Skill Up: A Software Developer's Guide to Life and Career电子书

Skill Up: A Software Developer's Guide to Life and Career

Table of Contents

Skill Up: A Software Developer's Guide to Life and Career

Credits

About the Author

www.PacktPub.com

eBooks, discount offers, and more

Why subscribe?

Customer Feedback

Preface

What this book covers

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Errata

Piracy

Questions

I. Coder Skills

1. Discovering the Tipping Point for Developers

Tipping point for developers

My own experience

The doubt machine

The painful process

The tipping point(s)

The first tipping point

The second tipping point

The secret

The book

The solution

2. Are Developers Born or Made? – Debunking the Myth of Prodigies

Are prodigies real?

The Mozart case study

Are developers born or made?

The tipping point

Why we love the prodigy myth

3. Do You Have to Be a Genius to Be a Developer?

The running man

Do you have to be a genius to be a developer?

The way the mind works

The reason

A smarter approach

4. How to Study and Understand Complex Topics?

A system for how to study

5. Effective Study Practices for Developers

Why traditional study habits don't work

An effective study practices case study

The reification example

The hard way

Additional negative effects

The comprehensive study system

Summary

6. Defining Deep Work and What It Means for Developers

Definition of deep work

The deep work strategy for developers

Taking action

Removing distractions

Study hard and smart

Multiple sessions

Summary

7. Task Switching Costs for Developers

A system for decreasing task switching costs

8. How to Use Willpower Limits Instead of Letting Them Use You?

What are willpower limits?

How many decisions do you make each day?

Why is willpower important?

Are willpower limits real?

When the willpower well runs dry

Saving up willpower

One outfit to rule them all

Being a copycat

Focusing willpower

Summary

9. Cramming Versus Consistent Study and a Study System that Works

10. Is Reading Important for Developers?

Why is reading important for developers?

CEOs and reading

Compounded learning

A compounded learning case study

The CEO who didn't have time to read

My reading system

The reading schedule

Audio books are books too!

Books are too expensive

Summary

11. Learning How to Code – Getting Past Skill Plateaus

What is a learning plateau?

False ceiling

Getting past skill plateaus

Proper information/resources

Best practices

Challenging/new tasks

Frustration = skill

Summary

12. Developer Learning Curve – Why Learning How to Code Takes So Long

What is the learning curve?

The developer learning curve

Liftoff

The twilight zone

The zone

A unique journey

Summary

13. Slowing Down to Learn How to Code Faster

Learn how to code faster

Our default mind

Hacking the mind

Slowing it down

Bend it like Beethoven

From classical music to coding

A practical system

14. Mental Models for Learning How to Code and Improve as a Developer

Mental models for the Kouros

What are mental models?

Mental models for developers

Summary

15. A Developer's Guide for Hacking Procrastination to Achieve Success

Root causes of procrastination

Hacking procrastination

Hacking perfectionism

Hacking the fear of success

Hacking the plan

Summary

16. The Problem with Procrastination for Developers

The problem with procrastination

Instant gratification

Baby steps to knock out procrastination

Baby coding steps

17. Practical Ways to Use the Pomodoro Technique as a Developer

Practical ways to use the Pomodoro Technique

Taking a break

Lifestyle versus fads

A lifestyle of productivity

Practical implementation

18. The Power of Making Mistakes – Learning by Failing

The secret weapon to mastery – making mistakes

Making mistakes – memory steroids

Mistakes force learning

Mistakes kill pride

Summary

19. Learn How to Code – The Guide to Memorization

The guide to memorization

Repetition

Smarter, not harder

Visual mental mapping

Short-term versus long-term memory

Implementing visual mental mapping

Taking a real-world example

Finding patterns

Copy and paste is the enemy

Not everything has to be memorized

20. A System for Learning a New Programming Language

21. Development Study Tips – Reverse Note-Taking

The problem with traditional note-taking

Reverse note-taking

Benefits of reverse note-taking

Narrowed focus

Story-based mindset

Forced repetition

Summary

II. Freelancer Skills

22. Tips for Organically Growing a Freelance Business

Organically growing a freelance business

Referral requests

Blogging

Expert positioning

Open source contribution

Social media marketing

Summary

23. Freelancing Tips – Knowing When to Fire a Client

My urgent client

When to fire a client

#1 – being treated like an employee

#2 – tyranny of urgent

#3 – toxic environment

The joy of firing a client

24. Dodging Silver Bullets for Scalable Freelance Projects

The problem with silver bullets

Silver bullet customization

Becoming a sharp shooter with code libraries

25. A Freelance Guide to Managing Advanced Features

Managing advanced features

The talent pool

The process

Kanban

The result

Summary

A caveat

26. Freelancer Interviews – Practical Tips for Taking Over a Legacy Application

27. Five Tips for Taking Over a Legacy Application

Tips for taking over a legacy application

Creating a test suite

Adding new features via TDD

Breaking out specific features into microservices

DRY up the codebase

Summary

28. Guide to Freelancing – Starting Over Versus Refactoring

The legacy scenario

Starting over versus refactoring

#1 – removing the fear factor

#2 – analyzing the 80/20 principle

#3 – building an automated bug list

#4 – becoming the client

When should you start over?

Summary

29. Should You Use TDD on Freelance Projects? – Comparing Quality Versus Speed

Quality versus Speed

TDD on freelance projects

Making the decision

Giving no choice

Letting the client decide

Using common sense

30. Automating Client Updates as a Freelance Developer

Importance of daily updates

An example of client update

Automating client updates

Version control to the rescue

Summary

31. Freelance Requirement Elicitation – A Guide for Feature Development

Freelance requirement elicitation

How it started

The build

The problem

Who was at fault?

A better way

Step 1

Step 2

A better ending

Summary

32. How to Remotely Demo Work for Freelance Clients?

Why proper demonstrations are important

Review of services to remotely demo work

Screencast

A remote desktop

PowerPoint

Summary

33. Defining Project Success as a Freelance Developer

A clear end

What is scope creep?

When scope creep isn't scope creep

When scope creep goes badly

Based on requirements

Based on a story

The sign off

Summary

34. Top Project Management Tools for Freelancers

Top project management tools

Basecamp

Trello

LeanKit

ProWorkflow

Wrike

GitHub

Summary

35. Top Freelance Bookkeeping Options for Developers

Freelance bookkeeping options

FreshBooks

How it works

FreshBooks additional features

Weaknesses

QuickBooks

NetSuite

Summary

36. Learning the Secret to Get New Clients as a Freelancer

Where to find new clients

The challenge in getting new clients with outsourcing services

Getting new clients as a freelancer

Proposal material

Sending out constant proposals

The result

Summary

37. Managing Client Conflicts as a Freelancer

Strategies for managing client conflicts

38. Examples of Freelance Portfolios That Help Acquire New Clients

Examples of freelance portfolios

Social network utility

An API tool

An accounting application

A scheduling application

A frontend application

39. Importance of Test-Driven Development for Coders

Importance of test-driven development

Summary

40. SEO Best Practices and Strategies for Freelancers

SEO best practices tutorial

Content is king

Creating an XML sitemap

Mixing text, images, and videos

Managing your site speed

Site responsiveness

Backlinks

Focused content

Summary

41. Client Communication Freelancing Tips

A system to maintain proper client communication

Summary

42. Outsource Web Developers Properly with System-Based Processes

A system to manage outsourced web developers

Summary

43. How to Create Accurate Freelance Bids?

Summary

44. Freelancer Tips – Three Ways to Get New Clients

Freelancing services

LinkedIn

Referrals

Summary

III. Career Skills

45. Should I Learn to Code? – A Balanced Perspective on Programming

Should I learn to code? – a balanced look at both sides

Summary

46. Following Your Passion – Good or Bad Advice for Developers?

Following your passion – a case study

Summary

47. How to Learn to Code from Scratch? – A Practical Strategy

Small bites

Tutorials

Reading

Real-world projects

Coding is hard

But you can learn programming

48. How to Choose a Developer Specialty?

How to choose a developer specialty?

#1 – the full stack developer

#2 – the server-side developer

#3 – the frontend developer

#4 – the mobile developer

#5 – the data scientist

Making the decision

49. How to Choose Your Next Programming Language?

How to pick a programming language?

The next job you want

Your specialty

Specialty-based mapping

Summary

50. Developer Soft Skills – Learning How to Gain an Edge in the Marketplace

Developer soft skills

Writing

Conversation

Conversation tips

Management

Design

Public speaking

Becoming a better public speaker

The importance of soft skills

51. Developer Learning Options – A Practical Analysis

Degrees of programming expertise

Becoming a professional developer

Developer bootcamps

Is this practical?

Improving your skill in your current profession

Is this practical?

Learning for fun or as a hobby

Summary

52. Is it Possible to Lose Your Coding Skills?

Summary

53. Is Writing Bad Code Immoral for Developers?

How to write better code

Summary

54. Inspirational Programming Advice from Howard Roark

55. Best Practices Versus Creativity as a Developer

56. A Practical Guide to Approaching Project Development

Student question

Strategies to approaching project development

Planning a feature from start to end

Moving from requirements to stories

Starting with a base case

Fear of the unknown

Moving fast and breaking things

Battling procrastination

Small, practical steps

Getting unstuck

Application bugs

Messages over models

57. How to Practice Programming Techniques and Improve as a Developer?

Engaging in pair programming

Utilizing open source software

Visiting the DailyProgrammer subreddit on Reddit

Taking online courses

Code katas

Summary

58. What Does It Take to Become a Great Developer?

Tips for becoming a great developer

Working through difficult features

Community contribution

Artistry

Craftsmanship

Steve Jobs's craftsmanship

Adapting to change

Tireless learning

Summary

59. How to Stay Sharp as a Developer?

Tips to stay sharp as a developer

#1 – coding exercises

Example coding exercises

#2 – teaching others to code

How does this apply to development?

#3 – reading

#4 – newsletters

#5 – tutorials

Summary

60. Developer Resume Tips – How to Create an Effective Resume?

Developer resume tips

Keep it simple

Keep it relatable

Keep it professional

Summary

61. Developer Salary Negotiation Strategies

Knowing your skill set

Knowing the industry

Knowing the organization

Researching salary rates

62. Best Questions to Ask During a Job Interview

Best questions to ask during a job interview

Poor questions to ask during a job interview

Summary

63. Answering in an Impossible Interview

Questions

Answering impossible interview questions – case studies

64. Greatest Weakness Answers for Coding Interviews

Bad answers to your greatest weakness

Good answers to your greatest weakness

65. Enterprise Software Job Strategy and Guide

Summary

Index