DEV Community: Aaron Powell

My first month in Web Development

Aaron Powell — Sun, 06 Oct 2019 16:53:07 +0000

My first month in Web Development

To clarify, I have just completed the first month of my internship so I may be less experienced coming from a university background rather than coming from a boot camp.

Did I know enough?

I knew exactly what I wanted to do from the beginning of university, so therefore I knew exactly what sort of role I wanted to be in for my internship. The main issue is that I didn't know what tech stack was going to be used or what tech stack is the "best" to learn in general.

My University curriculum did not cover many web technologies, in fact only the basics of the basics. However, I focused my own time into learning the fundamentals of Javascript and doing my own projects. This is by far the best decision I have made so far. Focus on what you love, learn the fundamentals. I cannot imagine entering this internship without the foundations I had.

I am an Imposter

I thought there was a month of training, turns out that was for graduates and not interns. This meant that I was going into my team dry, I knew what I knew, and that was not a lot...

I did not belong, I had so many questions, but my team had just lost members and was down to two developers. This meant that every time I asked a question or needed help I was slowing down the team by at least 50%, and that was not such a good feeling.

What did I know? What did I need to know?

I knew HTML, CSS(and SASS), Javascript and the basics of Webpack, React. However, it felt like I needed to be a master of React and know all these other tools like Jest, Jira, Mulesoft etc... I started off doing tutorials and basically tried to learn fundamentals of React as soon as possible.

I didn't want to be a burden, someone dragging down the team. I know I am an intern but I wanted to be helping already, and this was WEEK 1.

Anyways, I followed tutorials and continued to ask questions, attend meetings, understand acronyms, and learn the business all at the same time. This was a lot to take in, but I was enthusiastic and eager to learn, and my mentor has been really supportive and helpful!

Where am I now?

Still learning, obviously, however, I feel WAY more comfortable and this is mainly because of my team being so supportive, my mentor and my scrum master have been crucial to my progress. My mentor helps with learning the codebase and working on the project and my scrum master has been helping with everything else and settling in.

I am tired

WOW, I get to code ALL day, sitting down! How relaxing right!? No.

At least during my first month, I've been learning so much, and giving 110% I have (by my own choice) been working 8:45 - 6 ish every day. My brain is always active, learning the how's and whys of everything. It's overwhelming but it's worth it.

Putting in all I've got during my first month, to me, was critical. To feel part of the team, part of the company. I asked and learned so much since everyone will be more accepting and willing to teach me during the beginning.

It's not all rainbows and butterflies but I am having so much fun, and know this is going to be a good start to my career. Not only learning to develop with code, but to develop as a person into a professional working man, everything I do, see, and hear on my internship is an experience I am experiencing for the first time.

Do I recommend an Internship?

Uhmm... Heck yeah! It's amazing, I have learned more in the specific field I love in 1 month than I have from 2 years of university. The experience is more relevant than academic achievements and I already feel like I am contributing to the company and gaining valuable skills outside of coding.

It may not be for everyone but if you know what you want to do, put in the effort, create projects, show off your passion through those projects and you will get the internship you want.

Tips for your first interviews

1) Be prepared, research the companies values and what they do, don't focus too much on when they were founded and who their CEOs are.

2) Projects, Projects, Projects. - Find out their tech stack, or use what you love and show off projects with those. Make sure you understand your project and then talk about them non-stop.

3) Show off your passion by doing stuff outside of university curriculum

4) Network before your interview - I added current interns, graduates, previous interns via linked in and Facebook. Because of this, I had inside information to understand what the company wants and how they work, this also helped me figure out if I wanted to work at the company and why.

5) Use your University careers staff. At the University of Kent (UK), ours are amazing, you can ask them anything and they do their best to help. Most likely, they have seen many students go to the company you're interested in and know the managers who will interview you, or at least know the structure and prepare you for the interview!

Tips before your internship

A few tips I would like to give to anyone starting an internship would be:

1) Find out the tech stack, learn the basics
2) Learn the basics of the agile mindset, sprints etc
3) Jump in the deep end, drown for a little, and then ride the waves of success with your team
4) Use your team, they are there for you, you are there to learn
6) NETWORK, speak to people, find out their roles
5) Ask, Ask, Ask, however, if it is something unrelated to your specific company, maybe google stuff first, use your initiative, be proactive.

You do belong. You are there to learn. You will succeed, your team wants you to!

Named Function vs. Variable Function?

Aaron Powell — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 13:12:24 +0000

Hi guys, I'm reading a JavaScript book and came across this example, but it doesn't fully explain when to use each and what the usecases are other than the fact that named functions are hoisted?

Can someone explain if one is better than the other all the time or what the usecases for each are?

function fun() {
Console.log("Hello from func 1"
}

var fun = function(){
Console.log("Hello from func 2"
}

Both can be used as callbacks etc, to me assigning a variable to a function seems just like a named function? Thanks!

Sorry for lack of formatting, wrote this on my phone. Also couldn't seem to add the image via mobile?

How to Easy Edit for clients?

Aaron Powell — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 10:16:47 +0000

Hi guys, I have been thinking about helping a friend out with a website for a while now but I don't want to be stuck updating little details here and there all the time.

How do you or what do you use on websites you create to have a login screen for the "admin" to edit content and images easily with no code?

What is the name of this so that I can look into it in more detail? CMS?

I looked at contentful but it didn't seem to be what I'm asking about unless I'm wrong?

I looked at HTML contenteditable attribute and someone suggested locking behind your own login system but I thought this was long winded and must be an easier way?

Thanks!

What is in your work bag?

Aaron Powell — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 09:00:43 +0000

I start my internship in two weeks! 🎉 Help a worrying newbie out!

What do you take in your bag everyday to work?

I'm worried about not taking the right stuff, or worse, taking the wrong stuff...

Tell me the most important equipment in your bag, the things you couldn't live without.

So far:
1.Pen
2.Notebook
3.Antiperspirant (I need to worry about that stuff)

Assuming laptop will be kept at work but I'm not sure.

Dev.to for CodeNewbies?

Aaron Powell — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 23:42:38 +0000

As a CodeNewbie myself, I seem to struggle to find many relatable or "interesting" blog posts mainly because I am not of the level in my career to understand the newest features of the new technologies, or use GraphQL, or use react hooks.

Now, I could set goals of learning all these things (which I might very well do in the future) but for now, I want to ask you guys;

What are your suggestions for making dev.to as CodeNewbie as possible so that my notifications are more on my level? Other than following the #CodeNewbie tag and setting the follow weight higher? Please discuss! Thanks.

For those that didn't know, you can set follow weights on your tags by going to your dashboard -> following, as seen below:

An Intern's Journey: Before it begins

Aaron Powell — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 11:53:24 +0000

Prelude

Before you continue, I have never written a blog, actually I don’t remember writing much more than assignments and my EPQ, the flow may be choppy, the grammar may be off, I am open to feedback and any constructive criticism so please feel free to contact me on twitter @aaron_powell or comment on here!

I am doing this as part of a “Learning in public” twitter thing I have seen; I am a student going on a placement year and hope to bring insight to other students making the same move or anybody about to begin their first year in the developer industry.

At 21(now 23) I took the dive of moving from the Electrical field back to academia, I wanted to do what I love, and that was creating on the web. I wanted a deeper understanding of coding, and so, I ended up taking a Computer Science course at the University of Kent. Now, as the exams of my second year have come to an end, I prepare for the beginning of what I hope to be my career.

Getting the placement:

I had my eye on one company since my first month of university; I researched them, I learned about their culture and the tools/languages they used. It turns out, I was offered the job and ended up going somewhere else.

Before I began applying, I knew it would be hard, I went to the Placement Office quite a few times, preparing my CV, simulating interview questions or to discuss my interests and get their opinion on the best options for me. I spent a lot of time on Udemy and creating a portfolio along with other side projects to show off my passion for development.

My advice to any other students about to begin looking is to get help from those with experience. I also reached out to many current interns, some hiring managers, some software developers, mainly all through Twitter and everyone was so open to discuss and offer their help. APPLY EARLY, don’t wait until exams are underway, start applying in October/November allowing time to write good cover letters and seeking what you will enjoy.

I am passionate about getting into the industry, I think the companies also saw this in my interviews, so I was much luckier than I had expected. With the guidance of the University of Kent Computer Science Placement Office, I was fortunate enough to have received offers for my top two choices. One in Data Engineering (medium-sized company, great culture, great people, just not the right sort of role), and one in Software Development(Massive company, designs most of the worlds mobile chips, and more the role I was looking for). Both fantastic opportunities and such a hard decision to make, but a fortunate position to be in. Long story short, and after basically discussing it with anyone who would listen, I chose the Software Development role at the larger company.

What now?

I start in September but in my mind, at the moment I just want to prepare while still having a break, after all, I’ve just spent the last year with a substantial focus on my university course (and a little bit learning web development on the side).

Before I start my Year in Industry, I want to:

· Finish my new portfolio. (www.AaronPowell.co.uk)

· Begin to create an Android App.

· Look into any technologies I may be using Docker, SpringBoot etc

· Create a thorough set of goals for my Year in Industry.

Expectations:

Honestly, sometimes I fear the move to a big company, will I get left behind? Will anybody remember me? Will anybody care about me? I’ve been told many times this is in MY control, I will squeeze the year for everything it has to offer, the experience is going to have its ups and downs, but overall, I am going to be in the developer world, the beginning will have already begun.

The main worry I have is that I may be put on some project that I don’t like, and it lasts the whole year, I want to be open-minded, but I would love to gain a variety of experience throughout my time there.

Am I good enough to be surrounded by experts? Heck no. But I will be, if I take their advice, get feedback and learn. That’s what this year is all about, learning.

If anyone has tips on the beginning of a Year in Industry, feel free to let me know!

What I want to get out of this?

As of right now, I have one solid goal in my mind, and I know many others will spur off this one, and as I start the placement, I will have many more.

The big goal of my year in industry, currently, is to be able to say that I can do all the things listed on the current recruitment page for a Software Developer at ARM. I want to learn all the relevant tools for the job. Not just skills related to coding, soft skills, confidence in my work, and a wide variety of core skills I can gain on the job.

However, one step at a time, I have a year, a lot can be achieved in a year.

I hope to keep posting updates, my findings, my feelings, my experiences, everything relevant to the Year in Industry placement.

Any comments/feedback on the placement or blog, please feel free to contact me on twitter or here!

Thanks!