Turning Extra Effort Into A Better Career - Season Review

A better career has ben the underlying topic for this season.  As we bring this season to a close, it seems like a perfect time to hit the high points.  We revisit some tips that are important to utilize in making that extra effort.  It takes time and effort to become a better developer, so productivity is a key indicator of long-term success.

Stacking Up Effort

Our day job, side hustle, and career improvement work will have overlap.  That is part of becoming a better developer.  Therefore, we can take advantage of where overlap occurs to help us advance in multiple areas at one time.  We can work on these areas in parallel at times.  That is an essential consideration in being able to stack our effort and do more in less time.  Without this option, we will spend more time than we have and sacrifice a full life for a good career.  That should not be an acceptable trade-off.

A Better Career Through Compliments

Along with stacking together overlapping areas, we can advance through complementary ones.  There are skills we will be focused on that make it easier to accomplish other goals.  An excellent example is the attainment of certifications.  When we are hip-deep in a specific technology for our day job, there is a good chance that we can easily pass a certification exam.  Nevertheless, that does not preclude studying for the exam.  Thus, we need to be intentional and spend a little extra time to prepare for that exam.  This situation becomes one of many cases where we can spend a bit more time and effort to achieve a substantial gain.

Intentional and Accountable

We can not leave this season behind without once more mentioning the ideas of being held accountable and intentional in our approach.  A plan for our improvement (intentional) will help us see where we can gain from stacking and complementary skills.  Once we put that plan in place, we need to execute it.  That is where we need to be held accountable.  We can do so via our own goals.  However, it will be more effective for us to find mentors, partners, or mastermind groups that push us to follow through on that plan.

Episode Challenge: Have the benefits earned from becoming a better developer outweighed the effort?

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