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Free Lessons (33)
Getting Started
Preface: Real Talk
Part I: Your Coding Career
Introduction: Your Coding Career
Principles Over Titles
Company Types
Career Layers
Diversity
The Five Career Stages
Quiz Yourself on Your Coding Career
Code Newbies
Introduction: Code Newbies
Explore Podcasts and Content
Build Community
Gain Team Experience
The (First) Job Hunt
Introduction: The (First) Job Hunt
Do the Math
Do the Work
Staying Motivated While You Search
Getting the Interview
Types of Interviews
Outside the Interview
Quiz Yourself on the (First) Job Hunt
Junior Developer
Introduction: Junior Developer
Finding Your Groove
Making Mistakes
Adding Value
Growing Your Knowledge
Quiz Yourself on Junior Developer
From Junior to Senior
Introduction: From Junior to Senior
Acting for the Job You Want
Marketing Yourself as a Senior Engineer
Junior Engineer, Senior Engineer
To Stay or to Go
Quiz Yourself on From Junior to Senior
Senior Developer
Introduction: Senior Developer
Solutions vs. Patterns
Velocity vs. Maintainability
Technical Debt
Prudent Debt
Reckless Debt
Mentorship, Allyship, and Sponsorship
Business Impact
Quiz Yourself on Senior Developer
Beyond your Coding Career
Introduction: Beyond your Coding Career
Engineering Management
Product Management
Developer Relations
Developer Educator
Entrepreneurship
Quiz Yourself on Beyond your Coding Career
Part II: Principles
Principles
Learn in Public
Private vs. Public
Getting Started
But I’m Scared
Teach to Learn
Mentors, Mentees, and Becoming an Expert
Why it Works
Quiz Yourself on Learn in Public
Clone Open Source Apps
Why Clone Open-Source Apps?
Make it Better
Know your Tools
Introduction: Know your Tools
Avoid Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
Beyond the Tool
Quiz Yourself on Know your Tools
Specialize in the New
Introduction: Specialize in the New
Technology Complements
Lindy Compounding
Quiz Yourself on Specialize in the New
Open Source Your Knowledge
Introduction: Open Source your Knowledge
Open Knowledge
Open-Source Knowledge
Personal Anecdote
Why Open Source YOUR Knowledge
Tips
Quiz Yourself on Open Source your Knowledge
Spark Joy
Introduction: Spark Joy
Why it Works
Sparking Joy in Code
Sparking Joy in PRs and Issues
Sparking Joy in Docs
Sparking Joy in Demos and Products
The Extra Mile
Quiz Yourself on Spark Joy
The Platinum and Silver Rules
The Platinum Rule
The Silver Rule
Quiz Yourself on the Platinum and Silver Rule
Good Enough is Better than Best
Introduction: Good Enough is Better than Best
The Problem with Seeking “The Best”
The Dangers of False Confidence
Quiz Yourself on Good Enough is Better than Best
First Principles Thinking
Introduction: First Principles Thinking
Logic
Epistemology
Applications
Quiz Yourself on First Principles Thinking
Write, A Lot
Introduction: Write, A Lot
Why Developers Write
Documentation
Career Capital
What Writing Does for You
How to Become a Good Public Writer
Going Public
The DIY Ph.D
Committing to Writing
Quiz Yourself on Write, A Lot
Pick Up What They Put Down
Introduction: Pick Up What They Put Down
What happens when you do this?
Why does this work on them?
Why does this work on you?
Quiz Yourself on Pick Up What They Put Down
Part III: Strategies
Strategies
Intro to Strategy
Strategy in Your Coding Career
What is Strategy?
How Do I Use Strategy?
Quiz Yourself on Intro to Strategy
Learning Gears
Explorer
Settler
Connector
Miner
Why Gears
Quiz Yourself on Learning Gears
Specialist vs. Generalist
Introduction: Specialist vs. Generalist
Leverage vs. Self Sufficiency
The “Full-Stack” Developer
“T Shaped” and “Pi Shaped”
Look Inside, Not Out
When in Doubt, Specialize
Quiz Yourself on Specialist vs. Generalist
Betting on Technologies
Introduction: Betting on Technologies
Data-Driven Investing
How to be Early
The Value of Values
Quiz Yourself on Betting on Technologies
Profit Center vs Cost Center
Introduction: Profit Center vs Cost Center
Definitions: Profit, Cost, and Investment Center
“Close to the money”
Profit Center, Cost Center
The Developer’s Choice
Quiz Yourself on Profit Center vs. Cost Center
Engineering Career Ladders
Introduction: Engineering Career Ladders
When and Why to Ladder
What Companies Want
Individual Company Ladders
Quiz Yourself on Engineering Career Ladders
Intro to Tech Strategy
Introduction: Intro to Tech Strategy
Software is Eating the World
Horizontal vs. Vertical
Business Models
Platforms and Aggregators
Other Strategic Perspectives
Quiz Yourself on Intro to Tech Strategy
Strategic Awareness
Introduction: Strategic Awareness
Concern vs. Influence
Levels of Concern
Bias to Action
Understanding Technology Adoption
Technology Value Chain
Systems Thinking
Other Strategies for Strategic Awareness
Quiz Yourself on Strategic Awareness
Megatrends
Introduction: Megatrends
Definitions
Examples of Megatrends
Building Your List of Megatrends
Quiz Yourself on Megatrends
Part IV: Tactics
Tactics
Negotiating
Introduction: Negotiating
General Advice
Patrick McKenzie on Salary Negotiation
Haseeb Qureshi on Ten Rules for Negotiating
Josh Doody on Fearless Salary Negotiation
How to Learn in Private
Introduction: How to Learn in Private
Improving What You Consume
Getting More Out of What You Consume
Go Meta
Quiz Yourself on How to Learn in Private
Design for Developers in a Hurry
Design for Developers in a Hurry
Spark Joy Repo
Layout
Typography
Color Palette and Backgrounds
Icons and Illustrations
Easter Eggs
Lampshading
Introduction: Lampshading
When You’re Very Senior
When You’re New
Storytime!
Lampshading
The Stupid Question Safe Harbor
Conference CFPs
Introduction: Conference CFPs
Watch a lot of Talks
Pick a Conference
Pick a Topic
Pick a Genre
Pick a Title
Write an Abstract
Building a CFP Process
Example CFPs and Peer Review
Mise en Place Writing
Mise en Place Writing
Writing isn’t Just Writing
Components of Pre-Writing
The Pre-Writing Workflow
The Infinite Kitchen
Improvisation is Okay
Quiz Yourself on Mise en Place Writing
Side Projects
Introduction: Side Projects
Code-Life Balance
Project Ideas
Project Advice
Further Inspiration
Developer’s Guide to Twitter
Introduction: Developer’s Guide to Twitter
Getting Started
What Do YOU Want?
What I Want from Twitter
Your Twitter Feed
Join the Conversation
Being Helpful on the Internet
Twitter as a Second Brain
Dealing with Haters
Definitely Bad Ideas
Final Thoughts
Marketing Yourself (without Being a Celebrity)
Introduction: Marketing Yourself
You Already Know What Good Personal Marketing Is
Personal Branding
Personal Anecdote Time!
Brand Templates
Consistency
You Need a Domain
Picking a Domain
Blogging
Marketing Your Business Value vs. Your Coding Skills
Marketing Yourself in Public
Marketing Yourself at Work
Things That Do Not Matter
Appendix: Marketing Hacks
The Operating System of You
Introduction: The Operating System of You
Coding Career Habits
Your “Hardware”
Your “External Devices”
Your "Scheduler"
Your “Kernel”
Conclusion
The Emotional Journey of Your Coding Career
The Coding Career Handbook
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Introduction: Junior Developer
Introduction: Junior Developer
Let's explore your responsibilities as a junior developer.
We'll cover the following...
Responsibilities as a junior developer
Companies prefer junior developers
Responsibilities as a junior developer
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