Are you developing or just developing? - How to speed up your career in tech!
Guide
You’ve learned so much already – now what?
You’ve done great so far. These first few years as a developer have passed quickly, and you’ve learned a lot. But lately, maybe things have started to slow down. Your job has become somewhat of a routine, and you might begin to look back at a time when everything was new and exciting.
This might be the golden opportunity to start looking for your next step. But recruiters are already two steps ahead of you, and your Linkedin-mail overfloods with offers. How do you know the right step to take?
To help you choose the right path and avoid stumbling into the wrong one, we want to share our best findings – from people that have been in your shoes. The tips and tricks they wish they had at the crossroads you’re at now.
The best is yet to come – you just have to ask the right questions to get where you want to go!
What gets you going – seeing the details or grasping the whole picture?
Ever since you started coding back in the day, you’ve been aware that it’s pretty complex. The complexity is also what got you going in the first place, isn’t it? Remember the feeling that there was always something new to learn? Your first few years as a developer were probably a time of daily epiphanies. What an exciting time - spending your days wrapping your brain around the specifics.
Now, you‘ve been a professional developer for a few years. The a-ha moments are not as frequent as they used to be. Suppose you haven’t reached that point yet. In that case, you’ll wake up one day and realise that even though you aren’t fluent in all the existing coding languages, you don’t have to be since there are certain paradigms in one language that could apply to another.
“Before I started working as a developer, I had a clear picture of what I wanted to focus on. But as soon as you start your first job, reality hits you, and you realise that being a developer, especially if you want to be successful, is much more work than you initially thought. There’s always something new to learn and understand. That led me wanting to get a more holistic approach – understand and get the whole picture rather than focusing on a specific detail.”
Senior Developer
at HiQ since 2017
You may have reached the time in your career when you’re starting to feel nostalgic about when every insight struck you like a lightning bolt. You want to feel that adrenaline rush again. But how? The solution is right there in front of you - stop staring at the technicalities you know already - raise your gaze and see how much of the coding universe you can grasp simultaneously. And remember that all those details you know so well add to the bigger picture
Questions to ask yourself if you suspect you’re stuck in your development:
- What specific part of my job makes me tick?
- Am I someone who can’t stop digging into the details, or am I looking for a more holistic perspective?
- What do I benefit from keeping doing what I’m doing right now?
- Are there any benefits if I were to change jobs?
Who says you can’t have the cake and eat it?
“I’ve been a consultant for many years, and even if I haven’t changed employers over the years, I’ve worked for many different companies with various projects. Since they’ve lasted a long time, I’ve become a member of that company culture. At the same time, I’ve been able to detach emotionally from it as soon as the project ended.”
Senior Developer
at HiQ since 2006
If you haven’t tried working as a consultant yet, you should! Especially if you’re not sure yet what kind of company you want to work for. The benefits of being a consultant are many. One of them is that you get to impact which project you’ll work with. Another is that, since you’ll probably work for a client during an extended period, you’ll get a better picture of what it is like to work there.
As a consultant, you’ll get the opportunity to see many different companies and how they function on the inside, and you’ll have time to reflect on what company culture suits you the best – all while your consultant company employs you. Learning which employer is the best fit for you might take a few hard years. But as a consultant, you learn the hard lessons faster, without changing employers while doing it.
“When faced with different challenges in client projects, I’ve always felt and had the support from my manager and my consultant team. No matter my challenges, I’ve always had my employer to fall back on.”
Senior Developer
at HiQ since 2006
Questions to ask yourself before becoming a consultant:
- What kind of clients and projects do I want to work with?
- What team setup suits me the best
- How much influence do I want to have on the projects I work with?
- What kind of company culture do I prefer?
- How often do I want to change projects and assignments?
How influential is the feedback culture for your development?
The upsides of having a company culture where feedback is a natural part is that it’s a safe environment where people look out for each other and feel safe to exchange ideas. For a developer, that’s especially important since testing and bouncing ideas are crucial for finding the right solutions and developing as a developer. You can share concerns without worrying about retribution, and making mistakes is okay as long as you learn from them.
A prestigeless environment makes employees feel immense ownership and pride in their joint work. Everyone in the team cares about making things better, and they respect their leaders more since they feel listened to in return. There's continuous feedback and constant adjustment, so the company is improving itself in real-time - and as an individual, you have plenty of room to grow.
Questions you can ask yourself:
- What skills, experiences, and knowledge do I lack that my teammates might have?
- Do my teammates know my strengths and weaknesses so they know what types of problems they can approach me with?
- How can we together decide when a solution is good enough?
- How can we make time to learn from common mistakes?
- How can we build even more trust for each other?
How to speed up others’ careers while growing yourself
You might not be aware of it; the years have flown by since you started your journey as a developer, but you’re all of a sudden working with younger and less experienced developers. People who are about to embark on the same path you’ve walked. People that look up to you.
Yes, you’ve solved some critical problems and developed some fantastic products, but let’s be honest - you didn’t do it alone. There was probably someone (or a whole team) you worked with or could reach out to bounce ideas off. People you looked up to then. So don’t be a bad developer - be a good one, a good teammate, and that go-to person who’s known for being humble and generous with your knowledge.
Questions you can ask yourself:
- How can I help my team to work together in the best way?
- How can I speed up the learning curve for younger developers?
- How do I increase my communication skills to build trust among key stakeholders (top management etc.)
- How do I stay an avid learner?
- Why do I want to talk about my insights? Is it because I want to share them or brag about them?
Things you’ll be glad you asked during an interview
“Working for several Swedish companies, I’m used to a very responsive leadership style and being treated as an equal. The HiQ culture is even more so. There is no hierarchy at all, and we hang out after work. Having fun together builds trust and helps us solve challenges as a team.”
Senior Developer at HiQ since 2016
Imagine you’ve decided to change employers. Now, you’ve come so far in the recruitment process you sit at their office at that last interview. They ask you if there’s something you want to know about them. The fact is that many times we realise things about our new employer long after we‘ve started to work there, or even worse, we decide to reject a job offer because we assume it won’t live up to our expectations. Instead of missing out on a great opportunity, ask the right questions when you have the chance.
“I had no idea that culture was that important to me before I started working here. Now, I can’t see myself working somewhere where you don’t make time to get to know your teammates. “
Senior Developer at HiQ since 2016
Questions you’ll be glad you asked during the interview:
- How many different clients do you have (i.e., what kind of projects will I get to work with)?
- What kind of leaders do you have? What are their leadership styles
- Describe a typical team setup I will be part of
- How much influence do I have in choosing projects/teams/managers?
- How much flexibility is there for me to work wherever and whenever I want?
We hope that this guide has been helpful. Maybe it answered some of your questions – or only spurred new ones. Either way, we wish you all the best in your continued ventures in the tech industry.
We created this guide because we at HiQ see it as our mission to end bad tech and simplify and improve people’s lives. And we believe that constant personal development is vital to get there.
If you’re ever curious about HiQ and how we help our brilliant employees constantly develop themselves, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
