5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Programming

There's more to being a successful developer than simply being great at programming. The gotchas that slow us down or trip us up are often outside of the code we write, manifesting instead in our process or how we work with our peers. Whether you're new to programming or a veteran of many projects, these 5 things can improve your code, your career, and your team. If you're just starting out, you'll be glad to hear that you frustrations are not unique -- there are strategies for overcoming them. For experienced developers, this talk is a refresher course on what goes into the day-to-day, reminding us to have some empathy for individuals new to our community. Come (re)discover these 5 (sometimes surprising, always honest) truths, tips, and tactics for success.

Transcript

1. 5 THINGS I WISH SOMEONE TOLD ME BEFORE I STARTED PROGRAMMING
2. 5 THINGS I WISH SOMEONE TOLD ME BEFORE I STARTED PROGRAMMING
4. Lead Software Development Engineer
5. ADA DEVELOPERS ACADEMY
10. IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE HARD 1
14. “SOMETIMES IT WILL BE FRUSTRATING. IT'S OK TO BE FRUSTRATED. USE THAT AS TOOL TO GUIDE HOW YOU WRITE SOFTWARE OR DOCUMENTATION AND LEARN WHAT KINDS OF PROGRAMMING AND WRITING YOU DON'T LIKE.” -- Pete Higgins (@pete_higgins)
15. “SOMETIMES IT WILL BE FRUSTRATING. IT'S OK TO BE FRUSTRATED. USE THAT AS TOOL TO GUIDE HOW YOU WRITE SOFTWARE OR DOCUMENTATION AND LEARN WHAT KINDS OF PROGRAMMING AND WRITING YOU DON'T LIKE.” -- Pete Higgins (@pete_higgins)
17. “IT'S EASY TO GET THE WRONG IDEA AND THINK THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE SPENDING MOST OF YOUR TIME ON THINGS THAT ARE HARD FOR YOU, YOU'RE NOT DOING A GOOD JOB. YOU HAVE TO SPEND MOST OF YOUR TIME ON THINGS THAT ARE HARD FOR YOU IN ORDER TO DO A GOOD JOB.” -- Andrew Gorcester (@marginoferror)
18. “IT'S EASY TO GET THE WRONG IDEA AND THINK THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE SPENDING MOST OF YOUR TIME ON THINGS THAT ARE HARD FOR YOU, YOU'RE NOT DOING A GOOD JOB. YOU HAVE TO SPEND MOST OF YOUR TIME ON THINGS THAT ARE HARD FOR YOU IN ORDER TO DO A GOOD JOB.” -- Andrew Gorcester (@marginoferror)
22. “YOU'LL BE TOLD YOU'RE WRONG REPEATEDLY, BY THE COMPILER, BY YOUR FAILING TESTS, BY BUG REPORTS, AND THAT'S TOTALLY NORMAL AND OKAY.” -- Mary Ann Mierau (@mabmierau)
25. HAVE FAITH
26. HAVE FAITH HAVE COURAGE
27. “DON'T BE AFRAID OF TOPICS THAT SOUND DIFFICULT. SOME CONCEPTS IN CS ARE INHERENTLY HARD TO THINK ABOUT, BUT NOT AS MANY AS YOU MIGHT THINK.” -- Sam Livingston-Gray (@geeksam)
28. YOU DO YOU 2
29. YOU DO YOU 2
30. DEFAULT ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT RUBYISTS "We all use vim" “We all do TDD" "We all enjoy whisky" "We all love Javascript"
32. "ALWAYS WANTED TO GO BACK IN TIME TO TRY FIGHTING A YOUNGER VERSION OF YOURSELF? PROGRAMMING IS THE CAREER FOR YOU!" -- Elliot Loh (@loh)
33. “TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH, BOTH PHYSICAL AND MENTAL. GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK FROM TIME TO TIME, AND BE MINDFUL OF YOUR MENTAL STATE.” -- Elizabeth Naramore (@elizabethn)
34. I have a few hobbies...
36. “YOU ARE MUCH MORE COMPETENT THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE. IF YOU WERE HIRED FOR THE JOB, YOU CAN DO IT! DON'T DOUBT YOURSELF.” -- Cordelia Dillon (@cordeliadillon)
38. HATERS GONNA HATE
39. THERE’S NO MAGIC 3
41. “BEING GOOD AT PROGRAMMING DOESN'T LOOK LIKE BEING GOOD AT OTHER THINGS.” -- An Anonymous Ada Student
43. math (and premise): http://abstrusegoose.com/474 1 + 1 = 2
44. math (and premise): http://abstrusegoose.com/474 1 + 1 = 2
45. https://www.codefellows.org/blog/this-is-why-learning-rails-is-hard
46. “YOU DON'T HAVE TO LEARN IT ALL AT ONCE.” -- @jc_socal
47. “IT’S ALL JUST CODE.” -- me, all the time
48. LEARN HOW TO LEARN 4
49. “EDUCATION IS A PROCESS, NOT A DESTINATION.” -- Kevin Stevens (@kevdog)
50. Ruby
51. Ruby
52. Ruby
53. Ruby
54. Ruby Rails DevOps
55. R R D Software Engineering
56. R R D Software Engineering ?
57. “ALWAYS KEEP PUSHING YOURSELF AND LEARNING MORE. THE INDUSTRY MOVES FAST AND PART OF EVERY DAY SHOULD BE LEARNING SOMETHING NEW.” -- Greg Tarnoff (@gregtarnoff)
59. Dear Princess Celestia: Letter About Equestria. Today I learned How to say Hello World! I said "Hello, Equestria". That’s all about How to say Hello World! Your faithful student, Kerrizor.
60. I learned how to add to get a number using the number first and the number last. Did you know that the number sum was 0? As long as first was no more than last, sum became sum plus first... first got one more. That's what I did! Then I said sum! That's all about how to add!
62. We’re Hiring!
63. “YOU'LL ALWAYS BE MAKING IT UP AS YOU GO ALONG AND THAT'S THE MOST ENJOYABLE PART ABOUT PROGRAMMING.” -- Eric Hodel (@drbrain)
64. FIND YOUR COMMUNITY 5
65. “EVERYBODY THINKS DEVELOPMENT IS HARD SOMETIMES. GOOGLE ANY PROBLEM YOU'RE HAVING AND YOU'LL FIND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WHO SWEAT, STRUGGLED, SOBBED AND SWORE OVER THE SAME THING!” -- Jaime Lyn Schatz (@edupunkn00b)
66. “IT'S ESSENTIAL TO FIND THAT DEV ON YOUR TEAM WHO IS WILLING TO TAKE THE TIME TO TEACH YOU THE ROPES.“ -- Mitchell Lee (@theevildev)
67. SHARE THE LEARNING • Teach a class • Volunteer at RailsBridge or GDI • Study Group • Book Club • Write a blog post • Give a lightning talk
68. “THE BEST THING I DID FOR MY PROGRAMMING CAREER WAS FOCUSING ON LEARNING BOUNDARIES AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS.” -- Sonia Connolly (@sonia_pdx)
69. GET STARTED 6
70. “SOFTWARE IS NEVER ‘DONE’” -- Carol Nichols (@carols10cents)
71. CULT OF DONE MANIFESTO • Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done. • Pretending you know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing • Laugh at perfection. It's boring and keeps you from being done.
72. 5 THINGS I WISH I KNEW... It’s Supposed To Be Hard
73. 5 THINGS I WISH I KNEW... It’s Supposed To Be Hard You Do You
74. 5 THINGS I WISH I KNEW... It’s Supposed To Be Hard You Do You There’s No Magic
75. 5 THINGS I WISH I KNEW... It’s Supposed To Be Hard You Do You There’s No Magic Learn How To Learn
76. 5 THINGS I WISH I KNEW... It’s Supposed To Be Hard You Do You There’s No Magic Learn How To Learn Find Your Community
77. GET STARTED
78. CREDITS • @srbaker • @marginoferror • @gelicia • @moishel • @ssoroka • @pete_higgins • @_zph • @sonia_pdx • @edupunkn00b • @eassumption • @TheEvilDev • @carols10cents • @shadowspar • @pfctdayelise • @gregtarnoff • @ChrisAnnODell • @drbrain • @geeksam • @muness • @anthonyarnold_ • @CodeFancier • @c9952594 • @mrezaurrahman • @dead_lugosi • @spargonaut • @iosengineer • @ariellauthentic • @kevdog • @_redwire • @dawnmoyer3 • @pestophagous • @phad • @infixum • @mwop • @ElizabethN • @mark_menard • @lornajane • @JC_SoCal • @sammikes • @mabmierau • @needshortername • @scrumdilligent • @cordeliadillon • @ln1draw
79. KERRI MILLER (@KERRIZOR) • glass artist • Vespa mechanic • lighting designer • author & teacher • player of games • software developer