Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

One of the reasons for an enjoying an IT career is problem-solving.  We get to face a challenge of varying levels every day.  That can lead to us spending more time working on a problem than we need to.  Thus, we need to keep in mind schedules and resources we have to meet our deadlines. Problem-Solving as a Team Sport There is a reason we find many developer offices set up in a way that lends itself to interaction.  Yes, cubicles can be a cheap way to create an "office."  However, they also tend to lead us to communicate with our coworkers more than a real office with walls and a door.  Some managers claim their door is always open, but cubicle dwellers have no door.  This approach to seating is not an invasion of privacy.  It is a way to help us attack problems as a team. Two Heads Are Better Than One Ther is no shame in reaching out to others for your latest struggle.  We all are human and can overlook simple details that lead to a solution.  I think this is even more prevalent in coding as the details are what make the software work.  Unfortunately, missing those same details is the source of most bugs.  So do not hesitate to ask for a little help.  A second person looking at your work or assumptions can help you navigate roadblocks faster than doing it yourself.  We require second opinions in medical discussions so why not do so with our daily work as well?

We live in the technology age.  Also known as the information age.  Thus, we have more and easier ways to educate ourselves each day.  As Apple says, "there is an app for that."  However, we need to be intentional in our approach to continuing education.  Moderation is best and a roadmap will help us reach our goals. Continuing Education Via the Internet A core strength of the Internet is the delivery of news all the time.  Not only that, the news can be on any topic you choose.  Content is not only readily available, it is always growing.  This flood of information can be daunting.  However, there are several tools available to organize your content and build good habits of information consumption. Learn By Osmosis The best tools available provide ways to learn while doing other tasks.  These include digital mediums like audiobooks and podcasts.  When you combine these with the ocean of gadgets available to consume them there is no excuse for not trying them out.  These options allow us to learn while exercising, cooking, running errands, or going to work.  Heck, we can even learn while we work by listening to content rather than our favorite tunes.

A higher degree in my mind is anything beyond a high school diploma.  These days, that diploma is almost always a minimum requirement for a technology job.  There are just too many applicants that have that and more. A Higher Degree Sets a Baseline A degree is a great way to raise the ceiling for your career, but it also is a way to lift the floor.  In fact, a college degree can be a path to avoiding some steps of the ladder climbing required in any career.  These rungs may be skipping out on years at a help desk, mindless coding jobs, or other standard entry-level tasks.  In my case, I was even able to skip a company-sponsored month of learning how to code. Types of Degrees The bulk of this episode is spent examining the types of degrees you can pursue.  We also look at a general degree as opposed to one that has a tighter focus.  There are arguments on both sides of these.  However, that does not mean either choice is good (or bad).  Your specific situation will point towards the type and focus of degrees to pursue. Links and Resources Check Out Some Online Degree Options

Experience is the number one asset you can bring to your job.  A close second is a degree and certifications.  There are situations where a decision is required between a degree (or higher degree) or technical certification.  It turns out that certifications are often a better deal and a quicker payoff than that advanced degree. Certifications Require Time and Money The value of a certificate in any technology is that it shows a minimum level of knowledge.  Much like a degree, this allows for an academic approach to building experience.  Thus, no worthwhile degree is a slam dunk.  There is also a fee for almost every certificate.  Often there are also book and class fees that are all but required to achieve your goal.  The long-term commitment to earn a degree is not needed.  However, a focused learning period is. Providing Value Honestly, I saw a faster and better improvement in my career through certifications than a higher degree.  However, those certs. have to be renewed over time and updated as technology advances.  I have not had to go back to "refresh" my degree.  Both of these options will provide a boost, but one is short-term while the other is better for the long game. Links and Resources Transcender (exam training and simulations) The Exam Cram Home Page

We have all heard that it is better to give than receive.  However, instead of taking it at face value, this is something worth looking at deeper.  In this episode, we look at how to live a life we love and passing that along to others through giving. Charity Is More Than Money The first thing to consider is that money is just one way we can give.  There also may be a number of ways you want to give back.  A charity is not the only avenue.  There are all sorts of causes and ways to help others besides the "needy."  Time can be given to a mentor program, helping youth, or pro bono work in your chosen field.  The key to this is to give for the joy and not to give yourself networking credit.  That is marketing, not charity. A Fuller Life The benefits to all of these options for giving are a lengthy list.  However, the key is to improve your life quality.  It is easy to get swallowed up in technology, business, and your entrepreneurial vision.  Thus, we have a danger of becoming soulless automatons and losing our connection to others.  Here are some ways to avoid going down that particular rabbit hole.

Accounting may not be the most exciting part of a business, but it is an integral part of success.  We primarily keep score for our business based on how it generates revenue.  More importantly, a company needs to gain a profit on that income.  When we do not track the ins and outs of our funds, we are more likely to have more going out than in. Accounting As A Means of Protecting Ourselves When a business is a means to pay our salary or those of others then revenue and profit is seen as critical.  However, a side hustle is often done for fun or extra spending money instead of paying bills.  Thus, it is easy to gloss over the costs that go into that side-hustle.  At the end of the day, we find our selves with a little more money in our pocket.  Unfortunately, the cost of producing that money is sometimes more than it is worth. Track Costs For Smart Investing No matter your situation, your time is worth money.  You also need to be aware of the incidental costs involved in your projects.  Everyday things like gas for travel, office supplies, shipping costs, and even tools can be overlooked when calculating profit.  This may not be a problem early on, but when it comes time to move from side-hustle to a full-time gig, those costs can be critical.

System security is a big business.  We see hackers in the news all the time, and no one wants to be the next victim that has to admit to a breach.  This allows security firms to charge top dollar for their services and consultation.  However, there are a lot of simple and inexpensive steps we can take to dramatically reduce the odds of being the next victim System Security Through Smart Procedures The first thing to consider is that most security breaches come about through human error.  The well-known breach of the DNC started with a phishing email.  The victim responded and gave up important credentials.  No high tech skills were needed.  This is buttressed by most famous hackers highlighting how they used social engineering instead of code hacking.  Why spend time hacking a password when you can easily guess it or can be given it through a well-worded email? Best Practices This is not to say that hacking does not occur.  There are pirates and coders with ill intent that can penetrate systems.  In fact, it seems that no system is truly impenetrable.  However, there are best practices that are easy to implement in our systems.  These procedures have been created by people working on both sides of the hacking equation to help us protect the most common loopholes and backdoors. Once again, we have a few steps that are easy to follow and that will dramatically reduce our risk out on the Internet. Links and Resources Simple Security Recommendations

We have looked at a few ways to improve productivity through the early podcast episodes.  However, we have only touched on the idea of rhythm and how it can make or break us.  Habits are hard to break, whether good or bad and those are the things that drive our natural rhythm Know When You Are At Your Best The first step in getting productive is to determine what works for you.  There are some variations each of us can embrace.  Unfortunately, what works for you, may cause me all sorts of problems.  In general, we need to determine whether we work better in the morning, mid-day, evening, or late night.  Then we need to determine the good "blocks" of work for our schedule.  Some of us do great with long periods of focused work.  However, others do good in short spurts of an hour or two with some breaks in between. Experiment With Your Rhythm Life hacking is all about finding ways to make improvements through trial-and-error.  Finding your best rhythm is the same exercise.  Most of us know what works for us, but life keeps us from really fine tuning our schedule.  When you can find time to experiment with your routine, you will be able to fine-tune things and define your perfect plan.  Of course, once you know it, you may not be allowed to hit that ideal rhythm every day.  Life happens.  Nevertheless, defining that perfect rhythm will give you a target when you do have input into your schedule.  Who knows? You might even become so productive that you are given free reign to manage your time. Links and Resources http://www.miraclemorning.com/

I have to admit that the Develpreneur icon and banners are not designed by me.  I used a site called 99 Designs for this work.  I have a few skills and none of them are brand design.  Thus, I outsourced that work so I could have something that was effective. Brand Design: Play To Your Strengths Many (maybe even most) of us have passable design skills at best.  We are visionaries or technicians, but not very good at creating appealing artwork.  There is no shame in this.  We all have our strengths and weaknesses.  In fact, the sign of a good manager and leader is the ability to delegate weaknesses to those that can offset them.  If you are great at design then you might want to skip this episode.  However, the rest of us can gain a lot from the resources covered here. Help From Friends The best part of the process of building a brand through outside resources is that you can always get other opinions.  For example, I am only mediocre at picking a good design.  Nevertheless, I was able to make some good selections with the help of feedback from friends and family.  There was no personal attachment to any particular design and this process allowed me to stay unbiased throughout the selection steps.  The cost was not super cheap compared to some other tools out there, but spending a few hundred dollars on your brand is a good investment. Links and Resources 99 Designs Links to details about how 99 Designs helped with our branding

When best practices are considered for development, version control has become a normal facet of any modern coding.  Many integrated development environments now include integration to some version control by default.  In fact, Git is often assumed as the tool of choice.  That being said, we still need to use these tools properly. Version Control Requires Regular Usage The most common failing I find with new developers is a lack of actually using the tool correctly.  Although committing code is rarely more than a few button clicks and providing a comment, it still seems too much for many coders.  I say this because may shops have code commits on a weekly or less frequent basis.  I also see comments that are empty or useless (e.g., "fixed some bugs") in too many repositories. Good use of version control includes meaningful comments on every commit and daily commits at least.  This approach does not mean code must be working when for each commit, just that the changes are submitted. Branches and Tags Modern version control tools provide an easy way to work on a branch of code.  This should be embraced and used where possible.  In fact, I have come across many teams that create a branch for every ticket/bug, and this works great for a custom build of any release.  The fixes that matter can be included while those that have prerequisites or require further testing can be held for a future version. Links and Resources An excellent summary of best practices for Git.