I'm a developer with (way too) many years of experience, originally from the UK but now in NYC having co-founded a real-estate startup and an AI driven content engine platform.
Great article! I'm a firm believer in that the single biggest quality someone can have when becoming a developer is a desire to learn.
The desire and ability to learn pretty much trumps everything else for me. Relying on a CS degree as a substitute is not going to work. Nothing gives me more confidence than speaking to an enthusiastic candidate who has a Github account full of projects or experiments in different languages that they put together in their spare time.
I found our latest hire on Instagram and knew very quickly she had a passion for learning that would benefit us in the long run. She was working a full-time job in retail yet found the time to dedicate to (and finish) projects to demonstrate her learning.
Great answer! 110% agree on this. But I find a lot of people have a desire to learn, it's those who really push every single day and have conviction to become good at something are the ones that stand out.
I know there has to be a separation of work and personal time, but I really do find those that put in the work in their personal time benefit greatly in the long run.
I'm a developer with (way too) many years of experience, originally from the UK but now in NYC having co-founded a real-estate startup and an AI driven content engine platform.
Absolutely right Luke. When I talk about a desire to learn, I really mean making a lifelong (or at least career-long) commitment to learning.
Whenever anyone first learns to code, it feels overwhelming and you're constantly facing a bottomless pit of new tools, technologies and frameworks. The irony is this never changes but it stops being overwhelming because the learner gains the confidence to take on what they need.
The learning becomes smarter too, figuring out the correct paths to take, the details they don't need to commit to memory and knowing when certain courses of action feel right or wrong.
I'm the CTO of international video agency Wooshii and I run an educational media brand called Skill Pathway. I also occasionally chat to people on my podcast, The Learning Developers Podcast.
This is such a loaded reply that I think a lot of people need to hear. Thank you so much for elaborating on this.
The fact that you hired someone through Instagram is genuinely something we think will happen a lot more in the next 5-10 years.
The pressure from non-technical management to force-require degrees will fade as those managers begin to understand how the world is changing, and all of a sudden, the documented proof on social networks of our skills almost becomes a secondary résumé.
I completely agree about being eager to learn. I have a degree and over 10 years experience as a developer but I am still learning new things every day.
I'm the CTO of international video agency Wooshii and I run an educational media brand called Skill Pathway. I also occasionally chat to people on my podcast, The Learning Developers Podcast.
It's crazy really. It's not even just learning new concepts - it's having new problems to solve with the concepts you already know and putting those things together. New challenges every single day.
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
Great article! I'm a firm believer in that the single biggest quality someone can have when becoming a developer is a desire to learn.
The desire and ability to learn pretty much trumps everything else for me. Relying on a CS degree as a substitute is not going to work. Nothing gives me more confidence than speaking to an enthusiastic candidate who has a Github account full of projects or experiments in different languages that they put together in their spare time.
I found our latest hire on Instagram and knew very quickly she had a passion for learning that would benefit us in the long run. She was working a full-time job in retail yet found the time to dedicate to (and finish) projects to demonstrate her learning.
Great answer! 110% agree on this. But I find a lot of people have a desire to learn, it's those who really push every single day and have conviction to become good at something are the ones that stand out.
I know there has to be a separation of work and personal time, but I really do find those that put in the work in their personal time benefit greatly in the long run.
Absolutely right Luke. When I talk about a desire to learn, I really mean making a lifelong (or at least career-long) commitment to learning.
Whenever anyone first learns to code, it feels overwhelming and you're constantly facing a bottomless pit of new tools, technologies and frameworks. The irony is this never changes but it stops being overwhelming because the learner gains the confidence to take on what they need.
The learning becomes smarter too, figuring out the correct paths to take, the details they don't need to commit to memory and knowing when certain courses of action feel right or wrong.
Exactly! It's so awesome to watch when the learning becomes smarter. It's weird but you can just see it.
/End Thread haha. I think we've answered the question.
This is such a loaded reply that I think a lot of people need to hear. Thank you so much for elaborating on this.
The fact that you hired someone through Instagram is genuinely something we think will happen a lot more in the next 5-10 years.
The pressure from non-technical management to force-require degrees will fade as those managers begin to understand how the world is changing, and all of a sudden, the documented proof on social networks of our skills almost becomes a secondary résumé.
I completely agree about being eager to learn. I have a degree and over 10 years experience as a developer but I am still learning new things every day.
It's crazy really. It's not even just learning new concepts - it's having new problems to solve with the concepts you already know and putting those things together. New challenges every single day.