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So, You’re Thinking of Becoming a Developer

So, You’re Thinking of Becoming a Developer. Lexis Hanson, Software Engineer lhanson@salesforce.com, social: @lexishanson. Today’s Topics. How to stay committed to learning How to find the best resources and community How to get that developer job

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So, You’re Thinking of Becoming a Developer

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  1. So, You’re Thinking of Becoming a Developer Lexis Hanson, Software Engineer lhanson@salesforce.com, social: @lexishanson

  2. Today’s Topics How to stay committed to learning How to find the best resources and community How to get that developer job 🎉

  3. About Me Grew up & went to school in Arizona, studied Finance and Marketing Formerly worked in product and customer success Spent ~$400 to become a self-taught software engineer Attending Google I/O 2018

  4. What are your goals? You’re interested in just building up some coding skills You know 100% that you want to make a switch to a software engineer/dev role You might want to make a career change to a dev – you’re exploring the idea

  5. “I enjoy coding and want to become a developer, but it feels so out of reach.” - Me, a few years ago

  6. Tar Pits of Doubt How do I find the time? Am I even capable? Where do I start?

  7. Self-taughtGuided LearningTrailhead AcademyCoding BootcampsBack to school Intrinsic motivation Extrinsic motivation $ $$$

  8. Guided learning Trailhead Academy RADWomen • For advanced Salesforce Admins who want to learn to code. • 10-week free(!) course that’s run through small remote groups (each group has 9 learners and 2 mentor/coaches). 2x / yr. Find out more at radwomen.org. Coursera $ • Courses and credentials from top universities like Yale, MIT, Stanford (free or paid options) Udemy$ • Specific, targeted courses – i.e. Salesforce Platform Developer I, Web Developer Bootcamp • Courses often on sale for $10 - $30 Udacity $$ • Course offerings in popular areas – artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, data science

  9. Regardless of which path you choose….

  10. Pick one programming language. Stick to it. (at the beginning, at least)

  11. Build a community Trailblazer Community Trailblazer Community groups Meetups Twitter (#100daysofcode, #codenewbie, #trailblazercommunity) Slack & Discord groups

  12. Shortlist your best resources There’s no shortage of free/cheap resources out there • In fact, there are too many! Information overload is evil. Ask people you trust for recommendations • They’ll often point you to the good stuff Don’t force yourself to stick to a resource if it isn’t working for you • Try it out for at least a couple of days, then re-evaluate • Just because something doesn’t “click” with your learning style, you are not a failure • Find something that resonates better

  13. Get your time in Identify a number of hours you can commit to each week Take that number and break it down i.e. 2 hours on weeknights, 3 hours on weekends • Be consistent • Be prepared to make sacrifices • Delayed gratification – it’s worth it! Screenshot of RescueTime dashboard, an automated time-tracking tool. 💡 It’s not about what you learn in a day, but what you learn in a year after practicing every day

  14. Don’t context switch. Except when you should... THE SCENE: You’ve been focused on writing a single function for hours. For the life of you, you can’t get the right data to return and it’s driving you crazy. You’ve tried everything and you’re questioning everything you ever thought you knew.

  15. Context switch. Find joy. When you’ve dug yourself into a hole, here’s how to get out: • Take a short break • Focus on something else related to coding you’ll enjoy more in that moment • Reading documentation, watching videos, and working on personal website all count • A passive activity is often a good choice • Close every day out with a “win” • This journey is too demanding to end a day feeling defeated/stressed/frustrated 🛑 🙅‍♀️ ⏱

  16. Find others to learn with Build things with a team Find mentors Ask for code reviews Practice interview questions with others • Group interview practice

  17. Getting into “job-seeking” mode…

  18. Get practical experience This is very important! Employers need proof you can do the job. You prove this by showing your work! Publish your own projects Freelance Work Open Source, Non-profits

  19. …ok but HOW? Publish your own projects Freelance Work Open Source, Non-profits • Find a project or idea you’re interested in • Consider creating apps, a cool Salesforce integration, websites, creative web art, even hardware projects (i.e. Raspberry Pi) • Build a portfolio website of your work • Ask friends, family, small businesses if they need website or Salesforce help • Upwork.com • Open source: Awesome For Beginnerslist • Reach out to non-profits you value and see if they need help • VolunteerMatch • CatchAFire

  20. Trailblaze your own opportunity! or

  21. Reach out to your connections 80%+ of your job-seeking should be spent connecting with people for opportunities • 20% of your time can be spent actually applying Always see if you have a connection to a company before you apply cold Many companies offer referral bonuses, so your connections are HAPPY when you ask Be considerate and confident, without sounding entitled Sample message you can send to your connections

  22. Reach out to everyone else Deploy “reverse recruiting” • def. reverse recruiting: reaching out to recruiters and employers instead of waiting for them to find you. Look for people on LinkedIn or elsewhere that are working in, managing, or recruiting for the roles in which you’re interested. Include in Your Outreach Messages: . Why you’re reaching out to said person — Sell yourself in 1–3 sentences “Hi, I’m [name] …I have x and y experience and this position is a great match.” Personal connection (if possible)   “I saw you’re from a self-taught background. I am too . It’s inspiring to see your progression.” Name your ask   “Would you be willing to chat for 15 minutes next week?” / “Would you be open to referring me to [company] after learning a more about me?” 1 2 3

  23. / Name your ask

  24. Proof that it works • This is the team I work for now! for your review.

  25. THANK YOU!

  26. Resources General CS Fundamentals Data Structures & Algorithms Developer Career Trailmix (Trailhead) Salesforce Developer Certifications Codecademy Frontend Masters Treehouse Udemy Watch and Code FreeCodeCamp Stanford Online CS 101 MIT Open Courseware edX Code Wars Cracking the Coding Interview Hack Reactor Prep HackerRank LeetCode Interviewing.io Communities 11 Slack Groups for New Programmers Code Newbie TechLadies

  27. Thank you to our Sponsors PLATINUM SILVER BRONZE ALLIES DINNER HAPPY HOUR

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