Hi all!
I have been a long time reader of this site, but this is my first time posting.
I am just curious what skills, outside of tech-related fields do you think would be beneficial to someone looking to try to make a career jump into programming / web development?
I am a career maintenance man, but my passion is with programming. I feel like some of the skills that I have acquired through my field of work have helped me considerably with learning to program. Some of the skills that I am speaking about include critical thinking, problem-solving, coming up with "outside the box" solutions to problems, and the ability to break a large problem down into smaller, more digestible problems, etc.
What other skills or occupations do you think would transfer well or be beneficial to someone looking to get into programming? Or if you disagree with the skills I listed for my profession, please feel free to let me know why.
Top comments (8)
I would say reliability is an important skill to develop. I suppose this falls under organization and communication skills too. It is easy to become flaky in this field with all of the emails, requirements, things to learn, and people to talk to. I'm not talking about being relied on to crank out code all day, but more so responding to emails that need your input, following up on things that you say you will, fixing issues reported to you on your work, be prepared to discuss something at a meeting, etc. while still handling the coding part of the job. If I know when I need something and that the person will actually respond, even if they say they cannot do what I am asking, is a wonderful thing.
I can agree with that, even in my current field of work as Director of Maintenance. Nothing more aggravating than when one of my guys tell me they fixed something or are getting ready to go fix it, only to find out in the meeting the next morning that it still isn't done. I don't know why they do it. I even tell them all the time that I WILL NOT get mad if they tell me they don't know how to do something and I would be more than happy to show them how. Yet still, it constantly happens.
This is my biggest struggle with some devs! Hah. The bug is fixed, then breaks again with the next deploy.
I gave specific examples instead of "time management" or "communication". This way you have smaller, more attainable topics. ^_^
Hope this helps!
Also, thank you for sharing. Since I am attempting to become a self-taught programmer at 33 years old, I feel like I need to not only focus on my programming skills, but also on making sure that these separate side skills, such as being an effective communicator and being able to empathize with clients really shine. When I do get out there and start applying for jobs, I feel like I will certainly need to be able to stand out from the young programmers with CS degrees. So, once again, I very much appreciate your input.
I have heard that about communication a few times before. That "soft skills", such as being able to communicate effectively and efficiently with other programmers, and more importantly, with clients is becoming a much more sought after skill.
Talking to people