My Developer Goals of 2021
At the beginning of my software engineering course, I was asked to write about why I joined the Flatiron program and what I wanted to achieve during my time as a student. Ten months later, my answer has not changed, but my ambitions have grown. When I first started the program, I only knew basic computer and coding concepts, but now I’m running WSL2 and creating apps with React and Ruby on Rails. I’m starting to get more comfortable working in my operating system, utilizing my IDE, and learning new programming languages, but I also know that I still have much to learn. Here are some of my developer goals for 2021:
1.) Gain a better understanding of Windows
I originally bought my PC to run graphic-intensive programs and do some occasional gaming. I never fully learned the OS because I felt like I didn’t need to. That all changed when I set up my local IDE environment. I could no longer simply go to the Microsoft Store or Steam and click an install button. I needed knowledge of my settings, BIOS, terminal, PowerShell, and WSL2; the list goes on and on. I have learned a great deal since setting up my local environment. For example, did you know that you can set up your Windows terminal to start in your Linux home directory? Check it out here and here! Although I’m becoming more proficient in Windows, there is a wealth of information out there that I need to study. I want to be prepared to troubleshoot in a work or home environment.
2.) Learn Linux
I will admit that before last year, I didn’t know anything about Linux. Now that I have been using WSL2 and Ubuntu for coding in VS Code, I have seen the power of Linux commands. It’s amazing that Linux developers and admins can perform all their tasks from the terminal. I also think it’s cool that Linux is free, open-source, and secure. With many companies using servers run on Linux, I strongly believe being at least somewhat knowledgeable in Linux will help my career.
3.) Become more efficient in GitHub
GitHub is often my friend, but on some occasions, it becomes my enemy. When I run into an error through GitHub, I often get frustrated. I can never seem to find the solution in their documentation using my terminal and git commands. I want to become more proficient with git commands so pushing, pulling, merging and all of the other GitHub tools never slow down my coding workflow.
4.) Learn a new programming language
I will continue practicing my skills in Ruby and JavaScript, but I also plan to learn a new language. I haven’t decided which one yet, and there are many to choose from, but I know learning my next language will be easier than learning my first language.
5.) Build a game
During my time at Flatiron, I built a couple of simple games using JavaScript. It was a fun and rewarding experience, but I am very curious about building a game with a video game engine and a scripting language more suitable for games. These types of projects can also help me learn a new language such as C#, Python, Java, or C++ (although I might save C++ for 2022!).
6.) Build a personal website
I could be blogging on my personal website right now, built with my very own Ruby on Rails code. Wouldn’t that be neat?
7.) Talk code
The most important goal of 2021, talking code is not just reading code out load or calling up my buddy to tell them about a cool function I wrote. Talking code is pair programming, practice tech interviews, collaboration on fun applications, teaching someone a new concept, learning a new concept or language, and “nerding out” with fellow techies. A programming language is like the human language; it’s nice if you can read and write it, but something is lost when you don’t speak it. It can be nerve wracking talking code with others for fear of saying the wrong term or stumbling over your words, but with practice, I know talking code can become second nature.
These may be my top 7 goals of 2021 right now, but I’m sure the list will grow and change throughout the year. Many of these goals will probably continue in 2022 and beyond. The wonderful aspect of software development is that every project is an exciting new challenge, and there are always lessons to be learned.