Why should you invest in programmer education?

This post was last edited by brotherlamp on 2015-1-13 13:45

A true story of a junior programmer

We were having a meeting with a client and he came up with an idea for a project. He wanted us to provide him with a draft system architecture that would support the technical requirements of his project. Regarding this point, I also clearly told him that value-added development requires re-adjustment of the architecture.

When I mentioned that finding a suitable architecture is also a process that requires learning, he interrupted me and said the following:

Do I still have to pay for your learning?

In order to save time, I told him that I was referring to the business domain, and we can only provide the correct architecture after we fully understand it.

Would you like your project to be developed by an unskilled website development team?

Unless you outsource with a high salary, you mostly need a software development team to work for you. If this project had spanned a year or more, how would you feel about a team that never seemed to improve?

Software development is recognized as one of the knowledge-driven industries, yet many people don’t know why they think that it is easy for developers to master all the skills needed to solve any given problem.

Programming languages ​​are constantly evolving. Relational databases are constantly adding new features. Most people may have never used the new NoSQL databases. Successful frameworks are constantly being released in new versions. While new technologies (such as reactive programming and microservices) are emerging, other technologies that we previously dismissed are increasing their appeal (such as functional programming).

It is impossible to master all the techniques and methods without spending time.

When should you consider improving your programmer skills?

Of course there are programmers who are passionate about programming and spend their spare time reading books, reading technical articles, and learning new technologies, but you can't deny that there are really not many such examples.

Most programmers will choose to learn everything they need to use on the job, and if you can't invest in them, then they will never grow in the team.

The most suitable time and place is to learn software technology while working.

Unfortunately, not everyone in this industry agrees with my view. Business owners are unwilling to spend resources (time and money) developing their developers.

This may be due to a different perspective on the problem, because many people feel that this kind of investment does not get any direct or indirect return - it is a pure waste of resources. But if you plan carefully, it can easily turn into a profitable investment.

Learning for profit

High-quality software requires solid knowledge and professional judgment, but building skills requires more than just reading. You have to be an active learner and maximize your knowledge acquisition.

I used to be a passive learner, just reading books and articles. Although I had a general idea, I didn’t actually make any big progress.

When I started writing this blog, I discovered that teaching and learning is also a good way to learn skills.

This feeling became even more clear when I became an active StackOverflow user.

When I started working on an open source project, I finally understood that learning is just a side effect of hard work.

The above experiences have given me a deep understanding of what active learning is.

From a business perspective, it is not difficult to foresee that the benefits of this type of investment may come from:

A more skilled development team can operate more complex projects with a lower risk of failure.

After mastering certain technologies, we can provide you with professional training and consulting services.

Write a book and sell it through a self-publishing program.

Another point is that professional skills are always particularly popular.

Investing in developing skills is definitely worth it. Many developers like a work environment that promotes self-growth, so this trick can actually help retain employees.

Starting this learning journey is not as difficult as people think, below I will introduce some activities about active learning that I really appreciate:

Prepare training materials

Let’s say you want to promote a specific activity in your company core technical skills, then some developers can be assigned to research and prepare training materials on this topic.

The effect of a workshop will be better than a simple demonstration. When preparing training materials, you have actually accumulated a certain amount of relevant knowledge and training foundation. Then you can start providing training or consulting services on this technology.

Company Blog

Every software company has its accumulated experience, but few can truly share it with others. At this time, opening a company's technology blog may help communicate with each other. A high-quality blog demonstrates your expertise and expertise.

You can also establish a strategic partnership with DZONE/JavaCodeGeeks, which can also promote your business development.

Answer questions on StackOverflow

Many people underestimate the power of StackOverflow. If you really want to become an expert in a certain field, then you should start answering questions in that specific direction. As you answer the questions, you are also strengthening your own area of ​​knowledge.

In short, repetition is the mother of learning.

Open Source Projects

If you want to improve your design and coding skills, then you should get into open source projects.

Most of the authors of frameworks are very rigorous, and their code reviews can teach you many of the best programming practices. If your company often needs to use a certain open source technology, then it is necessary to go back and learn it. The best way to deal with a framework problem is to solve it honestly.

No one knows this framework better than its maintainers.

Write articles and sell books

You can summarize your experience in books. Writing a book is also a very interesting learning process. Only when you finish writing can you say that you have truly mastered this aspect.

Amazon provides a self-service publishing program that can help you if needed.

Conclusion

Learning can give your company a competitive edge. The product represents the company, and the quality of the software product reflects the professionalism of the development team.

Finally, what I want to tell you is that you are not just investing in individuals, you are also investing in your own company.

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