Tag: developer career

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Why Learning to Code Is the Ultimate Skill for Future-Proofing Your Career

Future-Proofing Your Career

As technology continues to shape the world we live in, it’s becoming increasingly clear that learning to code is one of the ultimate skills for future-proofing your career. With the demand for technology skills rapidly growing across all industries, the ability to code is no longer just a valuable asset but an essential one. 

Coding is a great skill on its own, but it can even enhance your existing skills such as writing or marketing. In this article, we’ll explore why learning to code is so important and how it can help you future-proof your career with practical advice that will further your learning.

Why You Should Learn Coding

Firstly, let’s consider the job market. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, computer and information technology jobs are projected to grow by 11% between 2019 and 2029, much faster than the average for all other occupations. 

This growth is expected to create tens of thousands of new jobs in the field, making it one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. By learning to code, you position yourself to take advantage of this growth, opening up a world of exciting career opportunities in technology.

Tech Takeover

Moreover, technology is rapidly transforming the way we work across all industries, from healthcare to finance to retail. As businesses become more reliant on technology to stay competitive, the demand for tech-savvy professionals who can develop, implement and maintain technology solutions is skyrocketing. 

By learning to code, you develop a growth mindset that allows you to stay current with the latest trends and technologies. This not only helps you stay relevant in the job market but also allows you to continually improve your coding skills and take on new challenges throughout your career.

Professional Growth

In addition to the job market benefits, learning to code can also enhance your problem-solving skills, creativity, and critical thinking abilities. Coding requires you to think logically, break down complex problems into manageable parts, and find creative solutions to technical challenges. 

These skills are transferable to many other areas of life and can be applied to problem-solving outside of coding. For example, problem-solving skills in coding are easily applicable to the logistical aspects of sales work. Finding the fastest and most cost-effective way to tackle a problem is something that coding instills in its pupils.

Fulfilling Career Path

Furthermore, coding is a skill that can be used to build and create, making it an incredibly fulfilling pursuit. The ability to build and bring ideas to life through coding is a powerful tool, allowing you to create software, websites, and apps that can further your financial future. By learning to code, you gain the ability to create things that matter and make a difference in people’s lives.

Not to mention, coders aren’t going to be hurting for opportunities for a long while. Even with the rise of AI,  there’s always going to be value in a human developer who is willing to work with a team. 

Your career path can help you build wealth, it can help you in the future in case you need to work on your credit score and take out a loan as employment history is one of the things lenders will review.

The Basics Of Learning How To Code

So, how can you start learning to code? There are many resources available online, including coding boot camps, online courses, and coding communities where you can connect with other developers and learn from their experiences. 

Pick And Stick To One Programming Language

There are many programming languages to choose from, such as Python, JavaScript, and Ruby on Rails that could be the foundations of your first project.

There are too many languages out there to list down, but what’s more important than your first language is sticking to that language for at least a year.

 Programming at its core involves using instructions to tell a computer what to do. You can’t learn the basics if you keep changing languages while learning. Most computer languages aren’t all that different, so it’s best to stick with a language you find relevant to your goals.

Practice Consistently

Practice, as always, makes perfect, and the same goes for programming. Start with simpler projects and gradually work your way to more meaty projects. There are many online resources available to help you learn to code, such as Codecademy, FreeCodeCamp, and Udemy.

As far as scheduling goes, make sure to set aside a set amount of hours each week where you’re learning new things. Coding doesn’t have to be rushed, but you do need to be learning something every week. Stagnancy is the enemy of progress, and to avoid that, make sure you always have time to practice coding.

Connect With The Community

Programming is often a collaborative effort, and working with others can help you learn faster and get feedback on your code. Join online communities, attend meetups, and contribute to open-source projects to expand your knowledge.

The community is also a great avenue to vent your frustrations and worries. All these developers have had their own wellness issues. They can help you work your way through the tougher parts of coding in ways that are relatable to you. 

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Tips

Working in corporate to founding a developer first company

Working in corporate

Last month I got a chance to sit and talk with Darshan Shivashankar, founder and CEO of APIWiz on our brand new podcast. We two have collaborated in the past on API lifecycle management workshop and Darshan being a technical founder, whenever we talk our conversations tend to go in all places technical. So catch up on everything we discussed in this 50 minutes episode but here’s a quick summary or gist if you will for someone who needs more buy in before lending the episode their ears.

Darshan has 15+ years of experience in industry building technical solutions especially when it comes to designing API programs for companies looking for Digital transformation. In the past Darshan has worked with various industries from telecom to healthcare, FinTech to Neo banks. Though now a founder of developer first company, Darshan shared he never envisioned or planned his career to follow a fixed trajectory. Opportunities started coming in as he worked on more advanced projects and with right problem solving mindset and experience, he was acing the digital transformation process of the industries he worked in, sometimes leading and even starting their API first journey. 

Darshan figured out the technical debt associated with APIs journey of organisations wherein teams work in Silos, leading to a lack in collaboration, reliability and consistency in governance. If you’ve worked in APIs development for a big project or digital transformation mission, then you could easily relate to it. This is where Darshan felt a need for a solution that could help in API lifecycle management. After validating this idea within his network he realised that indeed there is a requirement for such a solution but not an immediate urgency to have that in place. This gave Darshan and team the opportunity to bootstrap their journey building APIWiz, focusing on addressing Developer centric problems.

I asked Darshan if he’s still involved in the development of the product and he mentioned he was actually writing code till very recently but now he’s more involved in hiring, planning and giving direction to the product, though he still knows the codebase in and out and is always ready to pull up his sleeve and get down to programming and tracking bugs whenever required, which for me was really inspiring to listen. The team at APIWiz is now scaled up after they raised funds from their investors and that’s where Darshan focused on hiring the candidate with right vision and mindset, as he believes tools and skills can be learned at job but problem solving attitude can’t be taught. Darshan also mentioned motivating team members to fill the job roles needed within the organisation enabling them to explore more arenas to work and fit in. 

I also asked Darshan where he sees industry heading and things he’s most excited about but I’m gonna tease, as he really has a deep and interesting perspective on this one which I feel you should listen straight from the Podcast to better understand it. 

P.S : eBPF and Raspberry Pis were mentioned 😛

Darshan also shared the struggles associated with starting a company from scratch, the role of support from family members, friends and people within your network and great tips for anyone just starting out fresh in tech and wanna make big, making this one of my favourite episodes.

If you listen to it don’t forget to share it with your friends who might learn a thing or two from this podcast. As always I’m always looking forward to your feedback to make this podcast better and if you have any guest suggestions feel free to share it via the comment section below.

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Top career aspirations amongst student developers

career aspirations amongst student

Having long-term career aspirations can provide students with a sense of direction and help them make appropriate choices in their pursuit of knowledge. In turn, this speeds up their professional development and increases the likelihood of them achieving a successful career. In this chapter, we will take a closer look at the top career aspirations of developers who self-identify as students.

Solving problems is the top career aspiration among student developers, mentioned by nearly a third (32%) of them. This is closely followed by becoming an expert in a domain or technology (29%), building innovative products or services(27%), and working on challenging projects (26%). These findings suggest that, despite an apparent financial appeal,curiosity and chasing innovation are the primary motivators for students in their journeys to becoming professional software developers.

However, it is worth noting that maximising their earning potential is important for students too, ranking sixth on the list of top career aspirations.

Having good problem-solving skills when working on challenging projects is usually the key to building innovative products and services. As such, it is no surprise that these aspirations are frequently mentioned together by students who want to become professional developers.Those who want to build innovative products or services show an above-average level of interest in becoming entrepreneurs or working at esteemed companies. Furtheranalysis reveals that aspiring entrepreneurs are more likely to focus on maximising their impact on society, while those who express a desire to work for acclaimed companies show more interest in pursuing challenging projects.

Students who seek to become tech executives or company leaders place significantly lower importance than average on the most popular career aspirations. Instead, they prioritise building their own businesses while also showing an above-average level of interest in getting a specific job title. This is likely due to them being naturally career-focussed and prioritising pathways that will allow them to achieve their long term goals. On the other end of the spectrum, those who want to maximise their impact on society show a similar level of interest in building their own businesses. These developers are the most likely to aspire to build innovative products or services while also showing a high level of interest in mentoring and helping others grow.

As with most other topics, regional differences in culture and socio-economic circumstances manifest themselves as significant differentiators in career aspirations amongst student developers. For instance, South Asia is the region with the highest concentration of developers who self-identify as students (40%). In this region, 30% of students aspire to work on challenging projects -their top motivation-but are significantly less likely than students in other regions to show an interest in solving problems (26%) or building innovative products/services (22%). Instead, South Asian students are the most likely to prioritise obtaining a specific job title (16%) while also showing an above-average level of interest in becoming tech executives or company leaders (15%).

Students in South America, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe show the highest levels of interest in the global top-four career aspirations. However, while European students are significantly more focussed than average on maximising their earning potential (>30%), only 21% of their South American counterparts prioritise this when planning their careers. Instead, South American students are highly focussed on securing job opportunities at esteemed companies/organisations. In turn,they may be more likely to accept junior positions and lower salaries in exchange for job security and a promising career path.

East Asian students are the least likely to express a specific interest in becoming professional software developers. This suggests that students in this region have doubts about pursuing careers in software development and may be looking at other, unrelated jobs. Similarly, students from theGreater China area show below-average levels of interest in many of the top choices. In particular, we find that only 6% of them prioritise building their own businesses or becoming entrepreneurs, which is 19 percentage points below the average of the other regions. However, maximising their earning potential appears to be the key driving force behind why 33% of the students from the Greater China area want to become professional developers.

In North America, a high portion of students aim to become entrepreneurs while also showing the highest level of interest in maximising their impact on society. This is likely due to the highly prominent startup culture in this region. This effect is most apparent in Silicon Valley, which has established itself as the nexus of technological innovation and is home to many tech giants and startups. Similarly, students from the MiddleEast and Africa also show high entrepreneurial spirit in a region that is primed for a booming startup scene. In addition to this, the students in this region are the most likely to prioritise transferring their knowledge and experience to the next generation (28%).

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Community Tips

The importance of the development of AI in your professional career

There is no longer a stage in the creation of artificial intelligence when the technology is in the experimental phase with minimal proof of concept. Organisations all over the globe are struggling with how to incorporate it into their culture and locate the appropriate individuals to lead artificial intelligence and machine learning initiatives because they are aware that it is a force that must be reckoned with.

According to research, sixty percent of Indian businesses are under the impression that Artificial Intelligence (AI) would have a disruptive effect on their industry over the next two to three years. According to a survey, the number of available positions in the fields of analytics and data science has increased by thirty percent between April 2021 and April 2022.

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and automated systems is opening up prospects for companies, the economy, and society.

Automation and artificial intelligence have been around for some time, but current technological advancements are expanding the capabilities of machines to perform more and more. According to the findings of our study, society needs these advancements to create value for companies, contribute to economic development, and make progress on some of the most challenging social issues that we face.

The rise of AI and new jobs

Although the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, powered by AI, will continue to dramatically transform the world and the way we work and live, it is possible that AI may not result in a significant rise in employment. Instead, artificial intelligence will result in the creation of more employment than it eliminates via automation.

These newly generated positions will call for new skills, which in turn will entail considerable investments in upskilling and reskilling programs for both young people and adults. However, private companies and public administrations may – and are obligated to – collaborate to confront this transition and welcome the beneficial effects of AI on society.

According to the Global Artificial Intelligence Study conducted by the year 2030, AI would cause a software projected rise of $15.7 trillion, or 26 percent, in the total GDP of the world. The expansion of GDP will be driven by consumer spending to the tune of around sixty percent, with increased productivity accounting for approximately forty percent of the overall expansion.

Reskilling and Upskilling

For corporations and authorities to reap the advantages of AI in terms of productivity and profitability, they will need to work together on huge reskilling and upskilling initiatives. These projects will assist workers in retraining and preparing for new and upcoming employment opportunities.

Artificial intelligence can automate 3 percent of employment opportunities over the next few years. Increased digitalization brought about by COVID-19 may speed up this process. As artificial intelligence develops and becomes increasingly self-sufficient, thirty percent of all employment and forty-four percent of people with low levels of education will be in danger of being automated by the middle of the twenty-third century.

According to the World Economic Forum, during the next five years, almost half of all employees will need some kind of further training or retraining to be adequately prepared for changing and new employment opportunities. The fast speed of technological progress necessitates the development of new models for employee training to adequately prepare workers for a future dominated by AI.

The development of workers’ soft skills, which can’t be replicated by artificial intelligence, should be a priority for businesses. It seems probable that the importance of creative thinking, leadership and emotional intelligence will only continue to rise in our ever-changing world.

Since 2018, AI and IoT have managed to land in the top 3 on the list of Emerging Technology Top 10, and with valid reasons that showcase the strength of AI and IoT, alternatives are abundant SUCH helping businesses generate productivity improvements, end up saving time, and raise profits. In other words, AI and IoT are helping businesses create a better future.

Businesses seek managers who can embrace the power of artificial intelligence to make successful business choices that may reform ineffective business models and establish new ones that can have an oversized benefit as the competency of AI continues to rise. With proper training and appropriate programs applicants can make their career in AI may explore the concept of combining value creation and value appropriation in corporate CRM Development Company and changing current organizational procedures and offers.

Author Bio – Ethan Millar is a technical writer at Aegis Softtech especially for computer programming like Asp.net, Java, Big Data, Hadoop, dynamics AX, and CRM for more than 8 years. Also, have basic knowledge of Computer Programming.

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Developer Certification Programs to help boost your career

developer certification

You are finally ready to pursue your career as a developer. Well, a big fat congratulations to you! It’s high time your homework begins! Whatever you choose to become, it does require a sincere commitment of time, effort, and resources (e.g. developer certification programs). You will need to make some hard choices such as which programming language to kick off with (find out which are the top programming languages communities to look out for), or what development area to focus. Keep in mind that on average developers are involved in five sectors concurrently. However, on top of programming and coding skills you will also need to work on your project management skills. You also may need to dive into the Agile Manifesto. 

Can you guess how many software developers are there in the world? According to the most recent Global Developer Population report,  in the beginning of 2019 there were just under 19 million active software developers. Out of these, 13M are software professionals.

We have used our current methodology to produce estimates of the global developer population for the past four half-year periods. Each estimate was produced independently of the others. This reveals an increase in the developer population of 4.2M developers since mid 2017, or an annual growth that hovers around 20%.
We have used our current methodology to produce estimates of the global developer population for the past four half-year periods. This reveals an increase in the developer population of 4.2M developers since mid 2017, or an annual growth that hovers around 20%. This growth rate seems to be accelerating, although it is based on just a few periods.

Day in day out, the population is growing at over 20% annually. This means you need to stand out from the competition. Now before we proceed any further, we need to understand the value of developer certifications. Why are they important? Why is there so much hype on gaining certificates and investment done in training? The added value is pretty much substantial. And merits can be bifurcated into two categories: What value certificates bring to individuals? How they affect decisions made by organizations?

Value to individuals

  1. Professional credibility: This describes your future relationship between co-workers and supervisors. You demonstrate the fact that you have developed certain skills that need to be possessed to succeed. Also, you are willing to put all the time and effort that needs to get certified. 
  2. Personal Satisfaction: There are times when we feel like an expert. After several years of knowledge, we step into the workspace with confidence and end up asserting ourselves.
  3. Salary: An individual with more IT certifications has the potential to make much more than those with just one certification. Additional certifications are not a bad thing after all. 

Overall professional growth and career advancement require you to learn present and upcoming technologies and enhance the skills you currently possess. 

Value to organizations 

  1. Job requirements: With the continuous advancement in technology, there’s a need to have subject matter experts on new topics. 
  2. Filling skill gaps: According to many software development companies, skill gaps are can be put a strain and the best way through these, is extensive training. Of course, there is no denying the fact that certified employees can lead to greater productivity. They can increased workforce morale, as well as knowledge shared across the entire department.  
  3. Retention – Job satisfaction results in greater staff retention. Employees who feel fulfilled and satisfied from inside are less likely to pursue other employment.

It’s Time to make the right choice – Answer the following questions

  • What do I want to accomplish? 
  • What am I interested in? 
  • Have I done my homework yet? 
  • What resources should I consider using? 
  • What’s next? 

Further below you will find certain software developer certification programs that can surely aid you in boosting your career.

1. Microsoft (MTA): This certification, in particular, is crucial for high school and college students around. Right from web development to software development, mobile, gaming, and more, the program offers it all! It depends upon you whether you achieve certification on a single track or several. 

2. Microsoft Azure: I am pretty sure you must have come across this certification. After all it is one of the most highly recognizable in the IT industry. This certification in particular also has the potential to carry a considerable cachet. Furthermore, with Azure, you’ll build, manage, and deploy scalable, highly available, and performant web applications.

3. Oracle (OCP, OCM, OCE): Unlike others, Oracle offers numerous Oracle Java Certifications at several levels such as Associate professionals (OCP), Master (OCM), Expert (OCE). The professional-level certification typically requires you to have an OCP Java Certification for a programmer. Otherwise, you must have a Sun certified Oracle Java Certification for programmer credential as a prerequisite. Exams taken here are all multiple choice and some include scenario-based questions as well. Also, there is the option of Oracle certified professional MySQL course, for developers who write applications for MySQL database servers. Fortunately, this slot has no prerequisites but Oracle itself does recommend you take the MySQL for developer certification. This exam is single-level and focuses on practitioner-level skills in all aspects of developing MySQL applications: architecture, syntax, design, modification and the list goes on.  

4. Amazon Web Services (AWS): Amazon Web Series provides scalable cloud computing for creating web applications. Being an AWS certified developer means the associate level is for developers who design and run applications on the AWS platform. Also, here the credentials come with no prerequisites but that doesn’t mean you should take it lightly. You must take a multiple-choice exam on AWS fundamental, plus designing, developing, and deploying cloud-based solutions, security, and debugging.

5.  Salesforce: With the rise in Salesforce development companies, organizations are searching for professionals with this certification. Initially developed as one of the original providers of enterprise customer relationship management (CRM). It now focuses on many facets of enterprise cloud computing and applications. The company’s entry-level certification identifies developers capable to design as well as build custom applications and analytics using the Force.com platform. Salesforce recommends that you take the Building Applications with Force.com and Visualforce training courses to prepare for the exam. To achieve certification, you must pass an exam that covers application design, the Force.com platform, data modelling, user interface, logic, data management, reporting, and analysis. Next, you can move on to the Salesforce.com Certified Advanced Developer certification. This focuses on skills required to use Apex and Visualforce to build custom applications, create test plans and perform tests, and manage the development lifecycle and environments. The organization’s Developer certification is a prerequisite. 

6. Scrum: Another interesting developer certification course you must consider is in the Scrum alliance. For those new to the Agile Manifesto , Scrum.org  is a member-based organization. It promotes the use of Scrum through education, advocacy, and networking/collaboration. The entry-level Scrum Alliance certified Scrum Developer (CSD) certification targets developers who understand Scrum principles and have knowledge of specialized Agile engineering skills.  

7. Project Management: Last but certainly not least, the Project Management Institute. An organization that offers numerous software development related certifications including the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI – ACP). The cert recognizes developers with knowledge of agile project management principles, practices, tools, and techniques. All you require having is: 

  • 2000 hours of general project experience working on project teams, or an active PMP or pgMP certification
  • 1500 hours working on Agile project teams or with methodologies
  • 21 contact hours in agile practices

The exam covers agile tools, techniques, knowledge, and skills. PMI has a strong relationship with academia. You’ll find that many colleges and universities offering courses on its certifications include the PMI-ACP.

What other courses have you taken or are considering taking? Have you attended any physical courses lately?

Charles Richard, is a Business Analyst at TatvaSoft UK. Besides his profession, Charles likes to share some new and trending technical aspects. To know more about his leading software development company in London, please visit www.tatvasoft.co.uk

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Business Community

Developers: Sometimes You Can Quit Your Day Job

quit your day job

Today, I’d like to share the story of two members of the Samsung Developer Program community and the paths they took that allowed them to pursue their passions.

Developers: sometimes you can quit your day job!

First up is Melanie Lombardi, from Echo Visuals. Five years ago, she received a Galaxy S6 Edge device as a gift and discovered she could personalize her device with content from the Galaxy Themes store. Soon after, she saw a banner in the store that Samsung was accepting new applications for themes designers. She applied, was selected, and initially created a few free themes which consumers liked and downloaded. After that, she moved to create paid themes and began to monetize her work. She, and her husband John, focused on creating high-quality, animated themes that Samsung’s customers instantly took to. After a few years, she was able to quit her full-time job and turn her passion into a new business.

This business has now grown to seven full-time employees building content for the Galaxy portfolio of devices. As one of Samsung’s top themes sellers, Echo Visuals was one of the winners in this year’s Best of Galaxy Store Awards, which recognizes top apps and content.

Echo Visuals

Second is Tony Morelan. Tony had spent his entire career as an independent graphic designer focused on all things tech.  In 2017, he heard about the opportunity to build watch faces for Galaxy Watch wearable devices. He was excited about the opportunity to apply his design skills to popular technology and make some additional money on the side.

As he built and sold watch faces through the Galaxy Store under the brand name Axeir, Tony found that he also loved being a part of the Samsung Developers community. He shared best practices with other designers and tips for getting discovered in the store. He soon realized “teaching” filled a void he never knew he had.

When a job opportunity came up for Tony to join Samsung as a developer evangelist, he jumped at the chance. For more than a year now, Tony has been advocating for our ever-growing community of designers and creating new tools to help them be successful.

Tony Morelan

Pursuit your passion

When Melanie and Tony joined the Samsung Developer Program, they never could have anticipated where it would take their careers.  To all of my peers in developer relations, how are you enabling those in your community to grow and discover new opportunities?  To all of the developers and designers out there, have you tried something new lately?  You’ll never know where it may take you.  Sometimes you can quit your day job and pursue your passion.

Lori FraleighLori Fraleigh is the Senior Director of Developer Relations at Samsung Electronics. She is an established industry thought leader in developer relations, software tools, development environments, and platforms. Lori is passionate about delivering an awesome developer experience and excels at breaking things. Prior to Samsung, Lori held similar roles at Intuit, Amazon/Lab126, HP/Palm and Motorola Mobility. Earlier, she led RTI’s developer tools business to a successful acquisition by Wind River. Lori started her career working on mission control software at NASA/Loral and is a Virgin Galactic Future Astronaut.

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Business

A developer’s career path: How to navigate between product & custom software development

developer's career path

The booming IT industry attracts more and more people by offering tremendous job opportunities and compensation well above the average level – according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2015 the median annual salary in IT was twice higher than the national rate. While the IT staff headcount increases dramatically (by 48% in the US and 28% in the UK in 2015, as stated by CompTIA), building a successful career in this dynamic industry requires more than sufficient knowledge of technologies and advanced programming skills. Without a thought-out career strategy that implies progression, one day a developer is likely to find themselves stuck in a dead-end job.

We suggest building a personal career roadmap while leveraging every learning opportunity. An indeed effective way to achieve the goal is to find the balance between experience in product and custom software development companies. Here are the tips on getting maximum valuable knowledge and skills with both types of employers.

A product company to master technical skills

Become a team expert. Stability is what appeals most about starting a career at a large product development company. Developers can work for as a many as 10 years on one product, bringing it to perfection. At this career stage, the underlying opportunity for programmers is to master a particular technology and become an expert in their team or even the entire company. A deep technology experience acquired through time will contribute to a developer’s professional competitiveness in case such a narrow specialist is required by other companies as well.

On the other hand, exactly this narrow specialization is likely to block career growth. Staying for too long in the same position can lead to the stagnation of your skills and pay. In addition, at a big product company the customer-centric approach is mainly adopted at the upper management level, while developers focus more on implementation and efficiency rather than on customers’ business needs. As a result, most developers grow biased towards technicalities without understanding a bigger picture.

Learn to keep it universal. Targeting an entire market segment rather than individual customers makes out-of-the-box software developers think universal in order to come up with products that can be used by a range of companies with similar needs. If you decide to continue your career in custom software development, the vision gained through such an experience will pay off by helping to avoid too narrow thinking while implementing technical solutions.

Grow as fast as the business. A dynamic product company is an ideal environment for a fast career growth if you show the required competencies and are ready to work overtime. As the alternative to a salary, a startup employer can also offer revenue sharing for compensation. This can work fine if the startup makes it, or can leave you broke if it doesn’t.

Stay on the cutting edge. Learning never stops for developers as technologies keep evolving. In the cutting-edge tech environment of product companies, developers can’t help but keep up with innovations in the industry.

The bottom line: Despite their in-depth technological skills, developers who reduce their experience solely to product development can get too far from real-life market needs to get promoted. To overcome this challenge, try getting into the habit of stepping beyond the code and putting yourself in the shoes of marketers or salespeople who actually push your product to the market.

A custom software development company to understand the market

Gain diverse development experience. While being a specialist in a particular technology, a developer is more likely to build a successful career if they have understanding of and hands-on experience with different technologies. Every custom software development company stimulates programmers to learn more technologies and tools, as well as gives opportunities to acquire relevant skills while working on diverse projects.

Understand the customer, market, and industry. In the end, be it a product or a custom solution, software is first and foremost a tool to solve a customer’s challenge. To get promoted to a software architect or a CTO, developers have to learn to see software the way customers do. Get used to asking yourself: How well does the software fit business needs? how cost-effective is it? how well does it integrate with other software? what makes it more usable than competitors’ offering?

At a custom software development company, programmers get the understanding of the customer’s needs first-hand, with no additional research required. As customers often come from different industries, you also get a precious knowledge of their domains, which is hardly possible to acquire in another way.

Master soft skills on the go. The trickery of software development is that it’s indeed a team business that brings together extremely clever but largely introverted minds. When less proficient programmers get promoted quicker than their more technically experienced colleagues, the clue is in the soft skills they manage to nurture at work. The most cited ones are communication skills and responsibility.

Engagement in custom software development allows to develop proficient communication and problem-solving skills, as developers get a chance to communicate with diverse customers across time zones and cultures. A highly qualified developer, such as a software architect, not only understands how technology can solve a customer’s problem but can effectively communicate this vision to the team that will bring the project to life. By learning to effectively interact with all the parties involved in a solution delivery – the team, the product owner, the sales people, etc., a developer gets the communicative competencies required for a managerial position. The ability to undertake responsibility should be also developed and manifested over time. Therefore, it’s important to keep taking on more and more responsibility, first, for the design of smaller elements, then for larger ones, until you get capable of supervising a technical design for the entire solution.

The bottom line: With a wide range of projects, custom software development companies offer opportunities for gaining industry and market understanding, nurturing diverse technical competencies and filling the gaps in soft skills required for a career growth. Yet, with too much orientation on the needs of particular customers, watch out for the problem-solution trap. For this, learn how to recognize similar problems of customers and use best practices acquired while working at previous projects.

Learn to navigate your career path in between

Product and custom software development companies alike provide unique career advantages, so the question is not which one to choose but how to combine experience with both for a bright career. There are at least two strategic options:

The custom software-to-product strategy. A developer starts with 2-3 years at a custom software development company so as to gain understanding of industries and customers, as well as diverse technical experience. Then with the customer-oriented approach deep in mind, they become a more valuable candidate and can move to a position at a higher level at a product company. While being employed with a product development company, the developer continues to master technicalities and complements their vision with a universal approach to software. This makes the developer a reasonable candidate for further promotion.

 The product-to-custom software strategy. First a developer gains a deep technical experience either at a cutting-edge technological startup or, ideally, at a stable product company for about 2 years. Working in the corporate environment first will teach them how to do business at a big scale, which is hardly achievable at a startup. Either way, upon getting a solid technical background and getting used to address similar challenges of diverse customers with a single product, the developer can move to one of the leading custom software development companies. With the previous product development experience, they will quickly climb the career ladder, as long as they keep enriching their understanding of the market through participation in a range of projects.

Afterthought

Combining experience in both areas, a developer becomes a competitive specialist and elevates the chances of employment in (or promotion to) a higher position. For sure, it’s possible to stay self-employed or start your own business right away. Yet, the deal appears too risky with the claimed 80-90% percent rate of startups fails. Besides, in the startup environment, the CEO’s, CMO’s and developer’s responsibilities overlap, which means that to succeed, you will need to demonstrate technical and soft skills alike. With such a solid background, it will be easier to start your own business and survive on the market knowing what product the market needs, as well as how to deliver it. In due course, all these will make you look more reliable in the eyes of investors and raise the chances of staying in the 10-20 % of the startups survived.

 

This post was provided by ScienceSoft, a US-headquartered custom software development company with 450+ IT professionals located internationally. With over 27 years of IT business experience, ScienceSoft is a recognized partner of IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and EPiServer.