A piece of career advice for programmers

It’s not enough to write good code.

• A piece of career advice for programmers
• Author: MrPeak

I started my career at the beginning of 2008. From my own experience and what I have seen and heard around me, I feel that there is one work experience that IS most valuable to me in the past ten years. Perhaps this experience is not only applicable to programmers, but also common to all workplaces, even across domains, borders and cultures.

This experience is actually quite simple to say, the literal meaning of a few words can explain clearly, but the implementation is extremely difficult, even if can put down the face into action, to adhere to the long-term more difficult. This world is a lot of truth, say thoroughly everyone knows, to really apply to their own life is difficult.

As a programmer, it is inevitable to focus on the code, especially when you are just entering the workplace, the growth space of the new company and new position is the most important. Doing core projects, building wheels, reading technical articles, etc., I feel that only with technical progress every year can I feel secure and secure in my future. There is nothing inherently wrong with focusing on your own technical growth, and doing so can lead to a subconscious belief that success will come naturally if you are skilled enough.

Does good code always lead to steady career advancement?

That depends on how well written, the dragon and phoenix day longitudinal words, who also can’t press the nature will come out. If it’s just average or average, it probably doesn’t matter what the code is.

Or that strong coding skills can bring stable workplace rewards within a certain space, but there are bottlenecks. If you join the core technology team of Alibaba and Tencent, how much better can you be than the people around you? In addition to technical skills, there are other skills that are often overlooked that are particularly important and are some of the most valuable career lessons I’ve ever learned.

Even scarcer than execution is planning, and even more valuable than code is direction.

It may sound abstract and even chicken soup, but the above sentence can be translated into very practical steps. I had a feeling about this sentence before I went abroad. Although the corporate culture has changed since I came to FB, I have a more concrete and real perception of this experience.

What does this mean for programmers?

There are many talented people in FB. I had the opportunity to hear similar words from a recognized leader in the industry in a small sharing meeting. In addition, I also heard three words that fit perfectly in a one-on-one meeting with the boss: strategy, execution and communication.

What does that mean? The performance evaluation of our programmers cannot be separated from the project, and a project can be divided into three stages: planning, implementation and summary.

I would say that most programmers in the world are focused on execution, with the deep conviction that if I write good enough code, my boss will notice me and my performance and returns will follow. A small number of them can realize the importance of summary, and will find opportunities and occasions to announce their achievements to the outside world, so as to achieve good communication. After all, as the old Chinese saying goes, even if the wine smells good, you still have to shout when you have achievements. Very few of this small percentage can do a good job of presenting a strategy in advance. My sense is that these three steps can roughly form a pyramid structure in the programmer’s career, with execution at the bottom and exection + communication in the middle. Strategy + Communication (or + exection) is at the top.

Once you’ve executed your execution to the limit and achieved an unexpected result, can you brazenly broadcast your execution as often as possible? If your boss has been busy in meetings lately, do you choose to trust his observation and continue to work quietly, or do you choose the right time to boldly announce your achievements, or post them to all concerned in an internal forum? Further, do you have the confidence and ability to convince the team to commit resources to a product feature or direction that you believe has potential and value in a flash of inspiration? Have the courage to let your feelings become the new direction of the team and formulate a strategy for the team, even if you know that the new direction may lead to a dead end.

Of course, execution is not important. On the contrary, I believe that solid code business ability is the minimum prerequisite for programmers to acquire strategy and communication resources. Learning and improving skills should be a habit, but the importance of planning and summary should not be ignored.

Although I have been abroad for more than a year, I still receive harassment from domestic headhunters from time to time, and the job level and requirements are getting higher and higher, so there are many opportunities that are really tempting. Recently, I heard a new requirement or new saying: to have sense for products, I think the so-called sense is the ability to make strategy.

In my opinion, this experience is universal and can be applied to all small and large companies. The ability of strategy is generally scarce. If there is no sense of direction, at least communication can be done well.

A group of friends go out for dinner. Do you mean casual, or do you suggest a specific restaurant? If the restaurant tastes good, a group of people will most likely remember and thank the person who suggested it.

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