Want to listen to the full episode? Check the bottom of the post!
Andrew Brown (CEO of ExamPro.co) joined us recently to talk about a load of topics that would be helpful to anyone looking to get a job in development.
A recurring theme we talked about was how bootcamps (and from what we see, university) tend to set everyone up with a very similar skillset in what are extremely competitive job markets.
That's why a lot of graduates can apply to 200 jobs and hardly get any responses, let alone interviews.
So how do you stand out from the crowd?
Pick a highly demanded skill to add to your technical hamburger 🍔
If a company has to pick between full stack developers, one of the easiest way to decide is to go with the developer with skills that complement their role. Particularly if the skill adds real value to the business.
We like to call this "Supercharging Your Skillset" because it opens up a bunch of new opportunities for your career and even the projects you work on.
In this podcast snippet, Andrew talks about how cloud computing is one of the best choices. Here’s a visualisation of this he posted recently:
And there's many others you can pick from, such as:
UI Design
Most developers think they are terrible at UI Design. The truth is, you just need some simple, actionable principles to follow to level up your designs.
If you can really get a more theoretical understanding of UI Design and what makes a good and bad design, not only will your personal work stand out, but you can bring tons of value to a company you work for by being able to produce better quality prototypes and even giving them a hand in other areas.
User Experience
We all have instincts on what feels right and wrong with our own user experience journey on applications and websites we've used. There are however a set of techniques and research methods you can learn and implement on projects to work towards excellent user experience, and this is something companies really want.
Here's a fantastic post from Emma Wedekind on the "UX Engineer" job title and what it means.
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Data Science
As companies collect more and more data, and our computing power and availability with cloud and the tools becoming available become far more advanced and accessible, we've moved into an age where we can use that data to improve so many aspects of our products and businesses. And companies pay a lot of money for people who do this as a specialization.
Also, check this awesome A-Z post out from Helen Anderson, she’s an experienced Data Analyst and Advocate for the industry, and really this is one of the best comprehensive top-level references available
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Copywriting
Ever used a great looking website to feel like some of the buttons, sentences, documentation and other pieces of text just didn't make sense, went on too much or just didn't feel right? That's where copywriters come in.
Not only can understanding copywriting principles help your own projects, it improves your resumé, portfolio, cover letter and can be an invaluable asset to any company you work for.
Security (not just the basics, there are specialisations that pay a lot!)
Security comes in all shapes and sizes - from basic security, to penetration testing, to cloud-specific security practices. Learning some more advanced principles can not only get you a much higher paying job (especially when it's your main skill-set) but you'll have a skill set that a lot of CTO and VP of Engineering types will be very impressed to see on your list of skills.
Andrew recently gave a talk on how to implement security in AWS and posted it here on DEV:
34:20
The Fast Track to AWS Security - Feb 26 2019
Andrew Brown 🇨🇦 ・ Mar 30 '19 ・ 1 min read
Unix
Learning more advanced Unix principles and how to actually set up servers locally rather than just through the cloud is something that a lot of developers struggle with - particularly because it's one of those weird things some of us tend to avoid.
Learning it more in-depth and understanding your way around Unix on a more than just basic level is another big way to set yourself apart.
The list goes on but these are some of the things companies hire entire teams of experts for - and if you can pick one or more of these to really stack up those technical skillsets, you massively increase your chances of being considered for the jobs you're applying for.
Check out Andrew on DEV 👇
Andrew has written some epic content on how LinkedIn is a hidden gem full of opportunities, and loads of great AWS-related stuff too. Check his stuff out below.
Listen to the podcast here 🎙
If you want, you can listen to the full episode from the embedded player below. Andrew has tons of unique left field tips that can really help you accelerate your career progression.
Top comments (76)
My top skill is more on the back-end side of things, as my creative side is not that good to perform UI/UX and stuff. But I can definitely do front-end programming given that I have the UI design and whatnot =)
Thanks Ken! A lot of UI isn't being creative - I'm terrible at creative thinking for design but there are a lot of principles you can read and follow in your designs to make things stand out.
Anyway, DM coming your way with a free course! Thanks!
Oh, I just seriously knew this just now. Didn't know you don't have to be outright "artsy" fellow to be good at it. You just need to follow certain principles. Thanks very much for this information. I'll definitely look it up on the internet.
Yeah Ken, check this tweet storm from Steve Schoger - he puts out strategies you can immediately put in place in your existing designs to make them look 10x cleaner and more professional
twitter.com/i/moments/994601867987...
Had a lot of interesting things that I learned during the read! Thank you so much for this. I'll definitely keep and apply this one for future use.
I think my Top skill rn is JavaScript.
JS seems to be the most popular answer!
If you want free access to Andrew's AWS course, drop us a DM and we'll send you a coupon for 100% off.
Thanks! Can I DM you on Linkedin?
My top skills are doing the backend as of now using ExpressJS and doing some frontend using VueJS
Vue is awesome - we use it on most of our projects! It's great that you're learning full stack JS too as it's a great way to get backend and frontend experience without the costly time of learning a backend language too.
I'll also send you a copy of Andrew's AWS course straight to the DMs!
Yeah thanks. May I ask, why dis you chose Vue for your projects?
Well, with the abudance of choices, which are all good choices by the way, we went with Vue because:
A podcast fan here. Nothing better to make dead time a profitable time! My top skill is learning 📚. I'm currently leveling up my Angular skills.
Oh awesome Sebastian, thanks for being a listener! Let us know if there's anyone you want to be on (or even if you want to be on yourself!)
That's also easily our favourite answer - if you can strategically learn and actually have a passionate for the process of learning something, the skills come naturally. It's something I work on a lot and will forever work on, the process of effective self-teaching.
Also, free AWS course coming your way! Thanks again for your support and comment :)
Forgot to ask you to DM us first or follow back - either of means we can send you a message! Thanks
Just DM you. Thanks!
I have been working as a Php backend developer for 3 years now and I would say backend programming is my top skill, I'm trying to also learn some frontend tech, trying to learn React right now 💪
Awesome! Do you use a framework when working in PHP? And React is a great choice and fairly future proof. I'd suggest checking out Vue too as it ties in quite well with PHP's Laravel.
If you want free access to Andrew's AWS course, drop us a DM and we'll send you a coupon for 100% off.
I use mainly laravel as framework, I might check out vue Js too, thanks for the suggestion :)
I'll shoot you a dm thanks!!
Backend development aside, my top tech skill would most probably be being able to use Python to automate most of the simple things I repeatedly do :D though I'm still just learning about automating stuff related to servers and deployment (devops, SRE, etc).
Awesome post, got me more motivated to learn more 👍
my top skill is php .
Thanks for the comment Ponick! Open your messages and I'll send you access to the AWS course.
Thank You! My inbox now open
Can someone help me? I graduated as a full stack developer and feel stuck. I want to make a mobile app. My number is+14692265917
We wouldn't help over phone Chad but you can always put #help posts on here! It's an open community and everyone's happy to help.
My top skill right now is probably Javascript. But, I'm having fun constantly exploring all sorts of tech.
It's a fantastic attitude to maintain throughout your career to explore different types of tech! You never know what tools can be useful on what project.
Can you open a DM with us Brian, then we can send you access to the free AWS Course 😄
As a backend developer I love exploring different paths. Just discovered this series and liked so much. Thank you, very informative post and podcast indeed :)
Thanks so much for your comment, we are really glad you like the series and find everything very informative! Andrew has a way of putting things and he's got a lot of insights he's clearly been thinking about, so we're glad to bring this to you.
On the point of exploring different paths, if cloud computing is something you're interested in, Andrew is kindly giving away free courses to get you certified - he usually charges for these but the first 100 commenters on this post get them without charge. If you want access to that just DM us on here and we'll send it over.
Thanks for engaging regardless! :)
My top tech skill is not giving up and just learning enough to get productive. (I hope that counts.)
It is. I'm N years in the industry and still find something to learn every day. There is no way one person will know everything. Learning on the go and solving an actual problem in front of you is a pragmatic approach. 👍
My top skills are JavaScript, Go and PHP with React. Different language for different things!
You're very diverse there! Having both async + sync and functional + OOP languages under your belt is a huge advantage in this industry. Let's add cloud to that stack - free course access coming your way!
My top skill is javascript and react native.
Nice! Into that JS Mobile Dev Stack! I'll send you free AWS course access shortly.
Matthew great read! MY best tech skill is CSS.
Thanks Stephen! Drop us a DM and we'll drop you free access to Andrew's AWS course
My top skill right now would be JS mainly using in front end with React! Thank you!
Awesome, Alexis! Are you working currently or in the learning stages and looking to get a job?
Also, we'll send you free access to the course from Andrew's company if you send us a DM. Thanks for commenting!
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