Letters to a New Developer: What I Wish I Had Known When Starting My Development Career

by Dan Moore

Learn what you need to succeed as a developer beyond the code. The lessons in this book will supercharge your career by sharing lessons and mistakes from real developers. 

Wouldn’t it be nice to learn from others’ career mistakes? “Soft” skills are crucial to success, but are haphazardly picked up on the job or, worse, never learned. Understanding these competencies and how to improve them will make you a more effective team member and a more attractive hire.

This book will teach you the key skills you need, including how to ask questions, how and when to use common tools, and how to interact with other team members. Each will be presented in context and from multiple perspectives so you’ll be able to integrate them and apply them to your own career quickly.

What You'll Learn

Know when the best code is no codeUnderstand what to do in the first month of your jobSee the surprising number of developers who can’t programAvoid the pitfalls of working alone

Who This Book Is For

Anyone who is curious about software development as a career choice. You have zero to five years of software development experience and want to learn non-technical skills that can help your career.  It is also suitable for teachers and mentors who want to provide guidance to their students and/or mentees.

 

Genres: Programming, Productivity, Computer Science, Technology

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 6, 2020

Reviews

[Andreea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a handy summation of the blog posts from the website with the same name. Most articles are written by the author, a US developer, plus some guest entries, and there’s no exclusive content or editing specific to the book that isn’t on the website at time of writing. It’s like a modern-day version of Pragmatic Programmer in spirit but gentler; lighter in tone and content, with no code examples. Great book to give to the aspiring or new developer in your life, or read for yourself if you feel anxious about the transition.

[Beyto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book, it has a lot of ideas that I may use to train the new developers

[Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I would be annoyed that it was all blog posts, but I wasn’t. It has some very clear insights and advice that are super helpful for a new developer. Not every piece of advice is a hit, but the memorable ones are extremely valuable. It made me realize some red flags and things I could’ve done differently in previous jobs.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this an extremely helpful read.

I'm a developer once again, so this was a good jumping board into that world.

Took lots of notes. A lot I already knew, but really good to reiterate!

Looking forward to learning and reading more dev books!

I'm going to follow this blog too!

4.1/5

[Marek Sirkovský · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a must-read for new developers. If you are a more senior dev, you can find some hidden gems.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read ... anyone starting at a company as a developer should read this.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Getting into professional.

[Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not good as an audiobook while going about day to day activities

[Laura Senpajytė · Rating 3 out of 5]

"sincerely" I am annoyed

[Tuan LE · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I'm already about 6 years as a full stack developer. I found it contains many good practices/advises for not only new developers but also intermediary level like me or more senior. The book doesn't merely technologies but also life. I would recommend this book for newbies or experts.