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    <title>DEV Community: Yllen Fernandez</title>
    <description>The latest articles on DEV Community by Yllen Fernandez (@opensourceyllen).</description>
    <link>https://dev.to/opensourceyllen</link>
    <image>
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      <title>DEV Community: Yllen Fernandez</title>
      <link>https://dev.to/opensourceyllen</link>
    </image>
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    <language>en</language>
    <item>
      <title>Remote Startup Chaos: Do This and Thrive</title>
      <dc:creator>Yllen Fernandez</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 14 Jun 2024 13:35:34 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://dev.to/opensourceyllen/remote-startup-chaos-do-this-and-thrive-23j3</link>
      <guid>https://dev.to/opensourceyllen/remote-startup-chaos-do-this-and-thrive-23j3</guid>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi Coder,&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;After the pandemic, we learned that people can be productive and efficient while working from the comfort of their homes. However, this flexibility comes with its own set of challenges and potential stress, especially when working remotely for a startup. That's why I decided to write this article: to help you succeed at work even when things seem a bit chaotic. &lt;br&gt;
In a remote environment, it is easy to forget to respond to a question asked on Slack or to put off tasks for a few days that later become urgent. While this can happen in on-site jobs too, a colleague can show up at your desk to work on the task together. This is not the case in a remote team, where problems that aren't tackled or don't have a specific plan of attack can quickly be forgotten. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is one of the many issues that remote teams experience and I want to share with you my journey at a startup and how I've been able to thrive (or at least survive).&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h1&gt;
  
  
  Bias for Action
&lt;/h1&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In startups, formal processes are often minimal, and employees frequently juggle multiple responsibilities. For instance, you might find yourself interviewing a candidate while simultaneously working on a product feature. Or, you could be fixing a bug while collaborating with other developers on designing scalable infrastructure. This environment naturally comes with a bit of chaos, especially considering that you and your coworkers might be working remotely across different time zones and asynchronously.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Although this might seem like a recipe for disaster, you can thrive by staying organized and embracing a &lt;strong&gt;bias for action&lt;/strong&gt;. When you identify an opportunity for improvement, take the initiative to address it and then communicate your actions to your team and manager. They will appreciate your proactive approach, your commitment to the company's success, and your efforts to drive improvements. Focus on understanding problems and devising creative solutions, rather than merely presenting issues to the team. By doing so, you help bridge the gap between challenges and solutions within your company.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Let me share with you one of my first achievements at work a month after I was hired. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fbs26t3eqzby1mlih471r.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fbs26t3eqzby1mlih471r.png" alt="Kuddos" width="800" height="236"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h1&gt;
  
  
  Document What You Are Doing
&lt;/h1&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When encountering difficult challenges at work, make sure to document them thoroughly. Write down step-by-step instructions on how you solved the issue and create videos for yourself and your team detailing how you overcame the problem. While some challenges might be unique, having a knowledge base can be invaluable if they recur. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You can use different tools like Loom videos, Google Docs, spreadsheets, or any other medium to document your processes or solutions. The specific tool isn't as important as ensuring the information is recorded somewhere accessible. This documentation will be a valuable resource for new team members, equipping them with the information they need to succeed and freeing you from the need to remember every detail or solution to past problems. Building and maintaining processes is essential in startups, benefiting the entire company, yourself, and future team members. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;With the rise of AI, you and your team members will have different learning options from the documentation you've created. For instance, one of your videos can be transcribed, and the highlights can be shared with a customer so that they understand their problem and how to solve it on their own. Some people dislike reading long documentation, but a video transcript can be of great aid. AI is great when used to help you and your team learn from each other and work more efficiently.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Here's a screenshot of the internal documentation I am working on &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fxy1z1w5p80yb5fo8g4lh.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fxy1z1w5p80yb5fo8g4lh.png" alt="Documentation" width="800" height="231"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h1&gt;
  
  
  Over-communicate
&lt;/h1&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Communication is the key to thriving in a remote team. Communicate with your team about what you need to succeed, with your manager about roadblocks (especially during your 1:1s), and with your customers about the issues they are experiencing and how you plan to solve them. Being able to express your thoughts, ideas, and frustrations is essential. Everyone needs to know what you are doing so they can help you overcome roadblocks. They can only help you if they are aware of the challenges you are facing.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Here's an example of overcommunication&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fkn51fce8beur01dcqjxq.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fkn51fce8beur01dcqjxq.png" alt="Communication" width="800" height="341"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h1&gt;
  
  
  Stay Up-to-Date with Your Tech Stack
&lt;/h1&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Setting time every day or every few days to learn something new can sound like an impossible task. I bet you are busy with household chores, gym sessions, piano lessons, etc., but staying up-to-date in the tech industry is crucial. Try to set aside one hour, if possible, before your shift each day to learn something. Your company values the fact that you want to learn and is willing to invest in your growth so that you can become more efficient and bring new ideas to the team. This is not only beneficial for your company but also for your personal achievements and goals. Try to learn something, even if it's small, and you'll see how rewarding it will be in your current and future roles. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Perhaps you can take an &lt;a href="https://www.pluralsight.com/browse?q=AWS&amp;amp;_ga=2.48635297.668274509.1718370921-437269911.1718370917" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;AWS course&lt;/a&gt;, start working on some of the &lt;a href="https://www.freecodecamp.org/learn" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;FreeCodeCamp&lt;/a&gt; courses, or sign up for a &lt;a href="https://www.coursera.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Coursera&lt;/a&gt; degree. The platform is not as important as gaining a hard or soft skill that can potentially help you advance in your career. Ask your manager if they have any courses they pay for employees; many companies offer this.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h1&gt;
  
  
  Conclusion
&lt;/h1&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If this is your first job at a startup and things are going well for you, congratulations! You've managed to thrive in environments where many would struggle, and you should pat yourself on the back. On the contrary, if you are struggling, be patient with yourself. Try to take one thing at a time, and if possible, follow my advice; it has worked for me and I believe it will help you a great deal.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you think I am missing an item on how to thrive in remote startups, please leave a comment, I read them all :)&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
      <category>workfromhome</category>
      <category>remotework</category>
      <category>startup</category>
      <category>success</category>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Networking Outside the Box: My Job Search Journey sans LinkedIn</title>
      <dc:creator>Yllen Fernandez</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 16 Apr 2024 18:31:48 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://dev.to/opensourceyllen/networking-outside-the-box-my-job-search-journey-sans-linkedin-2agm</link>
      <guid>https://dev.to/opensourceyllen/networking-outside-the-box-my-job-search-journey-sans-linkedin-2agm</guid>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi Coder,&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I am so happy to share that I received a job offer! I am extremely proud of myself, but I must admit that it took a lot of effort. I spent about four months applying tirelessly for jobs. While I believe I did a great job organizing myself for the job hunt and the interviews, there are many things I wish I had done differently. Despite receiving a job offer, I feel a bit frustrated about certain aspects of my approach. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In this article, I want to share my experience of landing a job without using LinkedIn. It is indeed possible, and I actually found it more beneficial than applying through job boards. So, without further ado, let's dive into the dos and don'ts of job searching. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  If It's Easy to Apply, Don't Apply
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As I mentioned earlier, I secured a job offer without the aid of platforms. I stopped applying through LinkedIn, Indeed, and even company websites because it proved unproductive. Often, I would receive no response or an automated email stating that "they decided to move forward with another candidate." Recruiters get hundreds of applications daily, and even with a strong CV and the necessary skills, you might go unnoticed simply because of the sheer volume of applicants.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In my case, I opted to use LinkedIn Premium for two months to get a clearer picture of the competition I faced in job applications. I found out I was competing against over 200 candidates for a single position. Many of these candidates held a bachelor's degree, just like me, and some even had higher educational qualifications. It seemed almost impossible for me to stand out from the crowd. &lt;em&gt;Simply clicking the "Easy Apply" button is not enough to land an interview let alone a job.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As a side note, LinkedIn allowed me to use the paid version of the platform for free, which provided great insight and was definitely worth it for quantifying my efforts and knowing where to direct my energy. With over 200 people applying for the same job as me, I'd have a 0.5% chance of getting the job, way less than any prestigious university such as &lt;a href="https://www.prepscholar.com/sat/s/colleges/Harvard-admission-requirements#google_vignette" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Harvard&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href="https://www.prepscholar.com/sat/s/colleges/Stanford-admission-requirements#:~:text=The%20acceptance%20rate%20at%20Stanford%20is%203.7%25.&amp;amp;text=This%20means%20the%20school%20is,and%20proving%20your%20academic%20preparation." rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Stanford&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;So my advice is straightforward: if it's too easy to apply, reconsider. Hundreds of others are likely doing the same, and the goal is to secure an interview where you can showcase your skills. Simply clicking that button and waiting is unlikely to yield an interview. If anything, you'll find yourself (just like I did) discouraged by the number of rejections.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fjsedblipurqmp0bkmico.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fjsedblipurqmp0bkmico.png" alt="LinkedIn image of vacancie" width="614" height="320"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  Ask a Group of Friends Before Aimlessly Applying on LinkedIn
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Recently I came across this post&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fjcrvzc25gkh5ripampwk.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fjcrvzc25gkh5ripampwk.png" alt="Percentage of unposted jobs" width="800" height="439"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Eighty percent of jobs are not posted on any platforms! Most positions are filled by individuals known to the recruiter, manager, or company, or by those who come recommended. While this might seem like nepotism, in reality, companies are looking for qualities such as reliability, predictability, and competence in potential employees. When filling a role, managers trust that people in their circle —who possess the aforementioned qualities— also have similar profiles. Therefore, they are more inclined to interview these individuals first, as they likely resemble the kind of people they are used to working with. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Sometimes it might feel pointless to discuss job hunting with friends, but it can actually be effective if you ask the right questions. When it comes to finding a job, don't settle for simple 'yes' or 'no' answers; instead, ask open-ended questions. This is a good example:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;"Hey Juan, I am a software developer with three years of experience in the agricultural industry. Who do you know that can help me find a job in this field?"&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The difference between asking "Do you know someone?" and "Who do you know?" is significant. The former allows the person to easily say no, which is often the default response due to busyness or reluctance to help. The latter, however, leaves no room for a simple yes or no answer because it asks for something specific. This approach can be more effective in getting a concrete response. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In fact, I landed this job through one of my contacts. He forwarded my resume along with a brief overview of my background and how I could contribute to the team. This led to an initial intro interview, followed by a technical interview, among others. I still had to go through the entire interview process just like any other candidate, but my goal was to land the interview, not to be hired through pure nepotism.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  Write Cold Emails
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In the previous &lt;a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rosa-dichas-09a418180_orientacionlaboral-opentowork-hiring-activity-7183713093561032705-Wh4w?utm_source=share&amp;amp;utm_medium=member_desktop" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;post&lt;/a&gt;, Rosa highlighted something crucial: &lt;strong&gt;opportunistically applying&lt;/strong&gt;. Companies, like many entities in the world, are constantly evolving. People leave, new jobs emerge, and needs arise, and you can &lt;strong&gt;leverage this&lt;/strong&gt;. Sending cold emails to recruiters or managers is an excellent way to demonstrate your understanding of a company’s needs and your willingness to fill those gaps. In fact, this reflects positively on you, showing that you have thoroughly researched the company and are prepared to contribute effectively.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F7k055s6yvcch5i7pexfj.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F7k055s6yvcch5i7pexfj.png" alt="Cold email example" width="800" height="364"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Sending cold emails led to responses from three companies and secured me two interviews. Crafting these emails requires a lot of effort, but they yield much better results than LinkedIn applications.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F2w9q4v4oubdusv2fhox5.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F2w9q4v4oubdusv2fhox5.png" alt="Response from cold email" width="800" height="243"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  Conclusion
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;LinkedIn is a fantastic platform, and I use it almost every day. It's excellent for gathering data,learning about companies, specific people, and jobs. However, it's not very effective for &lt;em&gt;applying&lt;/em&gt; for jobs. While recruiters frequently use it to find candidates, I've found that it's not as beneficial for candidates seeking jobs unless they are directly approached. In my experience, LinkedIn hasn't yielded significant results as an applicant. However, reaching out to hiring managers and recruiters directly, plus leveraging my network of friends, has proven effective. This approach has definitely paid off—I'm living proof of that!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  Resources:
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/life/tips-for-effective-professional-networking?lang=eng" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Tips for Effective Professional Networking &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/life/how-to-use-social-media-in-your-job-search?lang=eng" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;How to Use Social Media in Your Job Search&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
      <category>career</category>
      <category>networking</category>
      <category>job</category>
      <category>computerscience</category>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>University over Bootcamp: Why I Chose Traditional Education for My Tech Journey</title>
      <dc:creator>Yllen Fernandez</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2024 23:27:21 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://dev.to/opensourceyllen/university-over-bootcamp-why-i-chose-traditional-education-for-my-tech-journey-58cb</link>
      <guid>https://dev.to/opensourceyllen/university-over-bootcamp-why-i-chose-traditional-education-for-my-tech-journey-58cb</guid>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi Coder,&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Before starting university, I considered attending a coding &lt;a href="https://flatironschool.com/tuition-financing/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;BootCamp&lt;/a&gt;. While I find boot camps incredibly helpful and valuable, I decided to go the traditional way and get a four-year university degree. During this time, I learned a great deal about computers, software design and architecture, art, math, etc. Despite believing that many universities offer amazing courses, I am aware that coding boot camps train developers to master industry skills much faster.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I always knew I wanted to attend university and take various courses that would challenge my views on different topics. I was interested in taking art, networking, math, writing, and even electrical systems classes. One could argue that these topics can be learned independently as well. While that is true, I doubt I would do it in my spare time and learn about these topics in an organized way. I've taken many online courses that I've never finished due to a lack of motivation, and ultimately, when there is no one (or a grading system) to motivate me, I tend to lose interest. Therefore, university would tick the diverse course curriculum box that I was looking for.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  Boot Camps Can Be Expensive
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Education in certain countries can be either free or very inexpensive. I live in Spain where good public &lt;a href="https://www.ucm.es/informacion/precios-de-grado" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;universities&lt;/a&gt; can be as cheap as 21 euros for tuition plus other minimal expenses. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fkrcof1huudhnkvyvtujn.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fkrcof1huudhnkvyvtujn.png" alt="Complutense University costs" width="800" height="423"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Some coding &lt;a href="https://www.lewagon.com/barcelona/web-development-course" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;boot camps&lt;/a&gt; can be as expensive as $6,000, and this is for only three months of education. In retrospect, I am glad I decided against it, as three or six months wouldn't have been enough for me to truly understand complicated computer science subjects. I have no doubts that there are great developers out there who can learn complex topics quickly, but I am not one of them. Coding is challenging, and I am confident in saying that I would've been frustrated and overwhelmed with the number of things to learn in such a short period. The financial and emotional investment just did not add up for me.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Some boot camp testimonials:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/7uwpi0/lambda_school_review/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Lamdba School review&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/codingbootcamp/comments/y8j75s/anyone_familiar_with_bloom_institute_of_technology/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Another review&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/codingbootcamp/comments/r1defs/any_students_from_flatiron_school/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Flatiron review&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://i.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExNzludHJzc2FnMHY1YjhjcTExaTE5ZDY1anUybDhnM2xveHBjMDU3ZiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/QnahGhA2lNwLguck26/giphy.gif" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://i.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExNzludHJzc2FnMHY1YjhjcTExaTE5ZDY1anUybDhnM2xveHBjMDU3ZiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/QnahGhA2lNwLguck26/giphy.gif" alt="ABC Gif" width="500" height="500"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  Where Boot Camps Can Add Value
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Boot camps are a great way to learn to code quickly if your end goal is to get a job in the tech industry. This is what I love about this career path. Coding is a very democratizing field; if you can build software creatively and efficiently, you are of great value to a company, regardless of your university degree. In fact, I've seen many &lt;a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/cstoscup/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;people&lt;/a&gt; who never wrote a single line of code during their undergrad getting tech jobs, thanks to boot camps, whether free or paid.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Some boot camps are free, which changes the game entirely. People no longer have to get into crazy student loan debt to make a career change or get started in learning something they are already passionate about.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdl.openseauserdata.com%2Fcache%2ForiginImage%2Ffiles%2F527a9783c28c70962773a73db797ea4d.gif" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdl.openseauserdata.com%2Fcache%2ForiginImage%2Ffiles%2F527a9783c28c70962773a73db797ea4d.gif" alt="Coding GIF by Eva Animations" width="560" height="560"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This being said, thinking like an engineer, and solving problems creatively is more important than the degree you hold. So I encourage you to follow the path that seems better for you while keeping in mind the reasons why a university degree might be preferable for some, hence the reason why I went for it.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  A University Degree Is Still A Good Credential To Have
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In his book "How to Learn to Code and Get a Developer Job," Quincy Larson said:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A bachelor's is a bachelor's, I often tell people. Because for most intents and purposes, it is.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Want to enter the US military as an officer, rather than an enlisted service member? You'll need a bachelor's degree, but any major will do.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Want to get a work visa to work abroad? You'll probably need a bachelor's degree, but any major will do.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;And for so many job openings that say "bachelor's degree required" – any major will do.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;College degrees are useful because many institutions are traditional; they have not changed in decades, and we don't know how long it will take for them to change. So, to cover my bases, I decided to go for a bachelor's degree. Also, when applying for jobs as a recent graduate, one of the few references that a recruiter or hiring manager has is a person's education level, which is a quick, easy way to screen or reject candidates.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I learned a lot from my time at university; it was frustrating, draining, long, overwhelming, and sometimes infuriating, but if one day I need to get a work visa, I'll probably be better off because I have a university degree.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;With this in mind, boot camps are a great way to advance quickly in life. They offer a good route to learn coding, but there are pros and cons to each approach. One can be overwhelming and expensive, while the other long and traditional. &lt;em&gt;Which one is better?&lt;/em&gt; My answer would be, &lt;strong&gt;none.&lt;/strong&gt; It all depends on your life goals and what you want to achieve. In my case, I'm unsure about the future in the software engineering world; therefore, I decided to go for a four-year degree to avoid potential hurdles.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  Final Thoughts
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I hope you choose the career path that best suits you, taking into account the potential advantages and drawbacks that may either encourage or deter you.&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
      <category>university</category>
      <category>career</category>
      <category>bootcamp</category>
      <category>coding</category>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Lessons Learned Too Late: Reflecting on University Regrets</title>
      <dc:creator>Yllen Fernandez</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 16 Feb 2024 22:01:34 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://dev.to/opensourceyllen/lessons-learned-too-late-reflecting-on-university-regrets-582n</link>
      <guid>https://dev.to/opensourceyllen/lessons-learned-too-late-reflecting-on-university-regrets-582n</guid>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Hi Coder&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I know this is a normal feeling, but after graduating from university, I started to reflect on the 4-year training and thought that I didn't accomplish as much as I would have wanted to. Even though [some] universities do a great job at training students as engineers, I have to admit that many of them do little to no training on how to self-promote our work.  In this article, I want to share with you what I would've done differently if I had to start over again with my software engineering undergrad.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As a &lt;em&gt;disclaimer&lt;/em&gt;, I want to mention that by no means this is extensive research, this is, in fact, based on my experience as a software engineer. I learned the hard way that I needed to put out my work and I want you to be confident enough with your skillset and learn more by building, sharing, and networking.  &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Without further ado, let's dive into the things I wish I would've done in university to get more confident with my skills, promote my work, and eventually make it easier to land a job.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  1. Build your own website
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I know this sounds overrated, but doing so allows you to have a little place online that's &lt;strong&gt;YOURS&lt;/strong&gt;, will not fall into obscurity and only you decide how it looks. I still remember when the social platform &lt;a href="https://hi5.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Hi5&lt;/a&gt; was popular in Latin America. Everybody would personalize their profile, make it cute, would spend countless hours working on it, but guess what? other platforms took over and hi5 was forgotten. It may sound difficult to think about Instagram going out of business or becoming unpopular, but that's what happens with most platforms. With this in mind, build your own website, make it as unique as you want, or get inspired by other people's style but &lt;strong&gt;BUILD&lt;/strong&gt; it. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You may use &lt;a href="https://www.wix.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Wix&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://webflow.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Webflow&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://wordpress.com" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;WordPress&lt;/a&gt;, etc, to build your website and that's totally valid because they allow you to put it together much faster. And if you don't know what style to go for, they offer different templates that you can use. I'd suggest you build it from scratch using libraries like Bootstrap because it is much cheaper and also allows you to explore different technologies. The sky is the limit when it comes to coding your own projects. Whether you want to go for the prebuilt website or coding it from scratch, it's up to you, they are both great ideas.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
I've spent many hours checking out amazing websites. Here are some of my favorites, I hope they encourage you to get started now:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;
&lt;a href="https://matteosantoro.dev/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Matteo's Website&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.alfonsobries.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Alfonso's Website&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.monica.dev/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Monica's Website&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://coding-with-callie.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Callie's Website&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;They are all unique in different ways, they showcase the developer's style. You have a style too, and you can create a website that reflects your personality and interests even if you get inspired by others. In his book "Show Your Work" Austin Kleon says:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"If you are really interested in sharing your work and expressing yourself, nothing beats owning your own space online, a place that you control, a place that no one can take away from you"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  2. Work tirelessly on projects
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The million-dollar question might be, what should you build? The million-dollar answer is, &lt;strong&gt;ANYTHING&lt;/strong&gt;. I've heard and read many times that in order to become a good developer, one has to build projects, and that's true. But what people often forget is that nothing comes from nothing, you need to copy others in order to get new ideas. You will never build the program that many people will want to use unless you start by building a typical to-do list app.&lt;/p&gt;


&lt;div class="crayons-card c-embed text-styles text-styles--secondary"&gt;
    &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=Om9EXIb8r9WA4UoU&amp;amp;v=X8aRr-g8CJA&amp;amp;feature=youtu.be" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;
      youtube.com
    &lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;


&lt;p&gt;That being said if you have any specific project in mind that you want to build for yourself, do it! Go for it, don't let your inner saboteur tell you that is not useful and that nobody will pay attention or hire you, because that is simply not true. I've heard that: &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"Quantity has a quality of its own"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;And I believe it, you will never know how you good are unless you allow yourself to be bad.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Here's a list of projects that I find creative and challenging. You may build along with the developer and modify the project to add different or better features:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://youtu.be/RMScMwY2B6Q?si=Mg9gSkvHDEgYzfaF" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Build Instagram Clone&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh5LhXAIyCw" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Create a 2D Wave Defense Game&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh5LhXAIyCw" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Create Your Own Programming Language&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj6lC93JMi0" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Build a Card Game&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Build what has been created, build what has not been created, build small and big projects. Use different programming languages, get out of your comfort zone, ask for help, get stuck, ask ChatGPT, but build! And share your projects on different platforms (more on this later.)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  3.  Document your code
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You will be surprised to come back to your project after a few months of not writing a single line of code to see how much you've forgotten. Even more so if you are working with a completely different stack or programming language. That's why I highly recommend you to document your code.&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div class="highlight js-code-highlight"&gt;
&lt;pre class="highlight plaintext"&gt;&lt;code&gt;def add(a, b):
    """
    Add two numbers together.

    Args:
        a (int): The first number.
        b (int): The second number.

    Returns:
        int: The sum of the two numbers.
    """
    return a + b

&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;





&lt;div class="highlight js-code-highlight"&gt;
&lt;pre class="highlight plaintext"&gt;&lt;code&gt;def add(a, b):
    # This function adds two numbers
    return a + b

&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;



&lt;p&gt;The images from above show well-documented and poorly-documented pieces of code. I hope you can get an idea of why it is better to do it well from the very beginning and not months later, it will make your work as a developer much easier. Along with documenting your code, you can use markdown documentation too. Not only does it look good on your GitHub, but it gives you a more human-like approach to your code and your eyes will be pleased to go through it when needed. Here's an example of markdown documentation that I like; I know GoDot is a professional piece of software (a game engine) and they can afford to have a bunch of people writing beautiful markdowns, but you can create beautiful documentation too. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F37gazaarhkoth8qwn4d0.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F37gazaarhkoth8qwn4d0.png" alt="GoDot engine markdown documentation" width="800" height="567"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I also encourage you to read this short &lt;a href="https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-write-good-documentation/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; by Victoria Drake on how to write documentation, it is incredibly useful.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  4.  Get an internship
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;To make your time in university a lot more interesting and worthwhile, you need to find an internship. Getting a job as a junior developer can be a daunting and time-consuming task. But you will probably have a better outcome if you manage to turn an internship into a job offer. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The process of landing an internship goes beyond the scope of this article, therefore I'll list a number of websites that you can check out to learn more about internships and jobs:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://joinhandshake.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Handshake&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://linkedin.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;LinkedIn&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.angellist.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;AngelList&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Keep in mind that your university may have a list of companies that already employed your fellow students, student employment, career fairs, etc. Take advantage of that! Apply, and don't be afraid of being rejected, once you land that internship, it will be much easier to land others. But you need to actively look for it because, unfortunately, it will not find for you. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  5.  Show your work!
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Some productivity gurus suggest staying out of social media, or at least avoiding it as much as possible. I'd say that there's value in joining communities, even if it's online, to show your work. If you can manage to join an in-person community where you can meet developers or tech people to collaborate with them, that'd be fantastic. But if you can't, I'd highly recommend joining X (Twitter), LinkedIn and/or Discord communities. People like showing what they're succeeding in and some might be willing to help you learn how to create content for different platforms. Conversely, you can watch them doing it, plus reading &lt;a href="https://www.amazon.com/Show-Your-Work-Austin-Kleon/dp/076117897X" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;books&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href="https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/want-to-boost-your-job-prospects-become-an-authority-on-something-heres-how-473a62183fa9/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;articles&lt;/a&gt; and listen to &lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/4X4LkNHeM57Flc6FbNP9sp?si=V8ww5VojT6aPETFh9Wj5Bw" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;podcasts&lt;/a&gt; on how to build in public. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Austin Kleon is better at putting together encouraging words than me, &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"Imagine if your next boss didn't have to read your resume because he already reads your blog. Imagine being a student and getting your first gig based on a school project you posted online"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In a world where social media has democratized who and what gets to be promoted, you should try to harness it as much as you can. Put out work, you are better than you think, furthermore, you will get better the more you do it. Let me say it again, you will never be good unless allow yourself to be bad. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It's better to be "bad" at coding and receive feedback than to never build anything out of fear of being judged. If you struggle to muster the courage, consider visiting a museum and appreciating artwork. Pablo Picasso honed his talent through building, painting, and creating. You'll be astonished by the number of things he produced throughout his lifetime. He was prolific. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Don't let fear think that you are not good at something, you will get good at it, so go build now, show your progress and the final result!   &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  &lt;strong&gt;Bonus - Attend hackathons, tech events, and meetups&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Attending events is a great way to meet new people and see what others are building. Recently, the Free and Open Source Developers' European Meeting, or FOSDEM took place in Brussels. This is a free event for software developers to meet, collaborate, share ideas, etc. People from all over the world gather there and the best part is that there's no need to register to join.   &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are a lot of these events, even in small cities. Hackathons will allow you to meet experienced people who are working on interesting projects, learn about certain industries' needs, network, etc. Even if you just learned how to write your first &lt;em&gt;"Hello world"&lt;/em&gt; there'll be people there to encourage you to keep on working. Being exposed to a team or company that does what you want to do is priceless; people like talking, and people like giving pieces of advice, if you can be there to absorb good information from the best, do it.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In his &lt;a href="https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-to-code-book/" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;book&lt;/a&gt; "How to Learn to Code and Get a Developer Job", the founder of FreeCodeCamp, Quincy Larson said that one of the best ways to build your reputation as a developer is to attend hackathons. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Hackathons can lead to many things: befriending interesting people, learning more about challenging projects, and potentially getting a job. So, with this in mind, I bet you are googling the next hackathon near you now, right?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  Final thoughts
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;My goal is to help you avoid the mistakes I made while in university. You may perceive 3 or 4 years of training as a long time, but in reality, it passes by super fast. You will surely learn a lot from your professors, fellow students, and other sources. However, the most effective way to test your knowledge and pave the way for a successful career during and after university is to start building ambitious, well-documented coding projects &lt;strong&gt;NOW&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Coding doesn't have to be a lonely journey. Engage with communities, find accountability partners, share your work, and start building. By doing it now, you'll be ahead of the game later—trust me.&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
      <category>university</category>
      <category>career</category>
      <category>programming</category>
      <category>beginners</category>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Android Studio</title>
      <dc:creator>Yllen Fernandez</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Wed, 19 Apr 2023 17:53:19 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://dev.to/opensourceyllen/android-studio-3h4j</link>
      <guid>https://dev.to/opensourceyllen/android-studio-3h4j</guid>
      <description>&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;¡Hola! Bienvenid@s a esta guía de introducción a Android Studio, especialmente diseñada para aquellos que están dando sus primeros pasos en el desarrollo de aplicaciones móviles. Mi nombre es Yllen, y como desarrolladora de aplicaciones, he tenido la oportunidad de trabajar en diversos proyectos a lo largo de mi carrera. Sin embargo, también me ha ocurrido que, al enfocarme en otras tecnologías por un tiempo, he olvidado algunos detalles importantes sobre el uso de Android Studio. Por eso, he decidido crear este tutorial paso a paso, con el objetivo de ayudar a quienes, al igual que yo, necesiten refrescar sus conocimientos o estén comenzando en este emocionante mundo del desarrollo de apps.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Así que, sin más preámbulos, ¡comencemos con nuestro mini tutorial para usar Android Studio! &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1&lt;/strong&gt; Una vez que hayamos descargado e instalado Android Studio correctamente, el programa nos ofrecerá la opción de crear una nueva aplicación. No hay de qué preocuparse, simplemente hagamos clic en "Aceptar" para continuar. A continuación, nos encontraremos con una pantalla que se verá más o menos así:&lt;br&gt;
&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fc3adwajcsb89vfl08aeu.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fc3adwajcsb89vfl08aeu.png" alt="Image description" width="800" height="602"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;¡Vamos a explorar juntos los siguientes pasos para crear nuestra primera app en Android Studio! &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;En esta sección de nuestro tutorial, nos centraremos en la clase principal de nuestra aplicación, conocida como "MainActivity". Es importante que siempre estemos atentos a la parte del proyecto que estamos visualizando en el lado derecho de nuestra pantalla. Para encontrar y explorar las actividades y clases de nuestro proyecto, debemos asegurarnos de estar en la opción "Android" en el panel de navegación. Esta opción tiene un aspecto característico que puedes reconocer fácilmente. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fqn2j3frm6p9xso74qz60.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fqn2j3frm6p9xso74qz60.png" alt="Image description" width="373" height="388"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;¡Sigamos adelante y exploremos más sobre la "MainActivity" y cómo funciona en nuestra aplicación!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2&lt;/strong&gt; ¡Genial! Ahora que ya conocemos algunos conceptos básicos, vamos a aprender cómo crear una actividad en nuestra aplicación Android. Pero antes, es importante aclarar que las actividades son componentes fundamentales en el desarrollo de apps Android, y se refieren a las diferentes pantallas o interfaces que los usuarios pueden ver y con las que pueden interactuar.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A continuación, te guiaré paso a paso en el proceso de crear una nueva actividad en tu proyecto.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fkxdf5h4jx0cw7v2j9tki.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fkxdf5h4jx0cw7v2j9tki.png" alt="Image description" width="800" height="695"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Al crear una nueva actividad en nuestra aplicación Android, se generarán dos elementos importantes:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Una clase: Esta es donde escribiremos el código y la funcionalidad de la actividad. La clase es esencial para definir el comportamiento de la pantalla y cómo interactúa con el usuario.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Un documento XML: Este documento se encarga de definir el diseño y la apariencia de la actividad. Es decir, aquí especificaremos cómo se verá la pantalla en términos de elementos visuales, como botones, campos de texto, imágenes y más.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Podrás encontrar el documento XML en el panel izquierdo de tu pantalla, dentro de la carpeta "res/layout".&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Es importante que, al crear la actividad, le asignes un nombre a la clase. Android Studio utilizará este nombre para generar automáticamente el documento XML correspondiente. Por ejemplo, si nombras tu clase "MiActividad", el documento XML se llamará "activity_mi_actividad.xml".&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;En resumen, la clase define la funcionalidad de la actividad, mientras que el documento XML se encarga del diseño visual. ¡Juntos, estos dos elementos nos permitirán crear pantallas atractivas y funcionales para nuestra aplicación!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fj8kq4n7niajm8wh1x12f.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fj8kq4n7niajm8wh1x12f.png" alt="Image description" width="800" height="547"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Así es como se ve tu archivo XML. Este es el lugar perfecto para que tu creatividad se despliegue y brille. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fz0isc61c9jhu78d2eesg.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fz0isc61c9jhu78d2eesg.png" alt="Image description" width="800" height="603"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3&lt;/strong&gt; Dentro de la carpeta &lt;strong&gt;'res'&lt;/strong&gt;, encontrarás varias subcarpetas importantes, pero por el momento, nos centraremos en tres de ellas: &lt;strong&gt;'drawable', 'layout'&lt;/strong&gt; y &lt;strong&gt;'values'&lt;/strong&gt;. Estas carpetas nos permiten organizar y almacenar elementos como imágenes, diseños de actividades y diversos tipos de información, respectivamente. Por ejemplo, si deseas que tu actividad muestre una imagen específica, puedes guardarla en la carpeta 'drawable' y, cuando la necesites, simplemente hacer referencia a ella con un código como este: &lt;strong&gt;'android:src="@drawable/logo"'&lt;/strong&gt;. Lo mismo se aplica a la gestión de colores y textos que quieras tener a mano para un acceso rápido. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F0651uum3pikxjx9y7g29.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F0651uum3pikxjx9y7g29.png" alt="Image description" width="301" height="119"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4&lt;/strong&gt; Para visualizar tus creaciones en el emulador de Android, es importante verificar que no haya errores en tu proyecto y que todos los elementos, ya sean imágenes o textos, estén correctamente restringidos, es decir, 'constrained'. De lo contrario, el emulador podría ignorarlos. Los 'constraints' se representan mediante líneas azules que puedes ver en la imagen. Para aplicarlos, simplemente arrastra los puntos de anclaje de los elementos hacia otros objetos en la actividad, como los bordes de la misma, tal como se muestra aquí. Este paso es esencial para asegurar que tus elementos se muestren correctamente en el emulador.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F8v3aof1i0ay7pmb7b7b1.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F8v3aof1i0ay7pmb7b7b1.png" alt="Image description" width="800" height="508"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5&lt;/strong&gt; Finalmente, para visualizar tus avances en el emulador y ejecutar la aplicación, todo lo que necesitas hacer es hacer clic en el botón correspondiente, que se encuentra aquí. De esta manera, podrás ver cómo luce tu aplicación en el emulador y comprobar su funcionamiento.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fhfybtkykjb420xpg3dyh.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fhfybtkykjb420xpg3dyh.png" alt="Image description" width="593" height="987"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Android Studio es un software increíblemente potente y versátil, y podría dedicar un mes entero a escribir sobre todas las características y capacidades que ofrece. Sin embargo, en esta ocasión, mi objetivo es compartir contigo aquellos aspectos que había pasado por alto anteriormente. Espero que esta información te haya resultado útil y te haya brindado una visión más clara de lo que puedes lograr con Android Studio.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;¡Hasta la próxima!&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
      <category>android</category>
      <category>java</category>
      <category>beginners</category>
      <category>espanol</category>
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