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Developer Roadmap

A girl reading a map while comfortably lying on the road

It's no longer enough to know how to code. Companies want to hire developers with strong foundations and the right mindset.

In a world where anyone can learn to code, what does it take to be good at it?

Being good does not always include the technical aspects of coding. You need to also master, or at least be aware of, the non-technical, soft side of coding.

Learn how to be an effective developer to unlock your potential, get your desired job, and become more productive at work.

I started as a junior developer at a global IT services firm, where I worked my way up the ladder until I quit and joined an ed-tech startup. I later joined a research organization and worked on emerging technologies. A few years later, I came back to software consulting to hone my engineering skills. Right now I work on a product used by millions of customers, where I have learned to be code at scale and be more mindful about my approach.

In my journey from a humble developer to an architect and manager, I have amassed plenty of learning, mistakes, and lessons to know the difference between a good and an average developer. And that's what I wish to explore so that you safely use my experience to expedite your journey to being an effective developer that companies want to hire.

⭐ Effective Developer Roadmap ⭐

A list of hard and soft skills you will need to become a good developer, organized by where you are in the journey.

The roadmap is still evolving and may undergo heavy changes in the near future.

Aspiring → Hired

Grade 1: Coding as a career

Grade 2: Learning to code

  • The learning mindset
  • The power of structured learning
  • Learn from books
  • Learn from online courses
  • Learn from offline institutes
  • Pair learning
  • Your first programming language
  • Full-stack basics

Grade 3: Getting hired

  • Shortlisting companies
  • Building your resume
  • Applying for jobs
  • Preparing for interviews
  • Performance on D-day
  • Following up after an interview
  • Dealing with a job offer

Hired → Productive

Grade 4: A strong foundation

  • Working in teams
  • Collaborating with others
  • The art of articulation
  • Open and public by default
  • Asking for help
  • Estimating correctly
  • Get a guru

Grade 5: Writing good code

  • Effective learning
  • Get good at searching
  • Copying code from existing codebase
  • Copying code from online sources
  • Don't reinvent the wheel
  • Code editor as your assistant
  • Don't gloat your codebase
  • Be a documentation crusader

Grade 6: Leveling up

  • Big picture thinking
  • Clean code
  • Writing tests
  • Asking for code reviews
  • Reviewing code by others
  • Pair programming
  • git best practices
  • Think before you code
  • Security loopholes

Productive → Effective

Grade 7: Increasing efficiency

  • Self-doubt and imposter syndrome
  • Trust your intuition
  • Deep work and dealing with interruptions
  • Improving concentration
  • Keep a work journal
  • Dealing with feedback
  • Getting a promotion

Grade 8: Mastering your craft

  • AI as your assistant
  • Leveling up via open-source
  • Design patterns

Grade 9: Becoming a generalist

  • Coming soon...