The Dev World – Sergio Lema

I’ve seen a lot of people asking if you have to be a genius to be a developer. Or if everyone can be a developer.

Why do people want to be a developer?

Some want to be because of the money. They look at rich developers such as the creators of Google or Facebook. Those who became the richest men in the world.

Others see the development industry as the one which currently moves more money and power. The biggest companies in the world are tech companies such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft… Being a developer will share this power.

Others see developers as very smart people, which work on incomprehensible stuff. This puts them in an admiring pillar. Being a developer means being an admired person for their skills, and their intelligence.

I won’t lie. Being a developer is hard.

But…

Many people can be a developer. This is not only dedicated to gifted people. I’ve met average people who are very good developers.

Some skills are mandatory to be a successful developer. But most important is the mindset.

Which skills are necessary to be a successful developer?

• Problem-solving;
• Further vision;
• Global vision;
• Working on a team (which doesn’t mean social skills);
• Learning every day;
• English (it’s a science which is worldwide shared).

As you see, I didn’t mention math or being a hacker in computers.

And which mindset?

• Love what you do;
• Love to learn;
• Passionate about building stuff.

I’ve seen people who are good today at their job, but only care about the paycheck. They won’t be able to keep the rhythm to learn every day if they only care about money.

I’ve seen people who only want to work from 9 to 17. No extra hours, no study in your free time, no interest in the field in your free time… That’s a reasonable choice. But at the speed this area goes, in 5 to 10 years they will be stuck in a job. Younger people will come with more knowledge, and it will be harder to apply for a new company.

If you want to be a good developer, if you want to be an excellent developer, you can’t be afraid of working nights and weekends. Maybe not for the company, but for yourself. Reading books, trying libraries, attending conferences, writing blog posts…

There is no middle in this area. Try to be the best or you will decay.

So, back to the original question: can anyone be a developer? only if you have an enormous interest in the development area. the rest will come together.

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