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What Do Programmers Actually Do at Work?

If you’re contemplating a career switch into programming, you’re probably wondering what it’s like. And I don’t mean in the existential sense. Rather, on a day-to-day kind of basis, what’s…

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How Do Programmers Interact With the Rest of the Team?

Today’s question is an interesting one that people outside of the programming world ask me a fair amount.  Loosely speaking, this question is one of how programmers interact with the…

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Should Developers Write Documentation? Yes, and Here’s Why

Should developers write documentation? Yes. Yes, they should. That’s it. Everything you need to know! Come back next week for more helpful career advice for aspiring programmers. Oh. You want…

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Do Programmers Need a Degree?

In today’s job market, many of you look for ways to improve your employability and earnings potential. And you may have noticed articles pointing out the apparent shortage of programmers,…

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  • Can you use Git without GitHub?
    Common Questions

    Can You Use Git Without GitHub?

    January 8, 2021 /

    Can you use Git without GitHub? The short answer is yes, you can. Git is a tool for revision control. GitHub is an online service that allows you to store, manage, and share Git repositories in the cloud. You can use Git with online services other than GitHub, with an in-house server, or on your local computer without any server at all. First, let’s look at what Git is. Then, let’s see what GitHub and other Git-hosting services have to offer. What Is Git? Git is a revision control tool. It’s most often associated with software development, but you can use it to track changes in any file. For example,…

    Read More
    Eric Goebelbecker

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    Programming Languages Explained by an Expert

    April 2, 2021
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    What Makes a Good Software Engineer?

    March 21, 2019
    How long does it take to learn Python?

    How Long Does It Take to Learn Python?

    December 3, 2020
  • How long does it take to learn Python?
    Common Questions

    How Long Does It Take to Learn Python?

    December 3, 2020 /

    How long does it take to learn Python? Well, how long is a piece of string? How much peanut butter is too much? Is this glass half empty or half full? None of these questions has one correct answer. The answer to each depends on your opinion and your goals. And how long it takes you to learn Python depends on what you want to create with the language. So, while I can’t tell you how long it will take to learn Python, I can give you deeper insight into the language and how it will suit your needs. What Do You Need to Learn Python? Python is a general-purpose…

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    Eric Goebelbecker

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    Programmer Personality Traits Explained by an Expert

    September 9, 2021
    Software Engineers

    What Makes a Good Software Engineer?

    March 21, 2019
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    Are Software Engineers Happy? Yes, They Are, and Here’s Why

    April 3, 2019
  • 7 Tips for Beginner Programmers
    Get Started Programming

    7 Tips for Beginner Programmers

    September 29, 2020 /

    You’re just starting out as a programmer, so you’re looking for some tips on how to get started. Maybe you’ve landed your first job. Or you’ve just finished school. Perhaps you’ve done what many of us before you (including me) did and simply said “I’m a programmer!” and got to work. Either way, congratulations! Here are a few tips for beginner programmers that will help get you on your way to a new career. There’s No Substitute for Getting Your Hands Dirty You can read hundreds of books. You can watch thousands of hours of YouTube. But nothing makes you a better programmer than, well, programming. Stop preparing and start…

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    Eric Goebelbecker

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    100 Days of Code Success Stories Make Me a Programmer

    100 Days of Code: Nabendu Biswas on Motivating Students—and Himself

    January 9, 2022
    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone

    May 30, 2020
    100 Days of Code Success Stories Make Me a Programmer

    100 Days of Code: From Ambulance Driver to Dev With the Coding Paramedic

    July 23, 2021
  • Lessons from a veteran developer
    Lessons From a Veteran

    Lessons From a Veteran: Dawid Ziolkowski on Trusting and Taking the Plunge

    September 5, 2020 /

    This post is part of a series interviewing veteran developers, asking them questions about their journey to tech mastery and sharing the advice they have for those getting started. Today we’re talking to Dawid Ziolkowski. Dawid has 10 years of experience. At the beginning, he worked as a network/system engineer, did DevOps in between, and recently became a cloud-native engineer. He’s worked for an IT outsourcing company, a research institute, telco, a hosting company, and a consultancy company, so he’s gathered a lot of knowledge from different perspectives. Nowadays, he’s helping companies move to cloud and/or redesign their infrastructure for a more cloud-native approach. If you’re considering a career switch…

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    Dawid Ziolkowski

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    Should Programmers Blog? 5 Things to Consider

    September 14, 2018
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    What Do Programmers Wear to Work?

    November 27, 2018
    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Incidental (or Maybe Accidental) Catalysts With Jonathan Hall

    March 12, 2021
  • What Is a programming framework?
    Common Questions

    What Is a Programming Framework?

    August 21, 2020 /

    One of the reasons that learning to program might feel like an overwhelming task is the sheer number of new words, terms, and expressions you come across. Today, we’re here to make your life easier by explaining one such term: programming frameworks. Specifically, we’re going to tell you everything you need to know in response to the question “what is a programming framework?” You can think of a programming framework as a tool—or a set of tools—you use to make your life easier when performing common programming tasks. I know that might sound a little vague, but it’s hard to offer a more complete definition without going deeper into the…

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    Carlos Schults

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    Programmer Imposter Syndrome: 3 Devs Explain How to Overcome It

    October 1, 2021
    What is the best programming book for beginners?

    What Is the Best Programming Book for Beginners?

    November 20, 2019
    100 Days of Code Success Stories Make Me a Programmer

    100 Days of Code: Disney Web Producer Katie Reynolds on Self-Reliance

    September 3, 2021
  • Lessons from a veteran developer
    Lessons From a Veteran

    Lessons From a Veteran: Turning a Hobby Into a Fulfilling Career

    August 14, 2020 /

    This post is part of a series interviewing veteran developers, asking them questions about their journey to tech mastery and sharing the advice they have for those getting started. Today we’re talking to Mauro Chojrin. Mauro helps PHP developers hone their craft through his trainings, books, workshops, and other tools. He’s been in the IT industry since 1997 and has held roles such as developer, architect, and leader of technical teams. Mauro also likes to write and vlog. Mauro is going to tell us about how he got his start in programming, and you may or may not recognize some of the throwback systems he references. While the technology may…

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    Mauro Chojrin

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    Why Are Programmers Paid so Much? Programmer Pay Explained by an Expert

    October 15, 2021
    What did you learn as a developer? 6 things school won't teach you

    6 Things School/Bootcamps Can’t Teach You About Being a Programmer

    April 3, 2022
    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Career and Personal Self-Discovery With Juho Vepsäläinen – Conference Director and Consultant

    March 26, 2021
  • Best programming books for beginners
    Get Started Programming

    Best Programming Books for Beginners

    August 7, 2020 /

    What are the best programming books for beginners? This is a broad question. Programmers need a wide variety of skills, and the field you want to work in can have a significant impact on which ones you need. There isn’t one book, or even a list of books, that will teach you everything you need. Some skills can come from books, and some will only come from on-the-job training. You need books that will improve your knowledge and skills regardless of what type of programming you’re interested in. I’ve put together a list of seven books that will do that for you! These books teach you basic skills that any…

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    Eric Goebelbecker

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    What Do Programmers Wear to Work?

    November 27, 2018
    What is the best programming book for beginners?

    What Is the Best Programming Book for Beginners?

    November 20, 2019
    100 Days of Code Success Stories Make Me a Programmer

    100 Days of Code: From Ambulance Driver to Dev With the Coding Paramedic

    July 23, 2021
  • Lessons from a veteran developer
    Lessons From a Veteran

    Lessons From a Veteran: Back to School With Michael de Ridder’s Drunk Metaphors

    July 31, 2020 /

    This post is part of a series interviewing veteran developers, asking them questions about their journey to tech mastery and sharing the advice they have for those getting started. Everyone has a different path in life, and that’s OK! Today we’re talking to Michael de Ridder, who tells us about how getting into programming was accidental, not intentional. And that’s OK, too. Michael has worked in software development, data visualization, data science, research, consulting, and business analysis across health care, telecommunications, radio and finance. He enjoys the challenge of combining and utilizing the relationships between different domains and technology. A big fan of travel, Michael is a proponent for the…

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    Michael de Ridder

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    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Ukpai Ugochi on Her Career Change to Software Engineer

    March 5, 2021

    What Is the Best Way to Learn C#? A Complete Introduction

    May 28, 2019
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    What Do Programmers Wear to Work?

    November 27, 2018
  • Lessons from a veteran developer
    Lessons From a Veteran

    Lessons From a Veteran: Gabriel Aizcorbe on Unexpected Lessons

    July 24, 2020 /

    This post is part of a series interviewing veteran developers, asking them questions about their journey to tech mastery and sharing the advice they have for those getting started. Today we cover a lot of topics, from whether you should go into programming or IT to being specific about what you set out to learn to the lessons you’ll never learn until you start working. And we’re learning about all of these things from Gabriel Aizcorbe. Gabriel got into IT when he received his first 8088 at 14 years old. From then on, his whole life was about computers, programming languages, and learning more. As a project manager with PMP…

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    Gabriel Aizcorbe

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    Do Programmers Work From Home?

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    Lessons From a Veteran: Ukpai Ugochi on Her Career Change to Software Engineer

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  • Common Questions

    What Languages Should Every Programmer Know?

    July 17, 2020 /

    It’s easy to get lost in the sea of programming languages. On top of that, there are some languages (I’m looking at you, JavaScript) that have a vast ecosystem of frameworks. Wikipedia has an exhaustive list of programming languages with several for each letter of the alphabet. I won’t count them, but there are at least 260 at a glance. There’s no way you can learn all of them. So, what languages should every programmer know? Where to Start? If you want to know where to start, you can take a few approaches. Of course, this depends on what you want to do in your programming career. If you want…

    Read More
    Phil Vuollet

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    How Many Hours Do Software Engineers Work?

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    Is a Software Engineer the Same As a Software Developer?

    October 24, 2018
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