Some Developers lead "lives of quiet desperation" (thanks, Thoreau). These are the cubicle Developers that you can find near the backbone of any major corporate or governmental setting. Over time, these Developers can get into a rut, where there’s nothing but the factory-like drudge of maintaining status quo.
Tech is alive with possibilities, and computer programming is a field that positively crackles with innovation. For the mid-level or senior Developer that’s lost touch with how exciting their career should be, it might be time to change things up.
How can these skilled Developers stay on top of the latest changes in the field while still maintaining their not-as-challenging corporate or government positions?
How can employers encourage these valuable team members to keep things fresh?
Here are some tips for keeping it real while modernizing your developer stack.
When people think of art, it’s typically the ballet or Hamilton the musical, a Van Gogh painting or even their own weekend doodling on a sketchpad. To the uninitiated, computer programming probably isn’t considered an art form.
But Developers would argue against this. That’s because they solve digital problems in unique and fabulous ways. A good Developer working in digital technology strives to solve challenges by writing the most elegant and efficient code possible at that moment.
When we say “code,” think “foreign language,” because that’s basically what it is. Software Developers solve problems by writing script in computer languages. They use math, logic, troubleshooting, and the creative side of their brains to make, improve, and maintain the technology that you’re using to read this.
The creativity comes in how Developers craft the language to get the software or hardware to complete a task. Problems can be solved in different ways, but the best Developers have the most concise, intelligent, and elegant language to get the job done. It should be noted that the field has a couple handfuls of programming languages and architectures to can select from. Their tool selection can say a lot about how modern their approach is.
Problems can arise when the Developers fail to keep up with current technologies. This happens a lot. While these professionals may land a great, steady job at a bank, in state government, at a hospital, or another enterprise organization, they may look up from their screen one day and realize that technology has changed around them and they’ve failed to keep up.
What happens to a Developer with 10 years of experience maintaining legacy platforms when corporate downsizing puts them out of a job?
Unless they can find a startup that doesn’t fail in the first year or a software consulting firm that builds lots of different products, Senior Developers have a high probability of falling prey to technology stagnation.
An InfoWorld article points out that there are two problems with staying in one place for too long:
While there are certainly a lot of Developer jobs out there, the best roles will inevitably go to the engineering version of the millennial, the Developers that keep at least one finger in the latest versioning and newest tools.
On the flip side, even COBOL Developers can find work maintaining legacy code so old it creaks.
The truth (take note, Junior Developers!) is that there is no modern software job today where a Developer will use the same tools for their entire career. The benefit of a wider portfolio of skills extends beyond job marketability; in the right work environment, the question becomes which tool is the most efficient. Having the right tool for every job is what makes for a better digital product in the long run.
Or, to put it another way, the best Developers know a little about any number of tools, while having mastered a few tips and tricks up and down the stack.
For experienced Developers seeking a career refresh, here are 10 ways to learn new skills:
Now, here’s a note for employers: A bored Developer is a flight risk. Ask yourself what your organization has done lately to develop your Developers.
For Developers wondering where to start with stack modernization, let’s look at some of the hottest skills for 2019.
TechRepublic covered some of the best job skills for developers to cultivate this year. Topping the list was knowledge of emerging technologies such as blockchain, cybersecurity, and the data sciences.
Their list of need-to-know skills also included:
CNBC agrees that data science will be one of the hottest skills in the coming years, along with business analysis, game development, and natural language processing, another of the building blocks that make up AI.
With more than 2.5 billion smartphone users currently, it’s clear that app and mobile development will remain high on the list of coveted developer skills for employers in the future.
For Front-End Developer wannabes and those with an affinity for this end of the stack, UX and UI skills will remain high on the list for 2019 and the foreseeable future. Both are different subsets of the front end:
Both of these subset skills can be applied across the stack. Any Developer should give some thought to the end user experience no matter what they’re working on. Lose sight of the end user and you’ve lost your audience.
But what about soft skills? The cliché is that Developers are notorious for lacking people skills, but why should they care if they’re hanging out in SQL all day? Do soft skills really matter for the Developer of the future?
The truth to share here is that no one really likes a computer curmudgeon. In today’s business world, Developers need to collaborate with cross-functional teams because the days of having technology as a back office function are over. Today and for the foreseeable future, technology is business, which elevates the back-office Developer into a new forward-facing, client-centric position.
That makes soft skills, or those personality traits that allow computer nerds to play well with others, just as important as learning the ins and outs of cryptocurrency. Simple Programmer lists a number of these characteristics that most employers seek now or will seek in the future:
Of course, the best way to modernize your stack is to take on a new gig. Artisan Talent has a variety of Developer positions available in every type of industry, whether it’s a disruptive startup or an enterprise looking to build out their team. Having a networking conversation with one of our experienced talent reps could be the first step toward a refreshed career.