DEV Community: Shane Schick

How developers should prepare for their future in data science today

Shane Schick — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 18:42:06 +0000

Most developers understand that the job interview questions they're asked right now might have little to no bearing on the actual work they'll be doing tomorrow.

The challenge is assessing how their role will change over time, and begin skilling up accordingly. The rise of data science in almost every industry offers a good example of how developers can be caught unprepared, and what they should do to chart the right course in their careers.

According to a research study conducted by a team at Google and the University of San Diego, for instance, there are often challenges for developers who initially specialized in Java to make the move into a data science role.

These included what the researchers described as a difficulty in grasping the foundations of machine learning (ML) concepts, and a feeling that they “never get a full understanding of the algorithms.”

In other cases, "(Respondents were) too often faced with mathematical equations (e.g. backward propagation), that are very hard to implement correctly," the researchers said.

While there are tools and programming workflows such as Tensorflow's Tensorboard visualization toolkit that can help here, Google researchers have since followed up with a blog post that suggests these need to embed implementation tips and just-in-time strategic pointers to the underlying math.

Of course, this doesn't help Java developers or other programming professionals who may be working for (or applying to work for) organizations that will clearly need to make use of data science over the long term. With that in mind, here are three strategies to consider that are feasible for any developer to tackle immediately:

1. Explore and experiment with ML-specific languages

Less than two weeks ago, a group of developers posted the release notes for Julia 1.4, a programming language that has been enhanced with improved multi-threading, new library features, and tweaks to the build system.

Occasionally compared with C in the speed with which it can be used, Julia has already been downloaded more than 13 million times, even if it has fewer packages than what you would learn in Python courses. The earlier developers get exposed to it, the more likely they'll be ready to answer future employer's questions.

2. Get to know your data science team mates

While developers may take the lead on ML projects and other initiatives, it's more likely they'll become part of a group that includes coworkers from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds.

Recruiting firm Dice has published insights into the day-to-day life of data scientists, whether they emerged as developers or had more of a managerial role. The one common theme is that anyone working in this area will need to be in a constant state of learning.

3. Kick-start your data science skill development

As the needs and applications for data science continue to grow, some organizations will no doubt support professional development and training activities to ensure they have the right talent in place.

In the meantime, however, developers will obviously have an edge if they seek out and acquire some of those skills on their own. There are lots of machine learning courses to choose from today, for example, that give working professionals options to study part-time, or full-time if you're not yet employed anywhere.

It may seem premature to dive deep into data science right now, but don't forget that people once thought the same thing about programming itself. Just as learning to code can help those in all kinds of roles, data science skills will become table stakes before you know it.

Why the future of programming will be brought to you by the letter 'E'

Shane Schick — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 15:43:28 +0000

Long before Apple used the letter "i" to help personalize technologies like the iPhone, the iPad and the iMac, the most popular way to prefix innovation was to add an "e" to it.

E-mail, e-commerce, e-business -- after a while the hyphen may go away and we begin to forget the "e" once stood for "electronic." According to some recent research from the DevOps Institute, however, there's a new way to think about a capital "E" that is filled with even more meaning, and which may inform the way we think about the skill sets of developers for years to come.

In its 2020 UpSkilling: Enterprise DevOps Skills Report, the organization published survey results from more than 1,200 IT professionals. The overall results come as little surprise: more than 58% said finding the right talent is difficult and almost as many (48%) said the same thing about keeping talented developers on board.

More interesting was the way the report recommended employers and developers think about the way they assess talent (if you're the one hiring) or presenting your skills (if you're the one applying). It suggested programmers need to showcase themselves as "E-shaped," which is based on the following:

-Three horizontal skill categories including automation skills, functional knowledge skills and technical skills
-Process and framework skills, a vertical skillset which focuses on flow and understanding of different practices and methods such as scrum, agile development and value stream mapping
-A vertical skill category focused on human skills such as collaboration and interpersonal skills.

For those who have been in IT for some time, this might spark memories of a call for "T-shaped skills." First coined by David Guest and later popularized by IDEO CEO Tim Brown, the horizontal bar in the "T" was meant to represent the need for cross-functional skills, which sat atop the more in-depth technical skills an individual would bring to the table.

E-shaped skills (or E-shaped humans, as the DevOps Institute report put it) may be a reflection on how making a meaningful contribution to an organization like a digital transformation project requires greater sophistication and nuance than T-shaped skills allowed. It makes sense to tie process and framework skills, for instance, next to that other vertical bar of collaboration and interpersonal skills, given that DX and similar initiatives bring programmers closer to those in specific lines of business.

The benefits of becoming E-shaped certainly isn't limited to those in formal DevOps roles -- you could easily see how it could help developers at any stage. Getting there isn't going to be easy, however: more than a third of respondents, or 38%, said their organization had no upskilling program in place.

That may leave it up to individuals to find broad-based computer programming courses or develop more specialized skills by looking up Python courses on their own. For the interpersonal and flow-based parts of the "E," it will mean an even greater degree of personal initiative.

As a starting point, I'd suggest developers do a little self-assessment to see how E-shaped they are today, and begin planning accordingly. Remember that, besides offering a short-form for "electronic," the letter "E" marks the beginning of "excellence" too.

The top programming languages (and how to learn them) according to more than 100,000 developers

Shane Schick — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 15:38:56 +0000

JavaScript may be the best-known programming language for the second year in a row, but a survey of developers shows that only 5% learned it as their first language.

The report from HackerRank was based on answers from a large sample of 116,648 developers and students about their current skill set, what hiring managers are looking for and how the next generation of developers are educating themselves.

For those who have already been in the field for a while, to learn Javascript is a no-brainer. Only Python and Java came close in the ranking, but it's interesting that, like JavaScript, only 13% of those surveyed said Java was one of their first languages.

Not surprisingly, full-stack developers were cited as the most in-demand talent pool among hiring managers, but maintaining that level of expertise requires ongoing effort. In fact, 60% of full-stack developers were required to learn a completely new framework in the last year—more than any other role polled, the HackerRank report said.

What's interesting is how traditional approaches to studying software engineering are changing, particularly among a younger demographic. Here's an excerpt:

"Gen Z is more likely than any previous generation to utilize bootcamps. Nearly one in six say they’ve leveraged bootcamps to learn new skills," the report said. "On the flip side, they’re less likely to learn coding skills from older generations’ go-tos, like books and on-the-job training. As Gen Z comes to rely more heavily on non-traditional education sources like bootcamps, they’re poised to become a key talent pool."

The good news is that the industry seems more than comfortable with computer programming courses that are more focused, shorter-term and don't necessarily give students a formal degree.

In fact, the research showed that close to one in three hiring managers have recruited someone who had graduated from a bootcamp (Juno College and Lighthouse Labs are examples here in Canada, where I'm based). Better yet, the majority of hiring managers said bootcamp grads are either just as equipped or even better equipped than those coming from more traditional schools.

It's great to see this data, because it suggests that not only are developers finding a way to learn that works for them, but that it's working for employers, too. It's going to become more important to talk about this shift, the report concluded:

Companies will have to become experts in developer hiring—not by relying on developers’ pedigrees or resumes, but by objectively evaluating their skills and placing them strategically throughout the organizations they work for.

You've shared your tech stack -- what about your 'ed stack'?

Shane Schick — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 18:45:57 +0000

As a tech journalist, I talk to a lot of companies who are struggling to figure out what kind of tech stack they need to innovate or stay competitive. This often comes down to decisions that can’t be decided by executives on their own. They need the insight of their developer teams, which is why I was interested to see how the community here on Dev.to is evaluating all the options available.

Early on, for example, I came across some excellent posts like this discussion that has already generated a ton of responses on the various right front end, back and and languages developers use.

Then there was this in-depth, very thoughtful exploration of the trade-offs that building a particular tech stack involve — from buggy code, lack of partners to deal with integrations and potential career roadblocks.

This was the key graph for me, and worth repeating even though the post is two years old:

It's a little "touchy-feely" of me, but as somebody who's been a part of the Apple ecosystem for a while I feel like I'm a part of something. When something new comes out we all talk about it together. We have Slack rooms and forums where we post questions, meetups at coffee shops, and events hosted by companies who are using these technologies. Once a year we show up at WWDC from all over the world. It's a real, tangible thing that you can feel and experience. It's a world you're a part of. It's not just a technology choice. There's a passion for the tools used. Many of the tools and developers with a deep history going back to NeXT, and I happen to think that's pretty cool.

I’m sure many other developers agree, but it got me wondering whether choosing the right tech stack is the only way to make you feel a part of something.

When I’ve interviewed developers, a recurring theme that often comes up is how committed they are to continuously learning. In some cases they’ve taken mini-sabbaticals in order to pursue an additional full-time software engineering course. In other cases they’re looking at short, intensive, training in data science and software development at places like Juno College and Lighthouse Labs here in Canada or CareerFoundry, which is located in Europe.

The most successful developers, in other words, are just as focused on building their “Ed Stack” — layering on additional education or refining their existing skill sets in order to stay career-ready or (more often than not) a sense of personal passion.

Compared with the tech stack discussions, through, I don’t see the same dialogue happening about what makes a successful ed stack. It’s something I’d love to see more of on a forum like this, because I think many employers have no idea how to hire, coach or mentor the developer talent they already have. They struggle to build a true team because they don’t even know the best places to direct staff for future professional development.

Much like a tech stack, an ed stack is rarely built once but needs to be periodically assessed and, improved upon. I’m not sure if people will be as willing to share it, but I’d love to hear how (or if) developers consciously think about their ed stack -- and how they build it.

I’m not sure if people will be as willing to share it, but I’d love to hear how (or if) developers consciously think about their ed stack.