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How to become a valuable software developer

How to become a valuable software developer

My Session at Java2Days @ Sofia Bulgaria

Ahmad Gohar

October 18, 2017
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  1. Ahmad Gohar
    IBM WTC

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  2. Who am I !
    Solution Architect at IBM WTC
    IBM Certified Expert IT Specialist
    Opengroup Certified Master IT Specialist
    M.Sc. In IS
    MIBA
    OCEJPA, OCPWCD, OCP SQL/PL
    Java Duke Award Winner 2016
    @ansgohar

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  3. 1: Be crystal clear about your end goal

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  4. A crystal-clear goal looks something like

    “I want to work as a software
    developer at an established tech
    company.”

    “I want to work at a brand new
    startup, as a software engineer, in the
    industry I adore.”

    “I want to build things on a team,
    and get paid well for it.”

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  5. 2: Choose a language to learn

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  7. 3: Practice…and practice some more

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  8. Some people say it takes 10,000 hours
    to become an expert.

    Now, you don’t need 10,000 hours of
    practice to get your first software
    developer job.

    But you do need to dedicate some
    serious time.

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  9. 4: Use tools that real developers use

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  10. Git and GitHub

    Working in your terminal

    Test-driven development

    Group projects/collaboration

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  11. 5: Read other people's code

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  12. 6: Find a community

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  13. 7: Build projects

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  14. 8: Cultivate your professional network

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  15. Go to meetups

    Maintain a blog

    Volunteer

    Speak at event

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  16. 9: Master your pre-interview essentials

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  17. LinkedIn profile

    GitHub

    Twitter

    Personal/portfolio website

    Blogging

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  18. 10: Ace your job interview

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  19. 11: Accept the job offer

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  20. All of this sounds like a lot of work,
    right?

    Short answer: yes.

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  21. It’s not easy,

    And you can all but guarantee that
    you’ll get frustrated sometimes.

    But it is absolutely doable.

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  22. The Top 6 Myths Holding You Back

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  23. MYTH #1: I need to be a genius to
    become a developer

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  24. REALITY:

    Anyone can learn how to become a
    software developer

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  25. MYTH #2: Learning to code is like
    learning brain surgery!

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  26. REALITY:

    Learning to code is easy, mastering it
    is hard.

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  27. MYTH #3: I need a college degree to
    know how to become a software
    developer

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  28. REALITY:

    Programmers without degrees are
    more common than you think

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  29. MYTH #4: I need serious math skills to
    learn how to become a software
    developer
    1

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  30. REALITY:

    Success as a programmer and math
    proficiency are not directly correlated

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  31. MYTH #5: Knowing the ‘best’
    programming language will accelerate my
    journey to become a software developer.

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  32. REALITY:

    There is no ‘best’ language to learn.

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  33. MYTH #6: It is too late for me to become
    a developer.

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  34. REALITY:

    It’s never too late to change careers!

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  35. The bottom line…

    You have always had what it takes to
    learn how to become a software
    developer

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