I've been a lot of things in this world. I started out as a Test Developer for a while, doing manual testing for about 5 months. And then automation testing for 2 years. I've been a performance enginner for the next 2 uears, optimizing websites before it was cool. Did a short stint in management and decided I didn't really like the flavour. Went back to being a JavaScript developer bouncing around companies whenever I ran out of vacation days. I was taking too much vacation days to go speak at conferences. The only constant amongs all this was I did JavaScript for about 7 years.
After a burnout I woke up one morning realizing I liked going to conferences more than going to the office. So I starte looking for jobs that would allow me to go to conferences more. And that's how I saw the Nexmo job ad that was looking for a JavaScript Developer Advocate. It basically was everything I wanted in a job and nothing I hated.
I applied thinking I wasn't going to get it, cause only rock stars get to be Developer Advocates. The competition was fierce, some people I know & admire in the community were up for the same role. But as I went through the interview process the hiring manager kept pointing out that I did most of the requirements in my free time, if not during my previous jobs. And that's how I explain what I do to other people:
I'm the feedback mechanism between developers using our APIs and the engineers and product managers building the APIs
I write blog posts and demos using our APIs either on their own or in conjunction with other popular technologies
I speak at conferences about topics I'm passionate about
I help staff the booth whenever Nexmo sponsors a conference, getting feedback from people and handing out T-shirts and stickers 😅
There is this current misconception that you have to be an architect level developer before you can join the DevRel industry. And I think that's totally wrong. I used to work on software that reached hundreds of milions of people daily, but that doesn't really help me in my role today. The thing that helps me most is being able to understand developers pain points. And I think that's the most important skill you need to have for a role in Developer Relations. Empathy. That's why all the Nexmo Developer Relations job posts have the first requirement listed as "Empathy".
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
I've been a lot of things in this world. I started out as a Test Developer for a while, doing manual testing for about 5 months. And then automation testing for 2 years. I've been a performance enginner for the next 2 uears, optimizing websites before it was cool. Did a short stint in management and decided I didn't really like the flavour. Went back to being a JavaScript developer bouncing around companies whenever I ran out of vacation days. I was taking too much vacation days to go speak at conferences. The only constant amongs all this was I did JavaScript for about 7 years.
After a burnout I woke up one morning realizing I liked going to conferences more than going to the office. So I starte looking for jobs that would allow me to go to conferences more. And that's how I saw the Nexmo job ad that was looking for a JavaScript Developer Advocate. It basically was everything I wanted in a job and nothing I hated.
I applied thinking I wasn't going to get it, cause only rock stars get to be Developer Advocates. The competition was fierce, some people I know & admire in the community were up for the same role. But as I went through the interview process the hiring manager kept pointing out that I did most of the requirements in my free time, if not during my previous jobs. And that's how I explain what I do to other people:
There is this current misconception that you have to be an architect level developer before you can join the DevRel industry. And I think that's totally wrong. I used to work on software that reached hundreds of milions of people daily, but that doesn't really help me in my role today. The thing that helps me most is being able to understand developers pain points. And I think that's the most important skill you need to have for a role in Developer Relations. Empathy. That's why all the Nexmo Developer Relations job posts have the first requirement listed as "Empathy".