I am not someone with thousand years of wisdom to preach but I will share a few tips that have helped me in my journey. I hope these byte-sized tips will help you to grow in your career.
1. Explore until you find what you love
In today’s world, there is so much learn and so many ways to go that one might feel overwhelmed to even get started. I mean, seriously, have you seen this Roadmap to becoming a Web Developer in 2019? Mindblown! 🤯
But, hey! Even though the going gets tough, never give up. Keep exploring your interests until you find that sweet spot. And then learn some more. I am not asking you to learn everything there is but I am reassuring you know that you’re the commander of your career and you decide whether the learning stops or not!
Read books. There’s much wisdom in the books than you can ever anticipate. Read books related to your field, read books related to other fields, read fiction, read poetry. Read anything, but read.
You’re never gonna know if you never even try.
2. Follow your role models
No matter what career you’re in you will have role models that you admire. Follow them. Learn everything about their work and how they achieved what they achieved. If they are developers, follow them on GitHub, study their code. Try to understand how your code differs from theirs and why. I have learnt so much by just studying code written by developers I admire.
Reach out to your role models. It might be intimidating to even think about it but really it’s not that hard! Have a conversation. Ask for advice. You’ll be surprised to know that most people are genuinely helpful and they will be glad to help you navigate your career.
3. Share your knowledge, help others
If you know something, you can teach that thing. You don’t have to be an expert, you don’t even need to teach an entire class. If you pass on your good knowledge to even one person, consider you’ve done some good in the world.
Write blogs, it helps you articulate your thoughts better and improve your understanding of whatever you’re writing about. But be cautious, do not get persuaded by the number of followers, views, likes and retweets. Remember that you are sharing your knowledge and that is priceless!
Always be open to help others. Always be generous with sharing your knowledge.
4. Seek criticism with arms wide open
Constructive criticism is necessary for growth. Seek criticism from your friends, peers and seniors. It might be intimidating to ask for criticism and it might also be hurtful when someone says something negative about the very thing you worked so hard for but it is essential. If code review is something that is not a part of the process where you work then ask for it. Ask your peers (only whom you trust to have your best interest) to review your work, and try to understand their bits of advice and then implement them.
Share your work, don’t just keep it to yourself. Your work doesn’t need to be perfect or the next big thing. It doesn’t need to be the next Facebook, Github or Dev! It can be a simple silly thing. Don’t be embarrassed, don’t fear the criticism but accept it as it comes. Remember it’s all part of the process and it’s the only way to get better.
5. Take care of yourself
Well, this not directly related to your career, but it is the most important thing. We all want to succeed and most times we ignore our health for that. Because who’s got time for taking care of oneself, right? All we care about is hustling and making it! My mom always says “Health is wealth!” and I used to roll my eyes but now I realise that she is right. Without a healthy body and healthy mind, everything is a waste. All the success and wealth means nothing if you’re not healthy enough to enjoy it. So I urge you to shut that laptop, get up and go out for a walk. Eat healthily, make some time to relax, talk to your friends, spend time with family, watch crappy movies and laugh out loud. You deserve a break, don’t feel guilty about that. Sometimes it is OK to take a step back and just chill!
Hah! Enough preaching! Now I gotta go meet my friends. ☺️
