Learn how to land a web development job with guest James Quick. Topics include preparing for a developer role, continuous learning, side hustles, and updating your portfolio. James also talks about the Astro web framework for content-driven sites.
Continuous learning is crucial in a developer's career for growth and opportunities.
On-the-job learning can be invaluable, but consider investing time outside work for further advancements.
Exploring side projects can enhance skills and create new opportunities based on personal interests.
Deep dives
Continuous learning and community engagement
As a developer, continuous learning is important throughout your career. Engaging with the community, sharing content, and networking can open up more opportunities. Sharing your knowledge and building a personal brand can have a positive impact on your career advancement.
Assessing the need for additional learning outside of work
While working full-time as a developer, your knowledge can become dated if you don't continue learning. However, the on-the-job learning experience can be exponentially valuable. Evaluate whether you need to invest time outside of work to keep up with new advancements or if the learning opportunities at your job are sufficient.
Exploring side projects and side hustles
Building side projects or side hustles can be a great way to explore your passions and supplement your career. These projects can provide additional expertise, fresh perspectives, and create new opportunities. However, the decision to undertake side projects depends on personal interests and goals.
Considering the evolution of your career
As you progress in your career, consider other skill sets that can complement your technical expertise. This could involve exploring management roles, developing communication skills, and expanding your sphere of influence. Strategically analyze where you are in your career and what the next step might be for your professional growth.
The Importance of Exploring Opportunities
The podcast episode discusses the importance of exploring opportunities and considering job changes to potentially earn a higher salary and find greater job satisfaction. The speaker encourages listeners to stay open and regularly explore different job options, as it is often easier to make more money by moving to a new company rather than trying to negotiate a salary increase within the same company. The importance of transparency and communication with current managers is also emphasized to give them a chance to make changes and retain valuable employees.
An Overview of Astro Framework
The podcast episode introduces Astro Framework, emphasizing its developer-friendly features and capabilities. Initially designed as a static site generator, Astro has expanded to become a full stack framework. It allows developers to build static, server-side rendered, and hybrid applications with the ability to integrate different UI frameworks such as React or Svelte. Astro prioritizes developer experience and offers features like zero JavaScript by default and seamless integration with various tools. It also excels in working with static Markdown content and content collections. Astro aims to provide an efficient and practical alternative in the world of overwhelming frameworks, ensuring performance and flexibility while simplifying the development process.
Learn how to land a web development job with this week's guest, James Quick. James is a content creator that focuses on teaching web developers through his YouTube channel and podcast. Our discussion this week focused on landing and keeping a web developer role with our conversation focusing on what you should do before landing the job, immediately after getting into your role, and how to keep your career going into the future. First off, our conversation on what to do before getting a developer job focused on studying, coding practice, and standing out as an applicant. Second, we discussed what to do right after landing the role conversing about whether you should keep learning on/off work hours and whether you should make an effort to learn job-related tech or branch out. Lastly, we discussed what to do once you've had a developer job for a while, touching on whether you should bother having a side hustle, how much learning you should do, and if you should update your portfolio or not. At the end of the interview, we asked James to expand and explain Astro, a web framework for content-driven sites.
