Stand Out in Tech: Proactive Strategies for Aspiring Developers

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Introduction

In this special guest issue, tech industry expert Per Borgen is thrilled to share insights from his extensive experience in helping students transition into successful tech careers! With a focus on practical strategies and real-world success stories, Per offers invaluable advice for aspiring developers. This article explores leveraging non-technical backgrounds, proactive job application techniques, and the importance of developing dedicated projects for potential employers. Whether you're new to the tech field or seeking to advance your career, this guide provides essential tips and actionable strategies to help YOU stand out in the competitive job market and secure your dream tech position!

Topics covered in this article include:

Using Your Non-Technical Background: Transform your previous experience into a competitive advantage in tech.
Proactive Job Applications: Go beyond submitting applications by engaging directly with potential employers.
Building Dedicated Projects: Create tailored projects to showcase your skills and understanding of a company's needs.
Avoiding Developer Downfalls: Stay motivated and engaged by aligning learning paths with personal interests.
Hands-On Coding: Develop coding skills through practice and constructive feedback.
AI in Tech: Understand the benefits and challenges of integrating AI into your development journey.

Article Concept Overview

Problem:

Aspiring developers often encounter a competitive job market, where distinguishing themselves requires more than just technical skills. Challenges include leveraging non-technical backgrounds, effectively engaging with potential employers, and maintaining motivation throughout the learning process.

Solution:

This article provides actionable strategies from tech industry expert Per Borgen to help aspiring developers stand out. It discusses how to transform non-technical experience into a tech advantage, use proactive job application methods, build dedicated projects, avoid developer pitfalls, and understand the role of AI in tech. These insights aim to equip developers with the necessary tools to secure their dream tech positions.

Essential Tips to Break into Tech

To kickstart your career successfully, Per shares his top three essential tips from his vast experience with students who have become tech success stories. Applying these tips differentiates you from other developers, giving you a competitive advantage in the job market!

Tip 1: Use Your Non-Technical Background to Your Advantage

If you plan to transition your career into the tech industry, you already have valuable transferable skills! Your previous experience in a related field makes you a stronger candidate for programming projects relevant to that industry. You can use your expertise to provide fresh insights and ideas for tech projects, giving you a competitive advantage that other developers might lack due to insufficient relevant industry experience. Scrimba student Adrian secured a tech job as an email developer at Tripadvisor thanks to his relevant tourism industry experience from working at a hotel.

Real-world student success stories feature health workers, teachers, and marketers, among others, who have successfully transitioned into tech positions directly related to their previous fields.

Consider applying for tech jobs that are relevant to your current career in the industry. Also, consider aiming for a promotion to a new tech position at your current job.

Tip 2: Knock Down Doors When Applying for Jobs

Don't just submit your application and wait; go the extra mile and follow up! Reach out directly to the hiring manager or team to express your enthusiasm and ask about the next steps in the hiring process. You can also connect with staff members on LinkedIn to introduce yourself and show your interest in working for the company. Additionally, engage with their content on social media to build rapport. This proactive approach demonstrates your genuine interest in the position and helps you stand out from other candidates.

Persistence pays off! In another student success story, a candidate applied for a position at her dream company but was initially turned down. Despite the rejection, she left a positive impression, and when she later applied for a different role, the company remembered her and ultimately hired her.

Consider taking a different role at the company you wish to join to get your foot in the door. This will better position you for the tech job you want from within!

Tip 3: Build Dedicated Projects for the Companies You Apply to

Take the initiative by bringing next-level ideas to the table! Scrimba student Andy researched the ideal clientele for the company he was applying to and identified a local gym as a potential client. He proactively created a new website for the gym, which had been subpar. During his interview, he suggested the gym as a prospective client and showcased the website he had developed for them. This tactic not only demonstrated his knowledge of their business but also showcased his technical skills and proactivity. As a result, Andy landed the job!

Going the extra mile by exceeding expectations will help you stand out from other candidates, giving you a better chance of landing a job over other applicants!

In a personal success story, I caught Scrimba's attention by taking the initiative; I wrote coverage articles, participated in their Livestream events, and helped fellow students on their Discord. When a paid writing opportunity became available at Scrimba, they gladly hired me as a freelancer! Additionally, they invited me to become a paid code reviewer and public speaker, all thanks to my proactive efforts.

Avoid Developers’ Most Dangerous Downfall

Boredom is the most dangerous downfall for developers, and to succeed, you must avoid it at all costs! There is a lot to cover when learning web development, and it’s easy to lose interest before gaining a solid understanding and developing the necessary skills to become a hireable developer. The best way to avoid boredom is to choose a learning path that aligns with your interests and passions. Building passion projects is a great way to choose your learning path and prevent boredom.

As a passion project, I created a Star Wars Ahsoka React website and documented the process. This approach kept me motivated, prevented boredom, and made learning React fundamentals enjoyable instead of feeling like work! I encourage you to start a passion project today; it can transform your learning journey into an exciting adventure that keeps you inspired and on the path to success!

Building Skills with Hands-On Coding

The only way to learn how to code is to write a lot of code. Writing the code yourself not only builds muscle memory but also helps you develop the necessary problem-solving skills to become a proficient developer.

Relying too heavily on prompt coding with AI can be detrimental in the long run, as it can lead to an overdependence on the code provided. Not only do you miss out on the beneficial opportunity of writing the code yourself, but you may also end up with a limited understanding of how the code works.

Scrimba has struck a fine-tuned balance between allowing you to write code yourself and using AI to assist you in learning how to code, thanks to their exclusive AI Feedback feature! The AI Feedback feature on Scrimba provides instant, tailored feedback on your coding exercises, helping you understand and correct mistakes while maintaining the hands-on practice essential for developing coding skills. Instead of providing you with code, the AI gives constructive feedback on the code you wrote. This teaching approach guides you in the right direction as you attempt to solve coding problems, rather than supplying answers, effectively assisting you in learning how to code!

When learning to code, use AI as a tool to assist you rather than doing the work for you! Seek feedback on your code and ask for explanations about how each line works. This approach will deepen your understanding of programming and enhance your problem-solving skills, enabling you to become a more accomplished coder and an independent learner.

AI: For Better or For Worse

AI is here to stay and is widely acknowledged as a significant advancement. Programming has evolved from punch cards and low-level languages to modern frameworks and a wealth of readily available resources. All of this contributes to the ongoing progress in programming, ultimately benefiting developers like us, provided it is used correctly.

For Better:

More people can write code
You can learn a lot faster
You can be more productive

Not everyone with an idea for a personal app is a computer programmer, and now they don't have to be! AI prompt engineering has made development accessible to everyone, democratizing it and allowing individuals to create custom applications tailored to their specific needs.

Developers also gain advantages from AI, becoming highly efficient engineers who can accomplish significantly more with less effort and time.

For Worse:

Leads to a lot of subpar software
Weakens coding skills due to dependency on AI
Newbies flooding the job market make it tougher for skilled coders to advance.

Unfortunately, when AI is used by non-programmers and inexperienced coders, it can result in subpar software. Additionally, troubleshooting errors and fixing design flaws becomes more complicated for these developers because they lack the foundational knowledge and experience needed to effectively address and resolve such issues.

Another negatively impactful result of the rise of AI programmers is job market flooding, which makes it difficult for more experienced and qualified developers to stand out from the crowd, ultimately resulting in the loss of employment opportunities to less qualified applicants.

While AI offers significant opportunities to make coding more accessible and enhance productivity, it also presents challenges that require careful management. It's essential to strike a balance between leveraging AI's capabilities and maintaining strong foundational skills to succeed in the ever-evolving tech landscape.

The Advantage of Human Mentorship

Although you can use AI as a viable coding assistant, there’s still no substitute for a human mentor. The main reason is that the bandwidth between two humans is much higher than the bandwidth between a human and an AI. Mentors have immense value in contributing to students’ learning to code, as they can pick up on social cues, knowing when students need to take a step back and learn certain coding concepts when trying to solve an overall problem, and also when it’s time for them to take a break.

Senior developers, having honed their skills over time, often possess a refined sense of programming style, leading to well-informed opinions on coding principles. In contrast, large language models (LLMs) generate responses based on a blend of all the data they've been trained on, which can result in a lack of depth in their understanding of coding principles.

With human bandwidth in mind, Scrimba proactively incorporates it into their code learning platform through teacher-recorded interactive screencasts, peer code reviews, help and encouragement in their Discord community, Livestream events, and more!

Advance Your Career with Scrimba's Full-Stack course!

Exciting news! Scrimba has finally launched its highly anticipated full-stack development course! This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone looking to master both the front-end and back-end of application development.

By enrolling in this course, you will acquire essential skills to develop robust and dynamic applications, enhance your coding abilities, and significantly increase your career advancement opportunities in the tech industry!

Full-stack course includes:

Intro to Astro: A modern static site generator designed for building fast websites.
Intro to Supabase: An open-source backend-as-a-service platform that provides real-time databases and authentication.
Command Line Basics: Fundamental commands and operations used to interact with a computer's operating system via text input.
Learn Express.js: A web application framework for Node.js, designed for building web applications and APIs.
Intro to SQL: A language used for managing and manipulating relational databases.
Intro to Nuxt: A framework for building server-side rendered applications with Vue.js.
Intro to Vite: A build tool that provides a fast development environment for modern web projects.
Learn Next.js: A React framework for building server-side rendered and static web applications.
Learn Node.js: A JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 engine, used for building scalable network applications.

Per's Links

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🎙 AI in Developer Education: Scrimba's Instant Feedback & New Backend Courses w/ Per Borgen

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Conclusion

Three essential tips for breaking into the tech industry include leveraging your non-technical background, being proactive in job applications, and building dedicated projects. By utilizing transferable skills from previous careers, you can gain a competitive edge in tech roles related to your industry experience. Proactively engaging with potential employers through follow-ups and networking can help you stand out from other candidates. Creating tailored projects for companies to which you apply demonstrates initiative and an understanding of their needs, significantly enhancing your chances of securing a position. These strategies will help you to stand out in the competitive tech job market.

Boredom poses a significant risk as it can hinder progress and skill development, and must be avoided at all costs! To combat this, it's crucial to select a learning path that resonates with your interests and passions. Engaging in passion projects can be an effective strategy for maintaining motivation and preventing boredom. Starting a passion project can turn your learning journey into an exciting adventure, keeping you inspired and on track for success.

The most effective way to learn coding is through extensive hands-on practice, which builds muscle memory and enhances your problem-solving skills. Over-reliance on AI prompt coding can hinder your understanding and development as a coder. Be sure to utilize AI as a supportive tool, not as a replacement for your work! Seek feedback and code explanations from AI to deepen your knowledge and evolve into a more proficient and independent coder.

AI represents a major advancement in programming, offering both significant benefits and challenges. On the positive side, AI democratizes coding, enabling more people to create custom applications without needing to be programmers. AI also helps experienced developers, as it accelerates learning and boosts productivity, allowing them to achieve more with less effort. However, the downside includes the risk of producing subpar software when non-coders and inexperienced coders rely on AI, which can complicate troubleshooting and the resolution of design flaws. Additionally, the influx of new AI-assisted programmers can saturate the job market, making it more challenging for skilled developers to differentiate themselves. To thrive in this evolving landscape, it's crucial to balance AI's advantages with the development of strong foundational coding skills.

While AI serves as a helpful coding assistant, it cannot replace the unique benefits of human mentorship! The interaction between humans enables a deeper understanding and personalized guidance that AI cannot replicate. Mentors can interpret social cues, provide tailored advice, and know when to encourage a break or a more profound exploration of concepts. Experienced developers bring a refined programming style and well-informed opinions that AI lacks due to its generalized data training. Scrimba leverages this human advantage by integrating interactive screencasts, peer reviews, and community support into its learning platform, ensuring a rich, human-centered learning experience.

Building on the strength of human mentorship, Scrimba continues to innovate in tech education with the launch of its highly anticipated full-stack development course, offering a comprehensive opportunity to master both front-end and back-end application development! This course equips you with essential skills to build robust and dynamic applications, enhancing your coding abilities and boosting your career prospects in the tech industry. The curriculum encompasses a range of topics, including Astro for rapid website development, Supabase for real-time databases, command-line basics, Express.js for web applications, SQL for database management, Nuxt for server-side applications, Vite for modern web projects, Next.js for React applications, and Node.js for scalable network applications. Consider enrolling now to advance your career in tech!

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Written by...

Michael Larocca

Front-End Web Developer | Writer | Musician