A problem I always had and I think every developer has is that the amount of diverse and interesting technologies out there is huge. It is BIG and you could literally jump from one to the other every day.
Yesterday I had a very interesting conversation with a senior developer. We talked about different things among others about technologies and the rapid change of technologies. I told him that I always have problems to keep on one project and I just jump after a couple of weeks after I have played and get started with a new technology like a framework or a new programming language and then jumped to another one. He responded that this is probably the wrong way and I should act more solution orientated rather than technology orientated.
What did he mean by that? Is it wrong to learn different technologies and different programming languages?
Of course not. But it is probably wrong to live technology driven instead of solution driven. I mean it is super nice to always keep up with technology and stay on the hype train, but once this is super hard and you will never become an expert in anything by that. The senior developer I talked to called himself a Full Stack, but not because he always keep up with the latest and different JavaScript frameworks. He applies new technologies to problems the want to solve and therefore builds real solutions instead of just playing with new technology.
Next he also suggested me to contribute on OpenSource project if I have no idea for a own project. There a multiple reasons why you should contribute to OpenSource software as a developer and I don’t want to go into detail here rather I want to point out some points. With your specific expertise you can make huge impacts, even it is a trivial and simple task for you. And you don’t also give your work to others you will learn a lot by contributing to OpenSource.
All in all the conversation made two points clear for me: First think solution orientated rather than technology orientated. It will bring your skill set further even if you want to be a Full Stack developer. Next contributing to OpenSource can be very important for you as a Junior Developer. It is basically a win win win situation. You will learn something new, you will create real value and your will create attention to potential employers.
This post should remind me about the points that got clear for me after the conversation. I hope this will help also other young developers who want to learn and grow.
Written on December 4th, 2018 by Lasse Schultebraucks