Networking is a very important aspect of almost everyone's career. In the software field, this is still especially true. Whether you have a college degree or you're a high school graduate looking to break into the field or are already in the field, networking can be a complete game-changer. If you find yourself tired of mindlessly applying to positions on various job boards just trying to get any position you can get your hands-on, then you definitely could benefit from meeting some other engineers in the field.
Firstly I want to say if you're going to try and meet some new engineers and try to improve your network, you have to be doing it for the right reasons. Networking is not joining a group chat/server and linking your social media/Github and leaving. If you find yourself doing that, you haven't fully grasped what networking is all about and why it is important.
Networking is all about meeting new engineers and learning from each other. If you're a self-taught developer networking is especially important, having a mentor or network of other engineers can be especially helpful to give you some direction in your career/projects. If you don't ever consult with other colleagues in your field, you may never find out that there is a better way of solving a problem that you have solved the same way your entire career.
If you are looking and applying for jobs, there is a chance that someone in your network may be able to help you out! There is a possibility that one of the engineers you met in a server/group works for a certain company that you have dreamed of working at. You could send that engineer a message and ask them if they had any advice for getting a position at that company. Or if you made it known to your network that you were looking for a position, someone in your network may be able to get you a position at their company or a company they know is hiring.
Having a network of engineers who have gone through the same experience as you are especially important and I believe that networking is one of the most important aspects of software engineering and many careers in general. I would definitely recommend finding a good community/group of engineers that you can help and bounce ideas off of.
If you are not sure where to start on finding a group to meet new professionals feel free to send me a direct message, I would gladly help you find a community/group.
Thanks for reading this article, I hope this was helpful to some of you. If you have any additional thoughts on this matter, feel free to leave a comment below!
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