, The Art of Unit Testing, Design Patterns, and Domain Driven Design as examples of excellent resources for learning practices and patterns or as reference material.

Books are available in several formats as well: hard-copy, ebook, and subscription.

Hard-copy and ebooks are basically just a matter of preference. I find that I like having a hard copy of books I might lend to others, but nothing beats the convenience of an ebook that you can read on multiple devices. When I have the option, I get both.

Subscription to a service that provides ebooks can be really handy as well. Particularly if you find yourself reading a lot of technology-specific books. Safari Books (http://www.safaribooksonline.com) offers hundreds of titles on technical subjects for $199 or $460 annually.

Remember…

…to read 2014 Developer Learning Guide Part 2 and Part 3.

I’d love to see your thoughts and comments below or on Twitter (@dubmun).

Technology Internships: Paid or Unpaid?

Career, , , ,

I recently tweeted the following:

Devs/Designers: did you have a paid internship when you were in college? If so how much did you make? #howtechnologyinternshipspay

My goal was to get some perspective for a friend who was considering various options for his upcoming college career. He was hearing conflicting information on getting a paid internship while going through a Computer Science program and had only my own experiences to go by.

Once I started reviewing the results, I found very them interesting so I thought I would share with anyone who cares to know. Namely you: my friends and tweeple.

Now the facts. First, most of the responders interned at some point during the past 15 to 20 years. The range of pay during that time was between $8-$22 per hour with the majority falling between $12-$15 per hour. Of the those that responded who are currently interns or were interns between 2010-2011, the common range seems to be $15-$20 per hour.

It is also worthwhile to note that many respondents also received other perks that I did not attempt to monetize. Examples of perks range from free food to tuition assistance to free rent.

The reality of the situation seems to be that future technology interns should not be asking if you should take a paid or unpaid internship. The real question is: “How MUCH should you be paid?” I’m certainly not suggesting that you should avoid creating a class website for your professor or a quick shopping cart or inventory app for your mom’s side business for free. These experiences are good and valuable… I did many projects like this and learned a lot!

If you are looking for an internship doing software or web development in the current market what should you be looking for in terms of compensation? I would probably suggest you hold out for a minimum of $15 an hour. Also, consider asking prospective employers for additional benefits once it is clear that they want you on staff. These figures may vary from market to market. I highly recommend checking with your college or university’s career guidance counselors for the going local rates. Some schools even publish expected rates (eg. Waterloo in Ontario, Canada http://www.cecs.uwaterloo.ca/employers/salary.php ).

Whatever you decide to do, get out there and create some experience for yourselves! You will be more prepared for work in the field and have a much easier time finding it. Don’t be afraid to ask for compensation for your efforts. You are in a high demand field where your talents are needed. There is no time like the present to start paying off those student loans!

P.S. Much thanks to @shanselman and @mayhemstudios for the retweets! The exposure of my question was much broader thanks to you. Also thanks to @nshirazie for the link to Waterloo’s salary guide.