One master skill. There is one skill that many new engineers are lacking. One skill that holds you back early in your career. It's the most important skill in software engineering. But it's also the hardest to learn, and the most poorly taught.
Problem solving is the master skill. Finding reasonable solutions to complicated, ambiguous problems, in a complex environment. Not just writing code, but planning, executing, debugging, and revising, under 'less than ideal' conditions.
That's a lot to ask. But it's the skill that you must learn to have a lasting career in software engineering. Luckily you don't have to learn it all at once.
One of the key problem solving skills is to break big problems down into smaller problems. And break those problems down into even smaller problems. And then solve one of those very small problems.
So let's break it down. Let's start with debugging. Debugging is a distinct, and critically important, subset of problem solving. If you can debug well, it will dramatically increase your effectiveness and your satisfaction as a software developer. If you cannot debug well, it will stunt your career growth, and it's also not very fun.
Let's take a debugging journey together. Tomorrow, I'll start by defining exactly what I mean by debugging. Then, we'll dive into why it can be so challenging, and we'll start to build up your debugging skills. One step at a time.
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