25 Tips for New Developers: Advice from a (Mostly) Self-Taught Software Engineer

Conclusion

My productivity system is just that -- my system. Don't feel like you need to adopt all of this or follow any of it. I just hope it's helpful to have a peek into my life and the things that help me. Remember -- balance is so important and looks different for everyone. I'm so far from perfect, and I think it can seem like I do so much more than I actually do on social media. I am also in a place in my life where I can spend time on side-work, and I love doing it. Please let me know if you have any questions, or I can answer any questions on Twitter!

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Public Speaking as a Developer

As a follow up to my post from March on blogging as a developer, I wanted to give my tips for doing public speaking events as a developer. A little over a year ago, I submitted my first call for papers (aka conference application) to the Code(Her) conference in DC where I live. It was accepted, and I gave my first conference talk last August. Around the same time, I moved from a traditional software engineering job to teaching at General Assembly's bootcamp. From that point on, I've given over 20 talks at conferences and meetups over the past year. All that being said, I wanted to give my tips -- from the application process through giving the actual talk.

Why Speak?

These reasons are going to look really similar to my reasons for blogging!

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  Reinforce your knowledge on topics. The best way to really learn something in depth is to teach it to somebody else!
  
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  Demonstrate your knowledge. You can show to the world that you really know a topic inside and out!
  
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  Build a community and meet other people who have similar interests to your own.
  
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  Challenge yourself and keep yourself accountable.
  
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  Help people who are learning the topic you are speaking about!
  

In addition, most conferences give speakers free admission or even travel assistance, which makes going to conferences a lot easier financially.