DEV Community: Dave Sev

Conscious Incompetence

Dave Sev — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 11:19:20 +0000

Bob, our newly qualified Web Developer who overestimated his skills
got the job! He now has 1 month before his job begins to become proficient in React.

If you have not read the previous posts in this series - make sure you check them out!

Bob's initial panic at his upcoming React job has steadied into a desperate scramble to learn React. He has been researching the different areas he needs to learn in order to pass off as "competent in React".

In case you're interested...

If you are looking for guidance in career development, as a certified Life Coach, I help IT developers create their dream jobs through self discovery, career planning and how to make the best out of your job. Contact me if you would like to discuss further.

Lets dive in.

Creating a Roadmap

After spending a few days researching and reading about React, Bob has narrowed down his list of things to learn to a concise list of Beginner tutorials and books to follow. He now has 3 weeks to get up to speed.

They consist of:

React Official Documentation
The Beginners Guide to React
Fundamentals of React
Fetching API with React
React Tutorials and Projects - numerous exercises from the books, YouTube and other websites

Even though he has no idea how each of these things work, he is in a much better position than where he was a week ago. His list had hundreds of items, many of them not necessarily needed.

He now has something he can focus his attention on. He has realised he won't be an expert in 3 weeks, but he can at least have the basics under his belt.

Day 1: The First Steps

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - Chinese proverb

Now that Bob has a list of trusted resources he can go through, he will slowly start to acquire the concepts and skills needed for his React position.

He opens up his new book, Chapter 1: What is React...

Day 7: Bob Tries to Build his First React App

Bob now embarks on his first complete react app. Simple as it may be, he really struggles. This is also following along tutorials, using books and YouTube.

It's rough. His code is barely readable, he used patches from all different sources and it seems to be an impossibility that his website will even load.

Day 15: Tipping Point

I don't think I can do this he sighs to himself. Maybe I need to call the job and tell them I can't take it...

Bob clicks on the directory called "My First React App" and presses Delete.

Bob Calls Dave

Dave is Bob's old friend from school. He is a Life Coach and whenever Bob feels like he has hit a brick wall, he calls Dave.

"Dave, I just can't do this. It's too much and too difficult."

"Bob! You already have done so much. You can't give up now! You need that job. Tell me what's going on?"

"I have spent a week on this and I still have no idea what I am doing. Everything breaks, I can't get anything to work."

"Look, you knew it wasn't going to be easy. It's difficult but everyone has to start somewhere. Everyone who works with React has gone through the exact same experience as you. Don't give up!"

"I just can't get anything to work! It's been a week of hell."

"Well, what could you do to get a simple app up and running?"

"I suppose I could follow a walkthrough on YouTube from start to finish. They go through every line of code with you."

"Brilliant Bob! Why don't you give that a try and get back to me."

"I don't know.. Most of them aren't the type of apps im looking for. But I suppose I have to start somewhere"

"Bob, promise me you will give this method a try - at least once and get back to me."

Bob gives a resigned sigh, "Ok, I'll do it."

"Good luck Bob, speak in a few days."

Take 2

Bob takes a break, gets himself a cup of coffee gets some fresh air on his balcony. After 10 minutes of some sunshine and a nice breeze, he feels a little refreshed, enough to sit back at his computer.

Searching for "React App for beginners", he browses through a few options and finally settles on a simple beginner walkthrough app.

After two days of slowly following the YouTube walkthrough he has a very simple but working React App... and he is ecstatic. I can do it!

Day 24

Bob decides to give his own app another chance.

He creates a new workspace and directory My First React App 2. Strangely enough, this time things seem to be a little easier, or rather a lot easier. He has got 5 React app walkthroughs on YouTube under his belt now. He finally gets the page to load, even though it doesn't do exactly what its supposed to, Bob gives a sigh of relief. I've got this! he thinks to himself.

Conscious Competence

By this time, Bob now is starting to move out of the Conscious Incompetence stage and is approaching the Conscious Competence stage. There is still lots to get to grips with, but he is slowly starting to be able to apply the concepts and skills in practice.

In case you're interested...

Unconscious Incompetence

Dave Sev — Mon, 31 May 2021 12:23:38 +0000

After a 6 month grueling bootcamp in Web Development, completing a few on the side freelance projects, it's time for Bob to start looking for a full time web development job. His finances are starting to run a little low, and he decides he better get his act into gear.

He's excited, nervous and uncertain. After browsing through the applicable jobs in web development he comes across a few entries. Almost all of them have "React" listed as one of the core requirements for the job. From Bob's experience and bootcamp, he has read about it in passing, but never spent too much time looking into it. Now he is interested, and decides to start researching React in detail...

In a previous post How to Master Your Craft we looked at the four stages of Mastery. The first stage of Mastery, Unconscious Incompetence is the beginning for everyone.

In case you're interested...

If you are looking for guidance in career development, I help IT developers create their dream jobs through self discovery, career planning and how to make the best out of your job. Contact me if you would like to discuss further.

Lets dive in.

The Dunning Kruger Effect

The little information that Bob knows about React is that it is based on Javascript. "Woop" Bob grins as he thinks about the possibilities of applying to the job. Bob aced the Javascript part of his bootcamp, "I've got this in the bag" he thinks.

Without any more hesitation, Bob adjusts his CV and sends it out. Confident that he can work on any Javascript projects with ease. Now that the ball is moving, he starts looking at some React project tutorials online.

HTML, CSS, Javascript...

Horror of Horrors!

Bob continued down the page as he browsed the React Fundamentals section of a website.

Asynchronous JavaScript
Object Orientation
React Hooks
Event Handling
API's
REST and GraphQL
Tailwind ... and the list goes on.

The bias of overestimating your abilities is called... The Dunning Kruger Effect. Bob thought his experience with Web Development and Javascript in his bootcamp would be enough for him to pick up React in a cinch. But as he slowly discovers its more complicated than that.

The Graveyard of Ideas

We all are guilty of thinking that our abilities are capable of taking on accomplishing more than it can in reality.

This is the graveyard of failed projects, businesses and plans that we commit to, only to find out that we underestimated what was required.

So how can we move up the competence scale?

The first stage is knowing that we are in the Unconscious Incompetence stage. Once we understand that this is bigger than we thought, we can now start to take action to move into the Conscious Incompetence stage.

Moving to Conscious Incompetence

Bob is now transitioning into the Conscious Incompetence stage, stage two of four. Keep following these posts for more information on the different stages.

In case you're interested...

How to Master your Craft

Dave Sev — Fri, 28 May 2021 14:03:29 +0000

Have you ever seen a Gordon Ramsey at work? Watching a Master at the top of his game is truly a sight to see.

Think about the last time you saw someone who was able to work at a Master level. Did you ever wonder how they got there?

In this second installment of learning a skill, we look at the four stages mind learns things on its way to Mastery.

In case you're interested...

Four stages of learning

This model was developed in the 70's by Noel Burch, which highlights the two main factors of the learning process:

Competence : The ability level of the person
Consciousness : The amount of concentration and attention required to perform the task by the person

Stage 1: Unconscious Incompetence : What's That?

At this stage, you do not know what there is to know. The proficiency may require two weeks, two months or two years - but you have no idea.

You don't know, what you don't know.

Here a kid is being instructed about guitars. He can't play, but he's excited!

This stage requires observation to learn what can be done to do things.

Here you need to learn what you need to learn and gather information about what is required. You must recognize where you are VS where you need to be.

It's like being a kid, wanting to drive a car. You have no idea what's involved. You don't know about gears, indicators and breaks. It's exciting but you wouldn't even be able to start the car.

Stage 2: Conscious Incompetence : I suppose I'll need to learn that!

You now know what is missing, and you have an idea of what you need. You are unable to do what needs to be done, but you understand that you are lacking in those skills.

Here our young guitar player is learning about the guitar. He can't play anything properly, he makes many mistakes and needs guidance and help.

You understand the value of the skills that can address the lack, but are unable to perform them.

This is the most frustrating stage. It's here that you feel I just can't do it!

This is where people give up. It's too hard.

You need to take a leap and keep telling yourself I can do it!

Stage 3: Conscious Competence : It takes me a while, but I can do it!

You have the skills, this is where you can accomplish the task yourself. Remember your driver's test? You thought about everything you did. It takes lots of effort and great concentration.

The student guitar player is not able to play songs by himself. He still has to concentrate carefully and check to make sure his chords are correct and he is playing correctly. If he loses his concentration everything will fall apart.

But he can hold his own, even if it takes a lot of effort.

You have finally made it, more or less.

Stage 4: Unconscious Competence : Mastery

The final stage is when you don't even need to think about what you are doing.

Our guitarist is now a master. He can pick up the guitar and play without even thinking. He can hold a conversation with you while he is playing. It has become second nature to him, the muscle memory is ingrained in him.

This is what makes a master.

Getting there

In order to get to level of Mastery, levels of understanding had to be accomplished through each of the four stages. There is no skipping and no shortcuts, no matter who you are you have to go through the same hoops.

You might have a good tutor and tools to speed you along the way, but it requires tremendous efforts, overcoming challenges, pitfalls and disappointments.

How has your experience been in your journey towards mastery?

In case you're interested...

How Do You Eat An Elephant?

Dave Sev — Thu, 27 May 2021 10:24:10 +0000

Ever wonder why sometimes you can master a skill in no time at all, but other times, no matter how many times you go over the same material it just doesn't stick?

There are a few important ideas to consider, and each one should be able to help improve your learning significantly.

The best place to start... is at the beginning! But to know where you are now, its good to know where you are going: There are 7 actionable steps we will reveal in this post.

Starting Something New

Starting something new is always daunting. You have

no idea what you need to know
no idea what you will be required to do
no idea if you have the skills to be able to do it and
no idea what is important and what is superficial

So where do you begin?!

It always seems impossible until it’s done.
-Nelson Mandela

Here we touch on one idea, and without doubt the most important, but keep up with future posts which will touch on other ideas as to how you can Master new skills, tools and tech.

In case you're interested...

Lets dive in.

Breaking Things Down

Ever start something new and wondered how will I ever be able to get through this, it just seems impossible? Maybe it was a course, a book, a new tech or something else entirely. When I had my first child, I really wondered...

The new venture is usually daunting, tough and it looks like there is no end in sight - I often see in my mind a giant mountain, with no roads or paths and think will I ever be able to do this?

There's a saying...

how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

When faced with a new challenge, task or venture, the first thing to do is break it down into manageable steps. Instead of having one intimidating goal, you now have a few smaller milestones to achieve.

Each milestone can then be broken down into smaller, actionable tasks.

Prioritize

The next thing to do is work out which items are the most important, and work on them first.

You can then be scheduled and put into your calendar.

Celebrate your bites

The trick is, every time you take a bite, every time you sit down and work towards your goal, completing a small task or just putting some effort, Celebrate!

You did it! You took action!

It doesn't matter if you completed your tasks or not, what matters is that you took action.

You took action towards your goal, and that is something to celebrate!

Reward yourself! Even if its something small - a chocolate, an ice cream, anything you look forward to. The bigger the milestone or task, the bigger can be your reward.

This will help you make it through the struggle, disappointments and being overwhelmed.

50% Is Just Starting

This is nothing new, as the ancient Chinese saying goes...

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" - Chinese Proverb

The most difficult part of every new path you take is the first steps. Lets quickly summarize the plan into 7 steps:

have the goal in mind
break it down in smaller manageable milestones
break those down further in actionable tasks
prioritize your tasks as to how you will approach them
schedule in time for each task
celebrate your efforts 7 reward your achievements

Have your tried breaking down your big goals into smaller tasks when it seemed impossible to begin with?

More importantly are you celebrating your successes when you take action?

In case you're interested...

The best time to ask for a Raise

Dave Sev — Wed, 26 May 2021 08:30:28 +0000

It had been a grueling eight months of coding into the nights, stressful deadlines, continuous spec changes, bad planning and estimates and bug fixing that was almost impossible to replicate reliably... You know the drill.

Then the celebrations - Champaign and a company wide barbeque.

It felt good. The project, despite the delays and hiccups will bring in hundreds of thousands for the company, and the team can finally relax.

"Now is my chance" I thought, "to get that raise I had been delaying asking for".

All to be disappointed by a meagre 5% increase. I was shattered.

Truth be told, this didn't happen to me exactly like this, but close.

In case you're interested...

Lets dive in.

What's In It For Me?

Companies don't pay after the fact. They have one degree of loyalty - and that's to its shareholders.

When they hire, they spend vast amounts of money, hundreds of thousands... Why? In order to solve a problem.

Once the problem is solved? You have lost your leverage.

Survival Of The Fittest

Whether you have been working 10 years or 10 months, when the company is downsizing, you both get one months notice and one month's pay.

So when should you ask for a raise?

When the project is about to start.

This is when the company has the most pain, and will pay for that pain to go away. Take advantage of the right time.

Let me know if you have had similar experiences before?

In case you're interested...

Python book bundle

Dave Sev — Wed, 26 May 2021 05:53:00 +0000

There is a great special on python books going on right now.

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/learn-you-more-python-books

Enjoy!

Making Better Decisions

Dave Sev — Tue, 25 May 2021 10:45:53 +0000

Making difficult decisions is never fun, especially when you doubt. Give yourself the confidence to stand behind your decisions by learning about how to make decisions... better.

How do you choose between two options when stuck in a dilemma? everyone will tell you to make a Pro and Con list, list the benefits and pitfalls of the decision and everything will work itself out. The problem with this approach is that its one sided, and the decision doesn't often feel any easier.

Another way to look at the same decision is the Rubber Band decision making framework. A tool to give two options an equal footing, and allow you to make the comparison in a much more direct way.

In case you're interested...

If you are looking for guidance in career development, I help senior IT developers create their dream jobs through self discovery, career planning and how to make the best out of your job. Contact me if you would like to discuss further.

Lets dive in.

Should I take a new job at ACME Inc?

This question is one of the most common questions on forums, and its easy to understand why. Most people don't know how to make these types of decisions, so they throw it out to the internet hoping that someone will take that responsibility from them.

The problem is that the options looks seemingly evenly balanced

Unfortunately every situation is different and you are the only person is able to answer this question.

The usual way: Pro and Con Lists

If not the first answer to this question in the replies, its usually in the top 3: make a Pro and Con list and make your decision from there.

The problem with the Pro and Con list is that it is one sided. It doesn't allow you to evaluate two different decisions equally. The options are not being evaluated against each other, rather they are being evaluated separately and this may make the two options appear evenly balanced - leaving you without a clear winner - even when they are not.

Think to yourself - did a Pro's and Con's list ever help make your decisions easier?

Pro's and Con's have a Negative Focus rather than a positive one

The Con's list is actually my current position, framed in a negative light against my Pro's list. Is that best way for me to evaluating my options? No - because I have two possibilities - not just one.

The missing ingredient is that it is not being evaluated against my current job.

Sure, there is a Con's list but it is not a direct comparison. What I need is a way to give each option an equal footing.

We are also suggesting that not moving forward is a negative - which it is not!

A New Framework: The Rubber Band Model

The Rubber Band Model is similar, but different. The Rubber Band Model puts you in between two Rubber Bands, each one on opposite sides. One is pulling you, and one is holding you back.

If I am trying to decide to take a new job, the Rubber Band would consist of my current job (holding) and my new job (pulling)

Now I can think of what are the factors that are holding me and pulling me - we are now comparing two options, based on their positive features directly against one another.

Pulling me:
new environment
better salary
interesting work
new role and challenges

Holding me:
I like my colleagues
Close to home
Shorter hours
More leave days

The con's list are reframed as benefits of the other option!

Now I can compare the two against each other, and my decision seems a lot easier to make.

Give It A Try

Have you had any decisions that seem to be impossible to make? Next time give the Rubber Band method a try. Let me know your experience with making Pro's and Con's and if you have tried the Rubber Band method let me know how it goes!

In case you're interested...

Software Specialist or Jack of All Trades?

Dave Sev — Mon, 24 May 2021 11:28:35 +0000

I have come across this type of most more often than I can remember, and it usually goes something along these lines:

I am a front end developer by trade. Should I try to move into more full stack development, or deepen my skills in front end so I can be really good at that but not able to make full sites because I can't do backend?

It's an important question, and I am glad that developers are thinking about this. You might even be well into your career, but have suddenly begun wondering whether you’ve made the right choice. The saying goes ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’. The idea goes that a developer who dabbles in everything cannot be amazing at anything.

This post will try to put forward a few ideas with regards to this subject - particularly with respect to career decisions which we will get into at the end...

In case you're interested...

Lets dive in.

The Main Idea

This post is really a story about two types of people, lets illustrate with a musical analogy: A masterful violinist, the other - a one man band: a guitar in his hands, a harmonica in his mouth and a drum set on his back. Who do you want to be?

The Jack of all Trades

The truth is, that you can't know everything. There are only so many hours in a day, and there are so many technologies that it is just impossible to be an expert at them all, but you can be reasonably comfortable in a wide range of applications and languages.

The generalist is able to adapt and adjust to the problem at hand far easier than a specialist can. They are able to select the best tool or language for the job, instead of hacking around trying to fit a square into a circle.

Additionally, they are not limited in what job opportunities are available. They could apply for a backend developer position or a frontend position.

The Specialist

On the other extremes is the specialist, who spends all their time focusing on one technology stack that they know inside and out. If there is something that can be done with it, they know how to do it. They don't have to rely on others to get the job done, and they are the ones that people come to when they have a problem.

The thing is, when you have a problem, who are you going to look to - the generalist or the specialist? The answer is obviously the specialist.

The Right Skills at the Right Time

The answer to this riddle is that... it depends.

When starting out in a new career, you don't know what's out there. You don't know what you will enjoy and what you would rather stay away from. You don't know all the moving parts. And this is important.

Having a generalist approach is kind of like having Waze to guide you on your journey. You can see how long you have to go, if there are any major roadblocks ahead and where the closest gas station is.

On the other hand, if there is a problem to solve, who do would you look for? A specialist, not a generalist. When you start getting to a senior level, you expect an expert level of competence. If you approach a senior developer you expect them to be able to solve the problems in their technology stack by themselves.

Career Implications

Like so many things in life, it really pays to know where you you are going.

What's clear is that early on in your career, having a good idea of "the whole" is very valuable. It helps in understanding what you enjoy, the different moving parts of a project, what's coming next and where you are going.

If your goal is to go into a managerial role or even a C-suite role, where an overview of the whole is important, a generalist approach may be right for you - although it may also require other skills you will need to master such as people skills and leadership qualities. This too is a specialist role, rather than a generalist role. You are a specialist in the whole process, you can solve very specific problems. It might not be in one specific technology but may be in a process or abilities, and companies will pay for that.

If you are looking at a technical role, then being a generalist may not work in your favor. You will be competing against experts in the field, and if you have spread your time and energies over numerous areas rather than the one area , you will need to look for roles that require that set of skills and you will be competing against others for those positions.

Conclusion

When you get further on in your career its important to be a problem solver. People pay and hire you to take care of a pain they have, and at senior level roles and high levels of experience, the people who are paying expect results - and a senior level of experience is expected to be able to see the problem through.

Down the line, when you start applying for high salaried positions, companies are spending a lot of money on this role to solve a particular problem. They have an itch and they want it scratched, and they are ready to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to solve this problem for them. This is what you should be aiming for in your career progression.

In case you're interested...

Burnout

Dave Sev — Tue, 11 May 2021 13:25:58 +0000

Over my 10 year career I have suffered burnout at least 2-3 times.

Has anyone else been through this?

No, Dont go...

Dave Sev — Tue, 11 May 2021 09:38:26 +0000

2019 - No salary increase, "Its not in the budget"

2020 - No salary increase, "Sales are down this year"

2021:

Employee: Please find my resignation on your desk

Manager: What? Why?

Employee: Got a better opportunity and salary increase

Manager: How much more?

Employee: 50%

A few days later...

Manager: Don't leave, we can match it, we need you here?

Employee: Sorry, It’s too late.

DEV Community: Dave Sev

Conscious Incompetence

Creating a Roadmap

Day 1: The First Steps

Day 7: Bob Tries to Build his First React App

Day 15: Tipping Point

Bob Calls Dave

Take 2

Day 24

Conscious Competence

Unconscious Incompetence

The Dunning Kruger Effect

Horror of Horrors!

The Graveyard of Ideas

Moving to Conscious Incompetence

How to Master your Craft

Four stages of learning

Stage 1: Unconscious Incompetence : What's That?

Stage 2: Conscious Incompetence : I suppose I'll need to learn that!

Stage 3: Conscious Competence : It takes me a while, but I can do it!

Stage 4: Unconscious Competence : Mastery

Getting there

How Do You Eat An Elephant?

Starting Something New

Breaking Things Down

Prioritize

Celebrate your bites

50% Is Just Starting

The best time to ask for a Raise

What's In It For Me?

Survival Of The Fittest

Python book bundle

Making Better Decisions

Should I take a new job at ACME Inc?

The usual way: Pro and Con Lists

A New Framework: The Rubber Band Model

Give It A Try

Software Specialist or Jack of All Trades?

The Main Idea

The Jack of all Trades

The Specialist

The Right Skills at the Right Time

Career Implications

Conclusion

Burnout

No, Dont go...

career #job